For devotion, reflection on this sermon, please consider the video below, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

This is the love of God among us – pt2

Just Who and What was sent to us in that lowly manger?

John 1:1, 14, 1 John 4:9

As we enter this season of celebration and the countdown of the Advent Calendar, there are likely many emotions and memories stirred in us. In pondering the season and its festivities and gatherings, and the Scriptures that underly it, over the years I’ve had various opinions. But the more I consider what the Bible says about the Advent of our Savior, I’ve come to think that, in view of all the facts, our celebration of it does not suffer from being too extravagant, over the top and joyous, but that our celebration and joy and strong feelings might just be far too little! Setting aside the complaints about commercialization, and the question of, “is December 25th the right day?”, let’s let the Word of God speak God’s free gospel message to our hearts.

In this and the next two Sundays, the aim of the pulpit time that we share together here will be to give the gifts of more and more reasons for wonder and outright astonishment at just Who and What was in the womb of Mary and laid so lovingly in that manger in Bethlehem!

We’re going to take to ourselves five essential truths about the incarnation, (God taking flesh among us), starting with Jesus’ full deity as the eternal Son in relation to the Father and Spirit in triunity, and working from God in eternity to God as man in time. The identity of Jesus the Christ and the nature of the incarnation will be described. To know Jesus rightly from Scripture, we must see who he is in relation to the doctrine of the Trinity, and the reason for the incarnation in light of the Bible’s entire redemptive storyline.

Let’s prompt our hearts by hearing the careful, wise and balanced exposition of the doctrine of God revealed from the Scriptures in some portions of that great and ancient creed of the church, the Athanasian Creed. Please give careful attention to the nature and person of the Son of God.