By Pastor Bill Flavin | Scripture: Mark 1:1-8; Isaiah 40:1-11
This first week of Advent we wonder together what hope means for us in 2020? And how do we live as a people of Hope in the midst of all that 2020 is sending our way?
This first week of Advent we wonder together what hope means for us in 2020? And how do we live as a people of Hope in the midst of all that 2020 is sending our way?
It’s one thing to say you believe in something or value something. It’s another thing altogether to show it, do it, and embody it. Jesus’ life was not grounded in a list of moral teachings that he talked about, but in a life that he invites us to be part of in the Kingdom of God in the here and now. This Kingdom lifestyle was shocking because God’s love extended to all, and didn’t hinge on the goodness of us, but the goodness of God.
Christianity is unique among world religions in that God walked the earth with His people. In Isaiah we read all about the coming Savior whose life and ministry will shape nations, and us.
We are taught instinctively to be leery of anything that seems to be too good to be true. Then we read about God’s sending of John the Baptist to an expectant couple. John, the messenger who was to set the ground work for the coming and long awaited Savior.