Second Sunday in Advent At-Home Service for Dec 6
For this Second Sunday in Advent, we will focus on Words of Comfort.
Our comfort comes from the glory of the LORD revealed to us through Jesus. He is our Good Shepherd, feeding, gathering, carrying, and leading (Isaiah 40:11) us through the communal actions he has commanded us to observe. Chief among these is the Holy Communion, recalling the Last Supper and Crucifixion of Jesus. We believe that historical event points beyond itself, gathering us into the future promised through the resurrection of Jesus.
Follow along with the Second Sunday in Advent at-home Sunday Service for December 6.
Click here on the image below to view the at-home version of the service.
Pastor Rike’s Sermon
The LORD, God commanded the prophet to speak, even to cry or shout. In response, Isaiah asked, “What shall I cry?” (Isaiah 40:6) He was in a situation none of us ever wants. It was the kind of situation in which your hearts go out to someone, but you don’t seem to have the right words. All you can say are clichés. Not even the best or most thoughtful comments can fix the wrong. No matter how much you may wish to comfort that other person, you cannot make the problems disappear.
The prophet Isaiah captured this apparent sense of futility in the face of another’s hardship.
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:6-7)
That passage from Isaiah also contrasted our human reasoning and abilities with those of God:
“The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
By himself, the prophet, Isaiah, was powerless, but the Word of God bound the prophet to a group beyond himself. The Word of God joined Isaiah to a history and a future that was greater and mightier than what he would have had on his own.
Click here to read Pastor Rike’s entire sermon.
Video Options
Follow along with the service on video led by Pastor David Rike with music performed by Randy Broker
Click on the image below to view the video.
