Sermons from December 2021
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel | Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:78 (Christmas Eve Homily)
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. I tried to lead our college and young adults group to sing this song last weekend, and while the words were beautiful, my rendition was pretty awful. Part of the reason for that is because there’s a bunch of different verses, and I wasn’t always sure which one to sing.…
Isaiah 66:7-13 Zion’s Birth Story (Labor & Delivery Sermon)
Monica Romig shared the following message at Gordon-Conwell’s chapel service on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 (video link) from Isaiah 66:7-13. She talks about the biblical imagery of labor and delivery to describe how God is going to deliver and redeem his people. Enjoy the message. Since shops are already putting up Christmas lights and radio stations are playing Christmas music I thought it would be appropriate to consider this morning one of the prophetic birth passages of Isaiah. 7 “Before she…
Awkward Christmas | Matthew 1:18-25 (Shameful Christmas)
One of the annual traditions of the town I grew up in was to host a day-after-Thanksgiving Day parade, which was really a Christmas parade. Now they call it the “Catch the Glow” parade. There were lots of rides and floats, people marching, colorful Christmas decorations. But every year, at the end of the parade, Santa and his reindeer came parading down the main street. It was Santa, and presents, on a slay, on a semi, with fake reindeer. Rudolf…
A Message of Hope | Isaiah 40:1-5
Ethan Wormell was born and raised in Massachusetts. He is married to Catherine and has a son named Henry. He served for five and a half years in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a graduate of Westminster Seminary in California. He is pursuing pastoral ministry and church revitalization in New England. Please enjoy his Christmas message from Isaiah 40:1-5. A Message of Hope | Isaiah 40:1-5 At Christmas time we often reflect on the birth of Christ and the…
Part 10. A Flourishing Future | Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5
I grew up in a mountain town in Colorado called Estes Park. Estes is famous for being the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the tallest mountains in Colorado is right outside of town, a 14-thousand-footer named Long’s Peak(14,259 feet). But growing up in Estes, I never climbed Long’s Peak. We heard all the horror stories of people falling, getting stuck, and dying, and I didn’t want to risk it. And then I moved away to sea-level and…