“Your
wife Elizabeth will give you a son, and you are to name him John.” (Luke 1:13b)
If
your family had a big vacation coming up, a major out-of-town trip, you
wouldn’t just jump in the car and take off. First there would be planning. What
cities should we visit? How do we get from one to another? Let’s plan a route.
Once
we’ve arrived, whom do we plan to visit? We should let them know that we’re on
the way! What attractions do we want to see? Do we need to buy tickets? Do we
need hotel reservations?
Before
we can even think of leaving, we need to pack a suitcase. How long will we be
gone? Will it be warm or cold? What clothes should I bring?
Who’s
going to watch our house? Somebody should pick up the mail. Should we stop the
newspaper delivery?
2000
years ago, the Son of God was planning a major journey into our world, and God
wanted to prepare the way for the King of kings. John the Baptist was the
point-person for this preparation project.
John
had two key items on his agenda:
1.
“The kingdom of God is at hand.” Right here, right now! Let everyone know! No
longer would we have to look to heaven to find God; He would be walking among
us!
2.
“Repent and return to the Lord.” This has been a recurring theme throughout the
Bible. From the Garden of Eden until today, people have needed to get right
with God and change their lives; becoming radically transformed by the Holy
Spirit.
This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, which has the
same root as our word, “adventure.” That’s a good description of what we’ll be
celebrating this month – the Son of Man coming to redeem us! What an adventure!
Norton Lawellin
Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10:30am
in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave.,
Minneapolis. This Sunday, Dec. 08, Pastor Daisy continues with the story of
Jesus coming to our world, Luke 1:26-45. See you at church!
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