New Church Year Starts (Dec. 1, 2024)
ADVENT 2024
First S. in Advent Jer. 33:14–16; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 19:28–40 or Luke 21:25–36
Advent begins with an OT prophecy about God’s promise to send a Savior – which He did. God always keeps His Word, the Rock our life and hope is built on. Notice that the name, “the LORD IS our Righteousness” is what SHE will be called. “SHE” is referring to us, the body of believers, also known as the Bride of Christ (see Ephesians 5.25-27.
In Jeremiah 23.6, Jesus is also called “the LORD IS our Righteousness.” This is one of many ways that God assures us our future and hope; His name is our name and our union is everlasting.
1 Thessalonians reflects the way we keep looking back and forth between the first coming of Jesus and His second coming; last Sunday we heard about the second coming of Jesus on the last Sunday of the church year and today we remember His first coming on the first Sunday of the church year. The work and prayer of Christians is that our love for one another would abound as we keep in mind the love of Christ for us, who establishes our hearts blameless before God (see Ezekiel 36.24ff and 1 John 3.1ff).
Today there are 2 possible Gospel readings. The first is about Jesus coming to finish His redeeming work for us on Palm Sunday, the second is about Jesus finishing His redeeming work for everyone for all time at His second coming. All the lessons remind us that certainty about God’s Word to us is evident, indisputably, by the coming of Jesus in complete and detailed fulfillment of all the OT prophecies about Him; vast and immense details. The content of those prophecies is about how God saves us, from before creation, from start to finish. There are only 2 religions in the world; you save you or God saves you. So thankful this Thanksgiving weekend that God saves us!