Light in the Darkness: A Series for Advent Part One – Darkness

Darkness, to our sight, corresponds to silence, in our hearing. It is the absence of any stimulus to inform, direct or encourage us.

But darkness also entails a moral component. Darkness, by its very nature, spreads a covering over sin (see John 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:35, 46; Eph. 5:11-14).

Discussion

A Key for Christmas

A sermon preached at Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville, SC in 2016.

Isaiah 22, Revelation 3:7-13

Imagine with me that on Christmas morning, one of the gifts you receive is a small box. You hold it in your hands, and it isn’t very heavy. You shake it and it rattles a little. You know that good gifts come in small packages, so you tear off the paper with anticipation. Inside you find a key. Would you be excited?

Discussion

He Came So We Could Be Like Him

Body

“Christ rescues us from our ability to only see our own culture and moment, and pulls us into a new metaphysical reality….Instead of crafting a Christ exactly like me, the Incarnation makes a way for us to become like Him.” - Mere Orthodoxy

Discussion

Going My Way: An Enduring True Fairy Tale

Body

Going My Way in 1944 summed up America at its most endearing. It was accordingly a blockbuster, the biggest hit of that year, and then the year after it became the big Oscar winner, nabbing the seven major awards out of 10 nominations” - Acton

Discussion

How Zechariah’s Benedictus brings comfort during Christmas

Body

“even in the midst of a blessed occasion for his family, Zechariah’s first words are about the Rescuer who has come as a horn of salvation for us (Luke 1:69); a Redeemer who is a Dayspring from on high that shatters the darkness (vs. 78-79). The whole Benedictus is vivid and moving.” - Brent Leatherwood

Discussion

I Will Come Again

This week, the Western world pauses to remember the birth of the One who divided time, and all of history, by His first coming—our Savior and the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ.

As we stop and worship this baby in Bethlehem’s manger once again, let us remember that He, eternal God, came to Earth to become a man, to die for our sins and to rise again. The events of Christmas were an essential step in that process but, of course, they do not tell the full story.

Discussion

Why December 25 for Christmas?

Body

“the date seems already to have been in place by the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century, at a time when Christians were being persecuted, which renders the suggestion of cultural borrowing far less likely.” - Kenneth Berding

Discussion