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Sermons

Do Not Remain a Stranger to Jesus

December 12, 2021 Speaker: The Rev. B.E. Palmer Series: Advent - Awaiting Our King

Topic: Advent Passage: Luke 3:7–18

When Jesus came, it was into a world in just as big a mess as ours.  Yes, we’ve had a difficult couple of years, but the Jews in Jesus’ time had been living for decades with day-to-day tension.  They knew they needed help, and so they cried out to God, “What shall we do?” Various religious answers came, for instance, from Temple leaders who want you at worship, the scribes and Pharisees who want you to obey the Scriptures, the prophets who want you to change your hearts, John the Baptist who wants behavior that’s in keeping with repentance.

Of all these, the only one we can pull off on our own is to go to church.  And when we do, Advent 3 will remind us that Jesus is coming and why he is coming.  Do not remain a stranger to Jesus, become his friend.  This is the reason you were created. This is the reason that he comes.

When we befriend Jesus, he begins to win victories for God in us. People become different than they were before— they are like fruit that other people feast on—  their lives taste sweet to others, make other people’s lives better. They are not little Jesuses. They are themselves, uniquely created by God, and made their best selves through encountering Jesus, the living Lord, whose Advent sets his people free.

Take-it Home Question: Have you encountered people whose lives are like fruit, sweet to the taste; people whose presence seems to make your life better inside and out? Would you like to be this sort of fruitful person? Turn your wish into a prayer to God and see what he will do.