1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,760 Well, if we haven't met, my name is Cole. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:07,440 I am one of the pastors here at Frontier Church. 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:12,560 If if there is one thing that we have noticed as the Christmas 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:17,840 seasons have come our way and left, it's that for everybody in 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:22,480 this building, Christmas feels, I guess it feels different. 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,800 For some of us, they are sweet memories. 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,080 For others of us, they're painful memories. 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,000 And so one thing that we wanted to do this year for the Advent 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,000 season was, as each week rolled in, was we wanted to have one of 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,240 the pastors read a pastoral letter over all of you. 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:39,640 And so you've got me this morning. 12 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,720 And so, as I've been praying and thinking about you guys this 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,640 week and writing a letter, here's what the Lord brought to 14 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,960 mind. Dear Church, I'm praying that 15 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,280 this year, the Advent season leaves a real and profound mark 16 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,240 on your walk with Jesus. Personally, for the last few 17 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,200 years, this season has been one of the richest and most 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,320 enjoyable seasons for the Dyke household. 19 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,120 One reason the the primary reason is because my wife Chloe 20 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,520 is awesome and she does an amazing job helping our family 21 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,760 just worship together and putting together some fun and 22 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,000 enjoyable practices into place that really light up the eyes of 23 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,760 our kids. We light candles together, We 24 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,920 sing advent hymns together. Mostly just go tell it on the 25 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,520 mountain because the kids like that and they like to sing it in 26 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,920 a regular version and then a whisper version and then a silly 27 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,520 voice version. So we do lots of go tell it on 28 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,440 the mountain at the Nike household this time of year. 29 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,920 We do advent reading calendars together, we ring an advent 30 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,880 bell, all the cheesy stuff. And of course we do all these 31 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:43,480 things imperfectly. But for us, it's really become a 32 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:48,560 season that I look forward to every year, which is kind of 33 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,600 strange because when we launched Frontier Church all the way back 34 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,600 in 2016, we actually didn't practice the season of Advent 35 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,640 together as a local church for the first year. 36 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,000 A lot of that was because we had our heads buried in the 37 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,520 challenge of just surviving each Sunday. 38 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,320 And so Christmas Sunday, that first year really kind of came 39 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,520 around as a surprise to us. But in our second year of 40 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,800 Frontier Church in 2017, we can finally catch our breath. 41 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,440 And so we mapped out our first Advent season together. 42 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,160 And as a young church, we weren't exactly sure how well a 43 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,760 historic practice of the church would be received. 44 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,080 Like, what the heck does the word Advent even mean? 45 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,160 Right now? We're gathering at a a jazz club 46 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,040 in downtown Des Moines. We didn't know how Advent was 47 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,920 going to be received that first year, but nevertheless, we 48 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:38,040 walked through the story of Jesus's first and second 49 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,400 Cummings. We lit candles together, we sang 50 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,960 Christmas hymns together, and after it was all said and done, 51 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:44,720 we were amazed at how much our church loved it. 52 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,360 Particularly, we were surprised by how much struggling young 53 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,960 families and single adults were helped by the structure of the 54 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,480 season and how that structure lent itself to developing 55 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,360 meaningful, meaningful traditions. 56 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,000 And so, as one of your pastors, that's my prayer for you this 57 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,280 season, that whether you're single, dating, married, married 58 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,360 with kids, married without kids, that this season becomes a 59 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,000 highlight that you look forward to every year as it points you 60 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,120 back to the biblical story of the coming of Jesus. 61 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:22,520 God made flesh. So I pray that for those who are 62 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,600 living under the thumb of depression and unrelenting 63 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:31,360 sorrow that God would let you see light this Advent season, 64 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,560 that you would remember that you worship a God who doesn't always 65 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,080 lift the fog of depression. But he did take on flesh and 66 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,680 participate in human sadness with you. 67 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,320 So may you not let the depression give way to cynicism 68 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,320 and may you guard your heart against the turning up of your 69 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,000 lip at every jolly thing this Christmas season. 70 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,200 Don't give an inch to cynicism this year. 71 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,880 Do not permit the Christmas lights to drag you down. 72 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,920 Secondly, for those of you who have children, I pray that this 73 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,280 season is filled with memories, this Advent season that are 74 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,040 meaningful. Personally, when I look back at 75 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,960 my own life and my own 35 years of memories on spool before me, 76 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,519 I find that the Christmas season makes up a lopsided and 77 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:21,040 asymmetrically large amount of my memories. 78 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:26,680 It's probably true for you too. So as parents know this, know 79 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,040 this, and take care to leverage this season to tell the story of 80 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,600 Jesus to your kids. Tell it while having fun. 81 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,480 Light some candles, eat some sweets, Establish traditions, 82 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,160 sing loudly, laughed often because Christ has already won. 83 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,400 And it might sound silly to do all of this in this present 84 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,040 moment, but who knows what memories might come flooding 85 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,200 back to your kids 16 years from now in college when they see a 86 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,360 lit candle in a dorm room. So plant the seeds now. 87 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,680 And lastly, I pray that for those of you who are at peace 88 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,840 and are filled with joy, I pray that this season you would, in 89 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:07,040 the words of GK Chesterton, take part in the great campaign of 90 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,800 sabotage against the powers of cynicism. 91 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,960 Because while the world is filled with brokenness and 92 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:19,320 sorrow, you, because of Jesus, you are the light of the world. 93 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,720 Be that be that this year be the light of the world, invite 94 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:28,600 people over to your dinner table. 95 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,560 Know that the darkness trembles at the sound of an out of tune 96 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:37,760 Christian singing loudly. Drink the eggnog to the very 97 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,080 bottom of the glass to spite the devil. 98 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,400 Defy the powers and principalities by wearing the 99 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:45,400 Christmas sweater without embarrassment. 100 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,920 String the Christmas lights in the front lawn without blushing. 101 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,320 And though you be weary, though you be wary. 102 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,600 By the power of Christ Jesus made flesh the wary world. 103 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,880 It does rejoice because the world won't be weary forever, 104 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:05,160 but it will rejoice forever. So now with that, I love you 105 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,240 guys. Heavenly Father, I pray that you 106 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,760 would turn our eyes to Jesus this morning, to his first 107 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,760 coming that happened 2000 years ago, and also to his second 108 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,360 coming that is ever present and before us. 109 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:21,840 And so we pray for Stephen this morning as he unpacks your word 110 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:24,680 for us. May it build us up, Bless us, 111 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,120 and may it be one of the very many ways that you point us to 112 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:33,720 Jesus this morning. Give us. 113 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:41,760 Hope. And give us peace and don't let 114 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,480 this thing catch on fire. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 115 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:51,960 That's a good prayer because we don't want this to light on 116 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:52,680 fire. It's. 117 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,520 I don't know if you can see this, it looks quite flammable. 118 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,560 So I mean, Darren, you're probably on catch duty if 119 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,280 something lights. Well, good morning. 120 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,480 My name is Steven. I'm one of the pastors here and 121 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,520 there's probably like 10 of you in the room that have actually 122 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,480 heard me preach before, so excited to be up here, got my 123 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:25,280 notes. The real story of why I'm 124 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:30,680 preaching this morning is because every Sunday at about 125 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:35,200 9:30, I walk in or, you know, we come in and we do our little 126 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,760 huddle and Kale asks me if I'm going to preach that day. 127 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,880 And for, I don't know, three or four years every Sunday I say, 128 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:42,680 no, I'm not preaching today, Kale, you need to leave me 129 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,520 alone. Lots and lots of knows. 130 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,560 And I just had to get that that monkey off my back. 131 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,600 I had to get Kale to leave me alone. 132 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:53,920 So that's why I'm up here. I'm really excited. 133 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,080 And yeah, I don't really have much else to say about that, but 134 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,680 take it all in, because this is a rare occasion. 135 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:06,720 So today's reading is from Isaiah, chapter 54, nine through 136 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:08,640 14. If you're able, please stand. 137 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,160 And let's kick it off by starting in the word. 138 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:25,710 All right. This is like the days of Noah to 139 00:08:25,710 --> 00:08:30,030 me, as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over 140 00:08:30,030 --> 00:08:32,470 the earth. So I have sworn that I will not 141 00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:34,909 be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 142 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,480 For the mountains made apart and the hills may the hills be 143 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,840 removed. But my steadfast love shall not 144 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,760 depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, 145 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,280 says the Lord who has compassion on you. 146 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,720 O afflicted one storm tossed and not comforted, behold, I will 147 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,520 set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with 148 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,760 sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of a 149 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,520 gate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious 150 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,400 stones. All your children shall be 151 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,120 taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your 152 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,640 children. In righteousness you shall be 153 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,120 established. You shall be far from 154 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:21,160 oppression, for you shall not fear and from terror, for it 155 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:25,520 shall not come near you. You can take a seat. 156 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:41,960 The date was December 22nd, 2011, somewhere in Nebraska. 157 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,720 I'm looking for Kylie Collins. Is she in here? 158 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,200 Well, that's probably good because I'm going to kind of hit 159 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:55,600 on Nebraska December 22nd, 2011. Lauren and I are driving to Des 160 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,280 Moines from our home in Denver, Co. 161 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,520 We've lived in Denver for about 6 months at that time. 162 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,360 We've been married for about seven months. 163 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,600 At some point in our drive, we start discussing our plans for 164 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:10,440 the next week. It's the week of Christmas. 165 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,840 We've got all this built in, anticipation and planning and 166 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:15,160 seeing family and all that good stuff. 167 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,200 So we start discussing our plans for the next week and I'm sure 168 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,960 most of the decisions had already been made, been agreed 169 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,680 to, But like for the sake of the story, just pretend because I 170 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,680 really don't really remember any of the details of what we 171 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,640 decided. But let's pretend that I had not 172 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,480 already agreed to all the proposed scheduling. 173 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,200 So we're driving through Nebraska. 174 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:37,880 You'd emphasize we're still in Nebraska. 175 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,960 And I start asking about our plans and what we have going on. 176 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,280 And so we have day one with Lauren's immediate family. 177 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,320 Little tradition we do with them November 23rd. 178 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,080 Then we have Christmas Eve with my family. 179 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:59,720 And then on Christmas Day, Christmas morning, I believe we 180 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,840 are driving to Illinois to spend time with her extended family. 181 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,040 Then we're going to drive back to Des Moines for like a night 182 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,960 and then drive back to Denver, Co And it's good to know that I 183 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:17,520 I hate Rd. trips. I was scarred when I was a kid 184 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,160 because like a good Midwestern family, my parents, we didn't 185 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,960 ever fly anywhere. We just drove everywhere. 186 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,760 So I'd taken Rd. trips to the West Coast, we'd taken Rd. trips 187 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,240 to see some family in the East Coast and the South, and so we'd 188 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:34,520 done all these massive Rd. trips. 189 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:40,120 And I don't know, I'm old enough that we didn't have DVD players, 190 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,200 we didn't have the iPad was not invented yet. 191 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,400 We had. I had a Walkman and one of these 192 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,720 Rd. trips I had a Walkman and I left me and my brother. 193 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,960 We left all of our CDs at home, so we like stopped at a gas 194 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:56,000 station. And I I shouldn't say this, my 195 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,160 brother got a boys to men CD and I got an Avril Lavigne CD. 196 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:05,280 And so for a road trip to to San Francisco we had, you could 197 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,840 either listen to talk radio that was constantly on in the car 198 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,680 with my parents or I could listen to my Avril CD or my 199 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,920 brother's voice to Mensi. So I do know all the words to 200 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,720 both of those albums like without question, even today. 201 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,400 Still. But anyway, so those were how 202 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,360 Rd. trips were. You know, they're, you know, 203 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,320 books walking in, whatever it was. 204 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:25,680 Some people love it. No, it was awful. 205 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,880 So I still hate Rd. trips. And so anyway, we're we're 206 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,440 driving, we're driving on like a five or six day trip. 207 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,400 We're driving from Colorado to Des Moines. 208 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:40,160 And then I am surprised to find out that in the middle of this 209 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,680 road trip, guess what, there's another road trip to Illinois, 210 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:49,200 which is so exciting. So I I gently and patiently, 211 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:53,960 obviously I tell my wife, my new wife, we've been married for six 212 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,640 or seven months at that .0. And another good detail is that 213 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,920 I also told her that we were moving Lawrence, very family 214 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:03,480 oriented. I told her that we were moving 215 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,200 to Denver, Co because I was going to do grad school when she 216 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,400 had already agreed to marry me. So we were engaged and I said 217 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:11,320 guess what? We're moving to Colorado and 218 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,720 which is not cool. But she did it surprisingly so. 219 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:20,760 Anyway, I told my new wife, you know, new new wish wife told her 220 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:22,880 we're moving to Colorado without really asking if we can move 221 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:24,600 Colorado. But so we're on our way back to 222 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:26,760 visit family. And I tell her somewhere in 223 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,960 Nebraska that actually, I don't want to go to Illinois. 224 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,520 Love your family, but I'm not really interested in making that 225 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,400 trip. So like 2 days before we're 226 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,880 supposed to go to Illinois, I say no hard pass, Let's not do 227 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:42,080 that. So. 228 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,440 So Lauren, who's driving at the time, she gently reached over to 229 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,160 my side of the car and with a big smile opened the door and 230 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,120 pushed me out of the car on the Interstate. 231 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:53,840 That's not really true. She didn't do that. 232 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,320 That's probably what she wanted to do. 233 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,400 But actually what she said was that if I didn't suck it up and 234 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,640 go to Illinois and put on a smile and enjoy our big family, 235 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,280 get together, that she was probably going to kill me. 236 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,120 So, right. Yeah, she don't play. 237 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,440 Yeah, she said something like that. 238 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,680 So, you know, this is probably a whole different conversation 239 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,040 about expectations with family and holidays and all that stuff. 240 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:21,360 And I'm not going to get into that. 241 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,560 And really, I probably, I think the main culprit, the main 242 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,120 person to blame is Nebraska in this scenario. 243 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:34,000 But yeah, Nebraska really ruined this trip. 244 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,720 But anyway, this is kind of a silly example of the kind of 245 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,760 conflict that can kind of like spring up during the holidays, 246 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,000 right? This is just a silly example. 247 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,320 Usually there's, I mean, often there's much more complicated 248 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:52,960 conflict that springs up around the holiday season or what we'd 249 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:58,600 call that the Christmas season. And I'm sure many of you have 250 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:01,960 have stories where things like this have happened during the 251 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,760 Christmas season. You have things that you want to 252 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,400 happen during the season that don't end up happening. 253 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,040 And then, oddly enough, there's things that you really, like, 254 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,360 never want to happen, that, like, always tend to happen 255 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:15,080 right around the Christmas season. 256 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,760 And it seems like we frequently experience an increased level of 257 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,400 heartache during the Christmas season. 258 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,240 I mean in in the two weeks that I've been writing this sermon, 259 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:33,120 my Facebook feed has been filled with filled with people 260 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,400 experience like serious, serious suffering. 261 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,000 I mean it just like keeps popping up and I couldn't tell 262 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,320 if it was because I was looking for it, if it like it was 263 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,240 actually just becoming more frequent. 264 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,040 I really think it is. It just comes up and it's like 265 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,080 the hardest parts of life either decide to occur during December 266 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,160 or, I mean often they're put in the forefront of our minds 267 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:56,800 during this season as well. And we get stuck between dealing 268 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,280 with this heartache or just pretending that everything is OK 269 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,280 because it's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. 270 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,680 And I grew up with this, this kind of seasonal heartache in my 271 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,760 own home as well when I was a kid, when I was I think a little 272 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:12,600 bit younger than my daughter who's eight I think was six or 273 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:19,000 seven, My grandfather died like December 20th, so my mom's dad 274 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:23,240 and very suddenly he was young. He was like 6060, sixty years 275 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,840 old, so very young. And I was too young to really, 276 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,920 you know, understand what was going on. 277 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:32,800 And a lot of that is like being hidden from the heartache, you 278 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,640 know, and stuff like that. But, so I don't remember the 279 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,400 details a lot. But I can remember the mixed 280 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:39,800 emotions around the Christmas seasons and the like, years 281 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,640 after that of my mom and my grandma. 282 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:48,760 Like, you know, missing, missing my grandfather and like this 283 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,200 cloud of loss kind of hovering over what's supposed to be such 284 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,160 a joyous time. And looking back on that 285 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,120 situation in those years of heartache hasn't evolved. 286 00:16:58,120 --> 00:16:59,560 Now I really just. I feel so bad. 287 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,360 I feel like they felt so stuck and they didn't get a chance to 288 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,720 grieve because they didn't want to let it ruin Christmas. 289 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,280 And I get that intention right, like, they don't want to put a 290 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:15,599 downer on this joyful season. But like, hello, your husband 291 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,200 died. Your your father died. 292 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,200 It's it's OK to be upset. You don't have to shield 293 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,720 everyone from that, but instead of seeing the experience of 294 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,359 grief, I saw this suppression of sadness and pretending to be 295 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:29,840 happy because that's what the season expects. 296 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:31,600 That's what the Christmas season expects. 297 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,960 A wise man, I wish he was here. A wise man once said that grief 298 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,880 is a communion we take separately but eat and drink 299 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,800 together, as will boards. Will boards is great. 300 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:47,880 I've like I. Honestly, I when I started 301 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,640 writing this sermon I that like popped into my head. 302 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:50,840 It's like 2 books ago. Anyway. 303 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:53,560 Grief is a community. We take separately but eat and 304 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:58,040 drink together. And man, if there is anything in 305 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,680 the world that sucks more than cold sweater today, it's that 306 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,360 people feel like they have to pretend to be happy when they're 307 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:11,040 really, really miserable. Would you like that one? 308 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:18,480 But but Advent, here we go this morning. 309 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,000 We're talking about conflict, peace, and how the advent of 310 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,360 Jesus shapes and changes how we engage with everything. 311 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,560 I love Advent. Know me. 312 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,760 I freaking love Advent. I've one, I've kind of alluded 313 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:36,000 to this. I have one really good reason 314 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,320 why I love Advent. And that's because the Christmas 315 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,680 season. Now here, I'm not talking about 316 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:43,000 Christmas. I'm not talking about Baby 317 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,480 Jesus. I'm talking about the Christmas 318 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:49,840 season overall. In public, even in private, and 319 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:54,200 our city and our homes in the world, the Christmas season 320 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,880 sucks. The Christmas season comes with 321 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,920 all this baggage and all this pressure, and all this pressure 322 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,520 does two things. It creates disappointment and it 323 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,280 creates conflict. When I think about peace during 324 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:13,200 the Advent season, I think about Jesus delivering us from the 325 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,160 chaos and conflict of the Christmas season. 326 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,440 Advent has everything you're looking for in the Christmas 327 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:26,560 season without any of them pretending, and without 328 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,400 everything pretending that everything is perfect. 329 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,880 Advent actually tells us that even though Christ came, it was 330 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:36,000 amazing, beautiful. God made flesh. 331 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,000 It tells us that God has not done yet and we're still 332 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,640 waiting. We're still watching for the 333 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,280 Saviour to come again. All the pain, all the sadness, 334 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,520 all the things that we think we need to hide during this season, 335 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,040 we can embrace those things. We can embrace the chaos. 336 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,880 We can embrace the conflict because we still have have this 337 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,000 hope for the second coming of Christ. 338 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,680 OK, that's kind of my thing about Christmas and Advent. 339 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:03,520 I don't need, I don't have enough time to get into all of 340 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:05,600 that today. So let's get back to our main 341 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,360 topic, which is conflict and peace. 342 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,600 When I said I was talking about peace, Spade was like, you got 343 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,280 to make sure you bring up. Did you say Palestine? 344 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:16,480 Yeah. Palestine. 345 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,800 So anyway, is anyone here that is unaware of the conflict in 346 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,000 our world, right? Like it's one of those things 347 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,440 that has become such a normal part of our lives that we, we 348 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,720 like, are almost unfazed by it. I think if I asked you, when I 349 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:32,960 say the word conflict, if I asked everyone in the room, I'd 350 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,680 get like 100 different answers of what people think of when 351 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,520 they think of conflict. Because we're going to talk, you 352 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,960 know, you're going to think of things that are local going on 353 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,840 in our homes and our churches. We're also going to think of 354 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:50,680 things nationally, like Ukraine and Palestine and then Israel. 355 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,600 But we're going to, you're also going to think of things like 356 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,720 this exciting election cycle that's coming up, right? 357 00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:00,080 We're going to have so much fun. And, like, even as I'm writing 358 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,120 this sermon and I'm writing this sentence, like, I get in a 359 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,960 notification on my phone about another surge of COVID that was 360 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,760 coming to like, conflict is just all around us, right? 361 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,080 I don't really care what you think about COVID. 362 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,600 Whatever. But it's just a conflict that 363 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,560 we've dealt with, right? It's just one of those things. 364 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:19,800 Conflict is everywhere rather than locally neighborhoods, 365 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,680 homes all around us. And I think we can fall into two 366 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,120 traps when we think about this conflict and chaos in our lives. 367 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,640 The first trap is to completely dwell on it, let it overtake our 368 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,320 minds, and let it completely bury us in grief and despair. 369 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,600 Because honestly, if we let chaos, the chaos in our world 370 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:43,280 that is very real, occupy our minds, it will cause despair, 371 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,560 will cause depression. It means, you know, anyone like 372 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,040 that. It might be, I'll skip that 373 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:52,640 line. They might be watching Fox News 374 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:57,560 or CNN, like the volume to 100. Like all day every day, right. 375 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,120 Like, and I mean I have people like that in my lives. 376 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:01,960 I don't know about you. I mean, OK, did you know that 377 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,400 the average American watches TV for five hours a day? 378 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,880 Like, that's crazy. And just think if that was only 379 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,440 news, like, like politically charged news, like that may 380 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,920 cause a little bit of, you know, despair, right? 381 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:17,080 I think it would. It would for me. 382 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,840 So the first trap is like conflict, just totally overtake 383 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,440 your mind. Or the second trap is, I think, 384 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,400 just as bad. And that's to pretend that the 385 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,760 conflict doesn't exist. And I think that's a trap we 386 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,280 kind of find it ourselves in a lot of times during during the 387 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,520 Christmas and Advent season. So that's to put our head in the 388 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,160 sand and live as if the world is all sunshine and roses. 389 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,320 And what's weird is that it actually may work for a while. 390 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,640 It may work seasonally. It may work during the Christmas 391 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,040 season to pretend that everything in the world is 392 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:46,480 happy. Go lucky and fine. 393 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,600 You find some happiness, put a smile on your face. 394 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,680 But it that smile's going to fade. 395 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,760 When you come face to face with this conflict that lies just 396 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:59,480 under that surface, it's also going to cause the people around 397 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:00,680 you. This is another problem it's 398 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,360 going to cause the people around you, do you feel like they can't 399 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:09,240 be authentic and real and embrace the the the difficulties 400 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,440 that are in our world, They're not going to feel welcome to do 401 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,000 that because you're pretending you're being a, you know, 402 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,320 everything's all good and they may, they may decide to do the 403 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:17,680 same. So they may feel compelled to 404 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,600 put their heads in the sand for a little while, ignore pain, 405 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,920 conflict and the heartache that is going on in our world right 406 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,440 now. And that's going to spread, it's 407 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:29,800 going to spread around to people of them too. 408 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:30,960 You know, it's just one of those things. 409 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,760 So. So how do we avoid these traps 410 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,960 when it comes to conflict? I think we're going to have 411 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,480 another verse. It's Isaiah 5410, which is one 412 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,040 of our verses. Yes, Carl, for the mountains 413 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,160 made apart and the hills be removed. 414 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,280 But my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant 415 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,640 of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord who has compassion 416 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,160 on you. So how do we deal with this 417 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,840 conflict in our lives? And that's by finding rest in 418 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:03,480 the assurance unity with Jesus Christ that Jesus came, He 419 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,080 brought salvation, He brought hope, He brought new life. 420 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:10,400 But also that he's coming again. Jesus is coming back. 421 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,760 And his second coming, he will finish what he's already 422 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:21,560 started. In verse 11 he says, O afflicted 423 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,520 one storm tossed and uncomforted. 424 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,280 I, meaning the Lord, I'm going to build your foundation. 425 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,720 I'm going to build your walls, build your gates. 426 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,760 I'm going to build your foundation on something that 427 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,840 will withstand all of life's chaos and all of life's 428 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,120 conflict, and that is the promise of Advent. 429 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:40,160 It's this peace that we're talking about this morning. 430 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,560 Our foundation is no longer unstable. 431 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,120 Our foundation is no longer dependent on ourselves. 432 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,760 God has built our foundation in Jesus Christ coming to earth and 433 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,440 reconciling us to God. So what does that look like in 434 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,000 our day-to-day lives? The truth is that Jesus came and 435 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,440 he is coming again and it gives us peace within ourselves. 436 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,680 Jesus offers us peace. I mean, peace might be one of 437 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,600 the most misused and misunderstood words in in our 438 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,200 language. Peace is not ignorance, it's not 439 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,400 pretending. Peace is full of presence and 440 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,920 full attention. Peace, the peace that Jesus 441 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,200 brings, is covered in flesh and it's drenched in blood. 442 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:22,920 Peace that transcends circumstances. 443 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:24,920 It does not ignore circumstances. 444 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,840 But we have peace. No matter life circumstances. 445 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:33,720 We can actually rest. Advent, You OK? 446 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,720 Oh, shoot. I don't know if you heard that. 447 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,280 It was like AI think we're OK. Yeah, she's OK. 448 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:46,960 Peace No matter. Life circumstances. 449 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,840 Advent is a reminder that God is making all things new. 450 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,080 God has promised to make all things new. 451 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,040 The 2nd way that Jesus brings peace is in our relationships. 452 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,200 All human relationships have some level of conflict. 453 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:04,080 Jesus teaches us to have peace no matter the conflict around 454 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,840 us. And as Christians, we don't have 455 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:10,640 to fear the conflict that's in our world and in our 456 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:12,600 relationships. We can we can move towards the 457 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,800 messiness in the conflict because we have an unshakable 458 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,920 peace through Jesus. And the final and the most 459 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,560 important way that Jesus brings us peace is that he brings us 460 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,200 peace with God the Father. The incarnation of Jesus means 461 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:31,640 that God came to be with his people, the God of the universe, 462 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,800 the God that by his words holds all things together. 463 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,640 Hebrews one. That means every second of every 464 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,840 day, every breath that you take happens because God is holding 465 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,040 our very existence together by the power of his words. 466 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:46,640 I mean, that's crazy. That's a sermon in it for 467 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:47,840 itself. And another day, maybe if we go 468 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,920 through Hebrews, you get me back up here, I'll preach about, 469 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:50,840 preach about that. It'll be fun. 470 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:57,520 This God sent his Son to be with his people on earth to bring 471 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,760 them back to him. God's peace at Christmas, God's 472 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,240 peace at Advent is that we have peace with God. 473 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:06,040 It means that we have rest with God. 474 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,160 It means that we abide with God. We abide in God. 475 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,000 It means that we are secure and safe and home with God. 476 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,360 We are already there, but also not quite yet. 477 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:19,360 That's the great paradox of Advent. 478 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:24,640 God is with His people, but also not yet to that fullest extent 479 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,560 that He will be with His people. So during the Advent season we 480 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:36,960 celebrate and we mourn, we rest and we strive, we enjoy and we 481 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,920 yearn. We sing joy to the world. 482 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,360 The Lord has come and we also sing, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 483 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,880 and ransom captive Israel. And we mean us. 484 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:50,480 We don't mean just Israel before Christ. 485 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,240 The song is not in remembrance of that. 486 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,960 You see, Israel, that song is about us longing for Christ to 487 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,800 return. So how does that change the way 488 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:01,760 we engage with each other during the Advent season? 489 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,040 First off, God has given you peace. 490 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,200 It is yours, yours for the taking rest in his promise that 491 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,040 he is coming back. We can embrace the conflict. 492 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,760 We can embrace the difficulty and the heartache around us 493 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,760 because we know that Jesus is coming back. 494 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,520 We have to stop pretending that everything in the world is 495 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,120 perfect. I promise you that once you do, 496 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:25,840 once you stop pretending you will feel this weight being 497 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:27,680 lifted off your shoulders. That you really didn't know you 498 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,240 were carrying. The season is hard. 499 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,080 It's OK to admit that if I scared you when I said that 500 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:34,600 Christmas season sucks, that's OK. 501 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:39,440 But it's it's OK to admit that it is stressful and the 502 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,320 expectations are so high sometimes. 503 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,080 But guess what? It's hard for the people around 504 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,040 you, too. And when you finally say enough, 505 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,920 guess what? Your kids are going to thank you 506 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,920 for it. Do you know what my kids want to 507 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:56,320 do right now? Like, every night during the 508 00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:00,200 Christmas season, they want to watch a stupid Christmas movie 509 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,200 and they want to drink hot chocolate. 510 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,920 Like, they're like, this is the time we get our hot chocolate, 511 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,280 we get to watch a movie, and that's, like, all they want to 512 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,000 do. So any of this additional stuff 513 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,360 that we plan for our kids, you know, awesome, great, really 514 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:13,840 fun. But, like, that's not what 515 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,320 they're expecting. Like they love it, obviously, if 516 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,280 we do it. But like my kids just want to 517 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,000 drink a chocolate, so and the people around you in your 518 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,880 community, they're going to notice when you say enough is 519 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,360 enough too. And they might just join you in 520 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,280 letting go of these expectations and the stress that it causes. 521 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:35,120 So consider this You refusing to choose conflict over peace. 522 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,120 You're choosing peace. You're deciding to choose peace. 523 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:42,840 It might invite your family and your friends to do the same 524 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,240 thing, to let go of the conflict and the weight that's weighing 525 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,160 them down and the pressure that they feel. 526 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,480 How cool would that be? Your decision to stop striving 527 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,920 for perfection during the Christmas season could cause a 528 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,440 ripple effect of peace in our families, in our community, in 529 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,560 our community groups, in our church, in our neighborhoods. 530 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:07,400 I mean, come on, right Then. I have a final challenge for you 531 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,240 this morning, and that is to lean into the Advent. 532 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,200 Lean into Advent. The last few weeks that we have 533 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,600 left of this season, I have a quote. 534 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:23,080 It's going to be on the screen. Boom, Carl, Man, Advent. 535 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:25,280 Listen to this. Listen up. 536 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:30,040 Advent is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. 537 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,960 Since it comes at winter time. Fire is a fitting sign to help 538 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:39,080 us celebrate Advent. If Christ is to come more fully 539 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,680 into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really 540 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:47,280 Incarnate for us, God with us, then fire will have to be 541 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,480 present in our prayer. Our worship, our devotion will 542 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,880 have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly 543 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,920 change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility 544 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:06,200 not to waste this Advent time. That's my last challenge. 545 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,920 Don't waste this Advent season. Let your prayers burn like fire. 546 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:13,760 That can change and will change hearts. 547 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:20,160 Celebrate the season as one of joy and one of longing. 548 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,240 Jesus is coming back. This is when we celebrate. 549 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:26,520 Amen. Amen. 550 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:32,160 Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much for 551 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,280 who you are for coming. And God, I thank you that you 552 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:39,960 are coming again. What a great joy it is to 553 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:43,600 celebrate you this season. Help us to be mindful of you, 554 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,880 and help us to truly desire peace. 555 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:48,400 Amen.