Having trouble with the video? Click here for help
Click here to go to beginning of the service
"What Did You Expect?" - First Sunday in Advent
Dr. Scott Koenigsaecker
Dr. Scott Koenigsaecker
Mark 1:1-8 & Hebrews 1:1-3 ~ November 28, 2010
INTRODUCTION
A. Our life, and faith, often correspond to our expectations.
· High expectations (Optimists)
· Low expectations (Pessimists)
· No expectations at all (Dead)
B. What are your expectations for Christmas 2010?
C. For Christians, Christmas is about a long awaited expectation being fulfilled…the coming of the Messiah.
I. FIRST, MARK HIGHLIGHTS THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S EXPECTATION.
A. "This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written….." Mark 1:1
B. Jesus' coming to earth is no accident, but God's loving planning.
"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
C. Jesus is the "Messiah, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1).
· Jesus is the fulfillment of God's expectation to redeem the world (Hebrews 1:1-3):
Ø Jesus is the inaugurator of a new order
Ø Jesus is God (co-equal with the Father)
Ø Jesus reflects God's glory
Ø Jesus is the very likeness of God's own being
Ø Jesus cleanses us from sin
Ø Jesus has taken the seat of Honor
II. SECOND, MARK POINTS OUT THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST IS A HERALD
OF GOD'S EXPECTATION FOR THE WORLD AND US.
A. "Look I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. His is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming. Clear the road for Him.’ This messenger was John the Baptist.'' Mark 1:2-4
· John the Baptist was a Nazirite Prophet.
B. John embraces Jesus as both the Messiah and his Messiah.
· Some try to avoid the issue altogether
"But they paid no attention [to Jesus] and went their own way."
Matthew 22:5
· Some responded initially but then drifted away.
"So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away…" Hebrews 2:1
· Some paid very close attention
"All of Judea, including the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear…" Mark 1:4-5
C. John makes it clear that responding to Jesus requires:
· Repentance through the confession of our sins
"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." Romans 3:23
· Receiving forgiveness from God
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins." I John 1:9
CONCLUSION