Speaker: Jerry Cisar | Book: Matthew

Speaker: Jerry Cisar

Whether we are talking about Charlottesville, VA, Las Vegas, or the shooting at Majorie Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, FL, conflicts at the border with caravans, wildfires in Paradise, CA, it is clear that the world needs peace. Therefore, we need to pause and consider the coming of Christ, Advent.

Advent, another word for “the coming of the Lord,” has been celebrated in our family, the church, for millennia during that season in which we remember the Lord’s coming. Why celebrate Advent? What are we celebrating? What has the coming of Christ changed?

We don’t celebrate Advent because the world was transformed by it to look like a Currier & Ives print. Jesus came because the world we live in is not filled with peace, but violence, conflict, and brokenness. We celebrate Advent because there is only One who leads to the restoration of peace.

Jesus came into a broken world to bring peace, but in order to bring peace he had to bring a sword, but not the same kind of sword that Rome used. Jesus is God with us, but He did not come triumphantly, to conquer by sword. His coming may cause many to experience human swords or division, but His coming brings peace through completely other means!

Join us as we celebrate Advent in a look at Matthew 1 in worship of our Savior.

Handout: http://media.gccc.net/2018/12/20181216.pdf