Morning Message Text: Mark 1: 1-8
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” —
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Morning Message: “Faith That God’s Kingdom will Come”
Morning Message:
During the Advent season we focus on four themes. Hope, Faith, Joy, and Peace. They all fit together very nicely, and these themes, for a preacher are very easy to preach. They can become too easy and lead to very blah types of sermons. The challenge for me, and for every other preacher, is to not be too simple and at the same time to not over complicate the message. Real hope reigns in our hearts when our faith is healthy. How is your faith today? I can’t answer that question for every person here today, but in general, over-all in today’s church, I believe our faith is not as strong as it should be. I believe that the condition of our nation and the world would prove me right in this assumption. The church overall does not project strength to the world. We are not as strong in our convictions as we should be, and for the most part the world does not look to us for the answers to their problems. As Christians we tend to look at the world and be very critical of the ungodliness that we see all around us. We point our fingers at our government and world leaders, at groups of people and individuals, and we blame them for the troubles in this world. We, the church of the Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ, are looking at this backwards. Instead of pointing our fingers outward we should point them at ourselves.
Why do I blame the church? Because we have the power of a Holy God at our disposal and we, for the most part, do not tap into it. Why is our faith weak? Lack of effort, laziness, we have become apathetic. What does that word mean? Basically, it means we just don’t care enough to put in the time and effort to build our faith so that we can make a difference in the world. Now, my wife doesn’t think my messages are Christmasy enough, and I have promised her that as we get closer to Christmas, they will get happier, but I am not quite there yet. Do you know the best way to strengthen your faith? Look at the proof of what God has done. I read somewhere recently that if John the Baptist were to come back today, he would not go to the wilderness to cry out for repentance, he would go to the churches. Think about that for a moment, how would that go over in church today? If every week someone stood here in church and preached the need for repentance and forgiveness.
Let me ask you this morning: Do you want a stronger faith? If your answer is yes let me show you how. Every week in the Lord’s Prayer we ask for God’s
Kingdom to come, but do we truly believe in the power of God to bring all things into reality? There are only two ways that our faith can increase. By our own experiences, seeing God work in our lives, and by reading God’s word and seeing the prophecies fulfilled. Do you all have a bible at home? When you get home, take it down from that very high shelf that it’s on, the one that you can barely reach, wipe the dust off, be careful if you have allergies, and open it to Isaiah chapter 53. Let me help you. The Psalms are right in the middle of your bible, then Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, then Isaiah. If you have trouble finding it please call me. Read it slowly and prayerfully and let God show you something magnificent that should encourage you and increase your faith. I can’t do this for you. I wish I could.
I’m not going to read it, but listen and I will give you the cliff notes. Isaiah speaks of the Suffering Servant or the man of suffering. The prophecies of Jesus speak of the necessity for the Servant to suffer for the sins of the people. Isaiah prophetically spoke of the unjust trial of Jesus before Pilate, of his silence before his accusers, of his shameful treatment by the rulers, and as his slaughter as a lamb on the cross for all of us. Isaiah, the author’s primary concern in this chapter is not the suffering, but Jesus’ amazing triumph over suffering. He tells us that the suffering servant was despised and rejected, so he can relate to people on a very personal level when they are dealing with pain and grief. Listen, this is just one example of God’s word and its accuracy. Isaiah 53 was written 700 years before the prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. If you read Isaiah 53 with pen and paper, you can list 48 different predictions about Christ, each of which vividly came true. It’s very hard to explain away the evidence of our Lord’s true identity gained through the reality of fulfilled Messianic prophecy. If you ever have doubts about the reality of the Bible, take time to read and study Isaiah 53 and see how Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of all that was written about him in the Old Testament.
I probably lost most of you in all of those details. I sometimes wonder why I try so hard to prove to you that scripture is true, and that God’s word is completely authentic. I have come to realize through the years that these messages are meant for me as much as you. It’s easy to have basic faith. To trust in God and put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior is the most important thing that anyone can do, but as followers of Jesus our faith has to grow and be much deeper than the basic tenants of our faith. Our faith should be life changing, energizing, a driving force in our daily lives, and our faith together with the faith of the whole church should make a powerful impression and difference in this world. Faith in Jesus is the answer to every problem in this hurting world and the church.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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