Fort the next several weeks our message will be taken from a selection of sermon written by Pastor Matt Popovits. These messages will form the bases for the midweek theme and sermon during our Advent season. Here is a preview of your invitation to come home for Christmas here at St. Peter’s
The Longing for Home
Isaiah 11:1-10
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
Welcome to the busiest time of the year. In the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, we are all over the place. We spend long hours at work. We have the obligatory parties, school performances, Advent services at church, and a terribly long list of errands to run. In the run-up to Christmas, we are bouncing here, there, and everywhere, spending time far from the one place we long to be. And where is it that we want to be at Christmas? You know the answer: home. We all just want to be home at Christmas, with no agenda other than enjoyment, dwelling with the people we love the most in the place that brings us peace.
The Promise of Home
And this is what makes the true story of Christmas so amazing, so worthy of our attention. Christmas says that exile in our sin isn’t the end of the story. God is coming to bring you home. To him, you have been restored, with him, you have been reunited, and in him, you have rest. He brings us from our sin-earned exile and makes us to dwell with him. He is our home.
The God Who Leaves Home
Mary and Joseph were on a road trip for a census. And then it’s suddenly time for Jesus to be born, and they cannot find a house but are stuck with a stable. Their child is not simply a child chosen by God to rescue his people, but is the incarnate, enfleshed Son of God himself. He is coeternal with the Father, “very God of very God,” born as one of us to save us. Talk about far from home.
Redeeming Hurry
There’s no getting around the busyness of the holidays. You’re going to spend more time in the car than on the couch. That’s life. But there may be a way to redeem it. Maybe all that movement can be a reminder of what this season is about. May every ache for home remind you of the One who left his throne for you. May it remind you that this world—with its busyness—is not our home. But in Jesus, our true home is not far off. It’s come to us. And one day, soon, we will dwell in it fully and forever.