Category: Church Calendar

Isaiah 9:4-7

⁴ For You have broken the yoke of his burden

And the staff of his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

As in the day of Midian.

⁵ For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,

And garments rolled in blood,

Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

⁶ For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Ultimate Victory

What this child inaugurates in a seemingly small beginning will have within it potentialities of unbelievable growth. His rule and the peace He achieves will develop endlessly. By the time Isaiah appeared on the scene the great promise to David about the continuance of his line was very well known and accepted in Israel. Because of the permanent reign of this king, our joy too will be progressive, permanent, and perpetual. Continue reading “Twenty-Seventh Day of Advent”

Isaiah 9:1-3

¹ Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,

As when at first He lightly esteemed

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

And afterward more heavily oppressed her,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

² The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

³ You have multiplied the nation

And increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

The Government of the Promised Son

Though very difficult days were in the offing, the conclusion of chapter 8 indicates that the gloom might break. In particular, the one through whom this significant change is to come to pass is identified and described as a child. Verse one is a transition verse to what follows in the next six verses. The picture of total gloom which closed the preceding chapter gives way to a picture of brilliant light. The words of the Christmas carol, “O come, O come, Emmanuel,” were taken right from this text in Isaiah:

Continue reading “Twenty-Sixth Day of Advent”

HEBREWS 2:14-18

¹⁴Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Our reading for this Christmas Eve speaks of those who were subject to a lifetime of bondage. Who were these in bondage as slaves? All mankind—ever since the Fall of Adam—from the very beginning. And the Word of God, in every place, shows that this bondage is to sin—sin that leads to eternal death. The very thought of death causes fear, for death has great power over us; death is inevitable, it stalks every son of Adam, and every daughter of Eve. But what if there were a remedy for this deathly bondage? What if there was Someone Who could rescue us, Who could redeem us? The Hebrews writer declares that there is such a One! The Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is that One. He Whom the prophets foretold took on flesh and blood; He was made like us, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He came to this world of death to defeat death, by suffering death in our place. By His death, He destroyed Satan’s hold over us (our former slave-master), and now we are released into a glorious liberty. Continue reading “Twenty-Fifth Day of Advent”

ISAIAH 53:1-3

¹Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

³ He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

As we approach Christmas and the time of rejoicing at God’s presence with us in Jesus, it is important that we think about the plan of God revealed in Jesus. Our readings up to now have focused on the promise of the Messiah coming to save His people from their enemies. So, the anticipation of what God will do through the birth of Mary’s son has been growing. We may naturally think that the world will rejoice in this birth and that all that has been amiss in the world will be put right by this little baby boy.

But we see something very different revealed to us in the pages of Scripture and in the life and death of Jesus the Christ. He is set before us, even in the days prior to His birth, as someone who must suffer, be despised and die. This rubs us the wrong way at Christmas time. We want joy and laughter and feasting. And we must remember that Jesus does lead us to joy and laughter and feasting but the way there is through sorrow and tears and fasting. There is resurrection life in Jesus Christ but only after sacrificial death. We must look at the glorious birth of Jesus with the wretched cross in mind. And then, beyond that, to his even more glorious resurrection, in which all things will be put right.

He did, indeed, come to save the world but not on the world’s terms. He changed everything and since He did so, we too, must see life, this good and joyous life, in terms of the cross. In the Advent season, we see a dying world in need of a Savior and Jesus is that promised Messiah. Then Jesus is born to suffer and die Himself, revealing also the need for all men to die to sin and to live to righteousness.

When Isaiah asks, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” it is clear that he is thinking that few, if any, believed the report. But by God’s grace many did believe and from the despised man of sorrows, the victorious arm of the Lord is revealed.  Continue reading “Twenty Fourth Day of Advent”

LUKE 2:36-38

^36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ^37and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ^38And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

The Bible does not provide a moment by moment picture of the people of God. From the last prophecy of Malachi to the announcement of John’s birth to Zacharias, God had not spoken for four hundred years. But just as in the days of Elijah, God has, as He always does, preserved for Himself a remnant, a chosen few who remained faithful, and who longed for the coming of the kingdom. Continue reading “Twenty Third Day of Advent”

LUKE 2:33-35

³³And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Simeon was a devout man who had waited a long time for the Christ. Even though we expect this to be a moment of great joy and celebration, Simeon delivers a message of danger. He tells Jesus’ mother, Mary, that Jesus will be a tremendous troublemaker. Simeon knows his Old Testament. He knows that the prophets don’t promise a Christ as someone who gets along with everyone and never upsets the powerful. Simeon speaks of the “consolation” or comfort of Israel, and when Isaiah uses that language we see that the Christ is coming to “contend with him who contends with you” (Is. 49:25) and to “feed those who oppress you with their own flesh” (Is. 49:26). Continue reading “Twenty Second Day of Advent”

^25And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ^26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ^27So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ^28he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

²⁹ “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation
³¹ Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
During Jesus’ ministry, He was known to have picked up little children and hold them in His arms. He would hold them and bless them (Mark 9:36; 10:16). Jesus welcomed the little children (Mark 10:14) then and now, and this is wonderful. However, there was a time when Jesus Himself was a little child and someone scooped Him up in his arms and uttered a blessing (Luke 2:28). This man’s name was Simeon, and he is the man we just read about.  Continue reading “Twenty First Day of Advent”

LUKE 2:17–20
¹⁷Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Shepherds. Day and night, watching sheep, feeding sheep, protecting sheep, guiding sheep, and otherwise doing whatever else the care of sheep calls for. Not exactly what one would call a “glorious” job. This was just the case with the shepherds in the field at Bethlehem, as they “watched their flocks by night.” They did not hold high positions in the local city government. They were not religious leaders to whom people looked for theological answers or spiritual direction. They were not the intellectuals of the day, seeking to spearhead cultural change. Continue reading “Twentieth Day of Advent”

LUKE 2:15-16
¹⁵So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

The angels had gone, the heavenly singing was over, and now the shepherds had to decide what to do. It didn’t take them long. They had no doubts, for they were going to see “this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord made known to us,” but they desired to see for themselves nonetheless. It isn’t enough to hear about Jesus. Our religion teaches us that we must each come to Him ourselves. This we do as we join with one another each Lord’s Day and partake of His Word and sacrament with the same faith as the shepherds.  Continue reading “Nineteenth Day of Advent”

LUKE 2:11-14
¹¹ “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

The text we have just read is the famous announcement from the angel of Yahweh to the shepherds that the Savior has been born in the city of David. The city of David is Bethlehem, and Bethlehem is near where Jacob’s wife Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:19) as well as where Ruth returns with Naomi after God visits His people with bread (Ruth 1:6, 19). Both stories are about women in desperation, experiencing trials related to childbearing, facing death and famine. The angel announces that something wonderful has happened in the city of David, and it has to do with the birth of a child who is the Messiah. Continue reading “Eighteenth Day of Advent”