Uncertainty. That word can fill us with anxiety. You may be going through a rough time and wonder what's going to happen to you. You've been in waiting mode for what seems like forever. Will this waiting ever come to an end? We're on the cusp of a new year. What's going to happen in 2024? No one knows what's going to happen in the future, but uncertainty gives us another chance to trust in God and renew our commitment to Him. He is our Father who is familiar with us and knows what we need before we even ask it.
This Sunday, New Year's Eve, we will look at the opportunity of uncertainty and see what God tells us about trusting Him when we can't see around the corner.
Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, but do we know what that means for us? Is that how we actually worship Jesus? King of kings and Lord of lords is a title for Jesus that highlights his power and might over everything, especially in his final victory over every powerful enemy of the kingdom of God. In this Advent season of anticipation, may our hearts be kindled with eager expectation for the coming King of kings and Lord of lords!
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This is what Isaiah prophesied Jesus would be, and it is all true. Sometimes, though, even as we call Jesus our Prince of Peace, our lives (or world!) don’t’ look like a kingdom of peace. What kind of peace does Jesus bring, and how can we experience it?
This week we continue our Advent worship theme of the names of Jesus with Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The crowd around Jesus understood shepherds – good and bad – and they would have a good picture of what Jesus meant when he called himself the Good Shepherd. Even more, Jesus’ shepherd imagery evokes images of God’s promises through the prophet Ezekiel: that one day God himself would search for and look after his scattered sheep. Jesus is Immanuel – God with us to shepherd us and save us by laying down his own life for us.
Who is Jesus? This morning we hear him say, “I AM the Light of the World.” From God’s first words of creation (“Let there be light”) to God’s provision and protection in the wilderness wanderings (as “a pillar of fire to give them light”) to God’s promise of a Messiah through the prophet Isaiah (“I will make you… a light for the Gentiles”), God’s light shines as a true life-giving gift. Jesus is the fulfillment of every one of God’s promises that shines away the haunting and binding darkness of our lives. “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”