The wonder of this Advent season comes in the journey more than the destination. On this First Sunday in Advent, Pastor Jim spoke on John 1:1-14 and led us to consider how Wonderful the gifts of Jesus are, and to challenge us to anticipate and to be amazed by the Wonder of Christmas.
Click the below “Play” button to listen to the recording, then scroll down and follow along…
Our scripture was from John 1:1-14. Pastor Jim read from the Living Bible; the New Living paraphrase is shown below.
John1:1-14
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,
7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.
8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
But when we look at Jesus, we see something deeper. Christmas isn’t just “wonderful”… it is “wonder filled.”
It’s a Wonder-filled TIME of the Year… it isn’t just about that one morning on December 25. Advent is about the Journey. We get the meaning as we go; it doesn’t just suddenly turn on like a string of lights on December 25.
As we travel this journey of Advent, things are a bit crisper this time of year. There are many wonders. Amidst the hustle and bustle in our preparations,
- the music seems to speak louder to us…
- the lights shine brighter and more beautiful…
- the meals taste better…
- the gatherings are more festive and enjoyable…
- and people do seem genuinely kinder…
Receiving a card in the mail or a special gift carries an important meaning. Even our loved ones who have departed seem to be “closer” to us in a marvelous wonder-filled way.
More Wonder-Filled than Parties and Parades…
Yet beyond all of these wonderful wonder-filled preparations, it is the amazing reality that God has broken into our world in the flesh! Christianity presents a God who saw His beloved creatures living in darkness, striving to restore our broken relationship with no success, so God decided to become human and shed light on the path to have that relationship restored.
As we walk along the journey of Advent, this reality (even more than the lights and parties) fills us with the Wonder of the season.
George Beverly Shea was a man who used to sing with Billy Graham and his revival services. He wrote a hymn that says:
There’s the wonder of sunset at evening, the wonder as sunrise I see.
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves me.
There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest: the sky, the stars, the sun.
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is a wonder that’s only begun.
O the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me!
The real wonder that we discover along the journey of Advent is that God loves us so much He would come to earth for us. THAT is what the preparation is about, that is the destination of the Advent journey. The journey leads us to 
a humble stable filled with light and to God who is born as a baby and ironically allows Himself to become dependent upon the very creatures He created.
Christmas is so marvelous, so indescribable, so wonderful that it finds its expression in decorations, lights, festive events, different worship services and in fellowship activities. Even in community parades. Do we feel the Wonder that God gives us and express it in all of our activity during this “most wonderful time of the year”???
The Wonder of Christ…
Christmas gifts; both the desire to receive and to give, drive much of our activity during the Advent season. But to see God and experience the WONDER of Christmas, we need to focus on the Gifts that come from God. How do we embrace the wonder that God “left the splendor of Heaven, knowing His destiny” (“If that Isn’t Love”- a song by Dottie Rambo in 1969)?
All quotations:
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Wonder: He came into the world born of a young virgin…
Wonder: He was fully human…
Wonder: He was fully God, but emptied Himself of all but Love…
The Wonder of Gifts…
As we journey through Advent, “jinglebelling and everyone telling us be of good cheer,” preparing for our own Christmas celebrations, let’s be preparing by focusing on the wonder of the season because of Jesus Christ.
Roy L. Smith, a Lutheran pastor wrote:
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
Are you looking for the Wonder of Christmas in the Wonder of Christ? Advent is a time to prepare to make Christ a Presence among the Presents.
One of the most amazing verses in the Bible is also one of the most familiar…
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The most amazing thing about that verse boils down to two words: He Gave. God Gave. God Gave to us! Not only that, He keeps on giving. He keeps on forgiving.
Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving!
And- we give because God keeps giving:
1 John 4:10
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Giving is a wonder-filled act of love, if we imitate our God and Savior when we give gifts.
But after the Christmas festivities were over, she found the checks in her desk! Everyone had got a Christmas card from her with “Buy your own present” written inside but without the checks!
Jesus didn’t forget to include the check! Our Wonder-filled Savior keeps writing new checks each time we need His grace and forgiveness. When we look towards the Wonder of Christ and become more like Him, we experience the truth from Acts 20:35 that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
We do like to receive gifts… even if the gift is only “the thought that counts…” But Jesus’ gifts are unlimited. He knows what we really need. And His gift list has no limits. We might only buy gifts for our immediate family and closest friends, but God’s gifts are available to Everyone. Nobody is left off His gift list.
This Christmas, look to God and be filled with the wonder of His gifts…
Spring flowers, Autumn leaves and winter snowfall don’t happen without Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us that…
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Be filled with the wonder of God’s creation.
But be filled with the wonder of His greatest gift: God came to this earth in the form of a baby in a cradle so that we could live a restored and vibrant life with God.
Jesus is full of Wonder…
Jesus Has a Wonder-filled Heart…
Jesus said in John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. God’s love through Jesus is unmerited… we don’t and we can’t earn it. It’s unselfish, and it’s unending. We can’t do anything to make God stop loving us! There’s nothing you can do to make Him love you more! (check out the song, “So You Would Come”).
Our Fathers House Christmas program, 12/11/13
The performance was going smoothly until suddenly, she did it… a small quiet girl in the front row holding the letter “M” upside down- totally unaware that her letter “M” appeared as a “W.”
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A huch came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, all understood the reason they were there, why they celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for this program.
For when the last letter was held high, the message shouted out loud and clear: Christ Was Love”
And He STILL IS love!!! And that’s part of the Wonder… that in the chaos and busyness of the journey, what fuels our vehicles for the journey is that gift hat Christ IS Love. This is the true essence of the journey. God steps into our worlds, breaks up our plans, turns our world upside down, and changes our “M”s into “W”s
Jesus Has Wonder-filled Hands…
Jesus invited Peter out on this aquatic adventure, but soon Peter begins to sink into the angry waves;. The Bible picks up the rest of the story… (Matt 14:29-31)…
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Oh those beautiful hands of Jesus! The song, “Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands” by Margaret Cropper captures this truth…
“Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all, healing pain and sickness, blessing children small, washing tired feet and saving those who fall. Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all.
Take my hands Lord Jesus, let them work for you; Make them strong and gentle, kind in all I do. let me watch you Jesus, till I’m gentle too, till my hands are kind hands, quick to work for you.”
Those Wonder-Filled Hands that ____________________________
These wonderful… Wonder-Filled… hands waved at the ascension; not saying “Goodbye” but “see you later!” Then those wonder-filled hands pointed and said, “until then, go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.” and “I go to prepare a place for you with these hands!”
These same hands will receive us home someday!
Oh, it is the most wonderful time of the year as we remember that we’ve got every reason n the world to rejoice in the wonderful hands of Jesus! Isaiah 49:16 tells us that OUR names are graven on those wonder-filled hands…
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
John 10-28-29 tells us that “no man can pluck us from” Jesus’ wonder-filled hands. Advent is a reminder that when we arrive at the manger, when we look into God as He is wrapped in swaddling cloths in a manger, we are invited to “Put your hand in the hand of the Man who stilled the waters!” (the Donny Hathaway song from 1971).
Advent: Let Jesus fill it with Wonder!
The letter said…
Dear friend, I am 13 years old and you must think I’m weird for writing a letter to Jesus when everyone knows it wouldn’t get anywhere. But I wanted to give you a message.
Every Christmas, all people think about is getting presents. But that’s not the reason at all. I think Christmas means getting all your friends together and having a good time because Jesus is born, and that’s just the beginning of all the beautiful things He did for us. By being born He let love into the world…”
That 8th grader got it! She understood the wonder of the season.
Jesus came to “let love into the world.”
As we sing the carols of the season and reflect once more on the birth of our Savior,, let’s be sure to kneel before the manger and let the love of God just saturate us. May we embrace it as the marvelous gift that it truly is. May we feel th sense of awe, of wonder that the shepherds of old experienced when the angel announced that the Messiah had been born (Luke 2:8-20).
This Wonderful Wonder-Filled gift can make all the difference in our lives today and for eternity.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
It really IS the most wonderful time of the year! We have a God who loves us, cares for us, forgives us, and transforms us into the people He made us to be.
Keep looking for the Gift. Jesus already paid for it! He wants to give it to you!
Let the Wonder of Christmas and the power of all that Jesus offers transform you into a gift bearer.
Quiz Time!
As you reflect on what you’ve just heard/read, give this quiz a try. If you don’t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the “correct” answer, post a comment)…
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