Sermon for the 1st Sunday in Advent | November 27, 2022

Advent is a short time, often thought of as little more than the freeway on-ramp to Christmas. But this is a somber season, and it's one worth observing on its own merits. The color of the season is blue, reminding us that our Lord will return to us just as he left us: from the sky. And we wait for his return because we need his return. He has died to take away the sins of the world. He rose from the dead to break the power of death once and for all. He ascended to the Father’s right hand to take his seat as the exalted Lord of Lords.‌ But things are still not okay here! The forces of evil still are active and working on earth. Satan remains the “prince of the power of the air.” Jesus must come again to secure final victory and to judge the living and the dead. Until he does, the Church stares into the darkness of this world — and the darkness yet within our own hearts — crying out “O Come, O Come, Immanuel!” The Old Testament text for Advent 1A is Isaiah 2:1-5, and here’s what we’re going to see: That the “mountain of the LORD” that Isaiah prophesied is the Church of Jesus; and just like Isaiah said, people are constantly drawn out of darkness into the light of the LORD through the Gospel.