Our Advent song service urges us to anticipate the joy of Christmas. Anticipation. It’s a look forward to something. Some things we look forward to with excitement and happiness. Some things with dread. You see the emotions you attach to anticipation are directly tied to what the event you are waiting for means to you. For instance, not too long ago you may have anticipated your Thanksgiving feast and your emotions about that might have gotten greater and greater as the smells wafted through the house and you became hungrier. Music minded people anticipate the next concert they will attend or be a part of because of the happiness music brings to them. Sports minded people anticipate the next game because of the thrill of competition or what it will mean for their beloved team. Packer fans, joy. Viking fans, dread! How about Christians and Christmas. What’s your anticipation like? We know what the right answers should be. But we have an enemy, the Devil. He works very hard in each or our lives to keep our eyes off of Jesus. To keep us distracted and harried so Christmas is just something to get over. Our service today in word and extra songs from our choirs seeks to help you anticipate Christmas with joy. Let’s listen as our Ladies Choir gives us an overview of what we celebrate.


FOCUS ON THE NEED

One of the events of the past year that grabbed the world’s attention was the rescue of the Chilean miners. You can probably still remember the details. On August 5, 33 miners were trapped after a tunnel collapse. They were stuck 2300 feet underground. That’s almost 2 Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other. Can you imagine what they felt like when they realized their predicament? Stuck in the darkness. Limited food. Nothing they could do to save themselves. What do you think was on their minds? “We are doomed. Well there’s still time left. Shall we wait it out?” Their only hope was rescue. How do you think they felt when that first borehole reached them? The one used to communicate and send supplies? Hopeful. Joyful. They needed to be rescued and now there was hope.
Now the thought of being trapped underground or underwater just gives me the creeps. If I even try to imagine it terror is not far behind. But there is a worse darkness that you and I need to be rescued from. Jesus alluded to it in His parable of the talents when He said, Matthew 25:30 (NIV) “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That’s one description of Hell. Here’s some more. First from Isaiah 66:24 (NIV) “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Now from Luke 16:22-24 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” Hell is not a pretty place. It is where God is not. And where God is not there is no joy, no hope, no good. Only pain, despair and torment. And I belong there. So do you. We have sinned against our Creator. We have done, said, thought wrong things. But God sent a borehole down to us. It came in the form of the promise of a Savior. Rescue was on the way. To help you anticipate the joy of Christmas, focus on your need for a Savior. Our Mixed Choir sings of just that with their anthem “God, My Savior.”


FOCUS ON THE VIP

For some people seeing a celebrity provides the highlight of the year. They will wait for hours to catch a glimpse of a singer, an actor or actress, a sports star or a world leader. When they get that glimpse they are filled with joy. They saw a VIP. For the Chilean miners the VIP wasn’t a person at all. It was Phoenix 1, the rescue capsule. If you have seen pictures of it, it really doesn’t look very special at all. Kind of looks like something you might find on a cheap carnival ride. But when the Chilean miners saw that capsule they were filled with joy. It meant a safe ride to the surface. It meant rescue. Eventually they would each get their turn and they would be rescued from the darkness. Things were looking up!
From all reports people were not really impressed by the sight of Jesus. We’re told He looked very ordinary. There were no throngs of people waiting in line for a glimpse of Him when He was born. But we know better. We know who He is, the VIP! We are reminded of Jesus’ special nature in Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” At Christmas we get to celebrate the fact that God came to be with us. He may have looked like an ordinary human being but He wasn’t. In Hebrews 1:3 we are told that Jesus…”is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” By focusing on Jesus, who He is, what He has done, we see the very nature of God. More than that. He’s our ride out of the darkness. By taking on human flesh He made it so He could cover us with His righteousness and take us safely to our heavenly home. To help you anticipate the joy of Christmas focus on the VIP. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Our Mixed Choir helps us do just that as they sing “Carol for Advent.”


FOCUS ON WHAT IS COMING

You are 2300 feet underground. You have lived the rollercoaster of realizing you were trapped with no way out to resigning yourself to your fate to hearing the drill come closer and closer to seeing the camera pop through the borehole to the first time the Phoenix 1 capsule came through. How are you feeling now? Excited or do you focus on all the things that could possibly yet go wrong. Now if you kind of felt yourself drawn to the latter it may be because you are pessimistic by nature. Or perhaps in your realism you recognize that when sinful people are involved there is always a chance for something to go wrong.
Not so with Christmas. The doer is God Himself. He cannot fail. His plans do not go wrong. God’s desire is to save us all. He does not save us from every earthly problem or trial, pain or disease. He does not save us from death. He saves us from sin and for heaven. So that you can anticipate the joy of what Christmas means focus on what is yet to come. That time when God will dwell with us and we with Him. God let the Apostle John see a glimpse what that is going to be like. He tells us about it in Revelation 21:1-5. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Our Ladies Choir will now sing “Chill of the Nightfall”

FOCUS ON PREPARATION

68 days. That’s how long it was from the time the tunnel collapsed until the first miner saw the surface. 68 days. Two months and a week. By most standards that is not a long time. How long do you think it felt? Darkness. Confinement. The stress. The concern that you or somebody else could snap and then what do you do? Quite soon after contact was made with the trapped miners a plan was put in place to keep them healthy and sane. High quality and nutritious food was sent down for them to eat. Exercise programs were put in place. Each was given a job to do that was important for the welfare of all. A purpose. It kept them prepared for when the time would come.
On a grander scale our great God has done something for us so that we don’t lose it as we wait for Him to take us home, as we wait for Jesus to come the second time. He’s provided us with high quality and nutritious faith build food. His Word. Are you using it daily? He’s given us an exercise program with jobs to do that are important for the welfare of all and keep us prepared. Paul describes them to us when he wrote to Titus.

Titus 2:11-14 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

68 days from doom to rescue for the miners. How many from the fall in the Garden of Eden until Jesus was born? We honestly don’t know. How many from Jesus’ Ascension until He returns? We do not know. How many until He comes for you personally before He returns? We don’t know. We do know what to do while we wait for the glorious appearing. Focus on the preparation. Say no to ungodliness, worldly passions like drunkenness and nastiness. Refuse to stoop to the wicked ways many people treat others. Jesus redeemed us from that. Live those controlled godly lives. Serve with joy and show others that Jesus did redeem a people that are eager to do good. Last week Pastor Mattek told us about a man who understood Christmas for the first time, a man who was so chomping at the bit he couldn’t wait for the pastor’s announcements to be done so he walked out during just to do something nice. How many years have you known what it’s all about? You can stay for all the announcements. But in thankfulness and joy let’s leave here to do something nice! Hymn #5 summarizes what we’ve talked about today. Let’s sing it together.