Looking Ahead (December 2024 at First OPC)
Christmas sermons, thoughts for the year ahead, and an invitation to our Christmas Eve service.
All of a sudden, it is Christmas-time! Besides being a fun time of year, Christmas is a fitting time to give our attention to the grand themes of the Christian faith.
J.I. Packer wrote:
The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man — that the second person of the Godhead became the 'second man' (1 Cor. 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that He took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as He was human. ... It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of Christian revelation lie.
We are seeking to plumb some of these depths over the next few weeks. During December, I (Pastor Calvin) am preaching on the titles of Christ in Isaiah 9:6, "Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." It is wonderful to contemplate Christ's glory from the perspective of the Old Testament prophets, who were looking ahead to his coming.
Pastor Nathaniel's sermons will provide another perspective by focusing on characters in Luke's nativity account: Elisabeth, Caesar Augustus, the shepherds, Simeon, and John. For most of these people, the great thing about Christ's birth was that the ancient prophecies had been fulfilled. God's promises were coming true before their very eyes. Instead of looking ahead to Christ's coming, they could just look.
Looking ahead is still part of the Christian life, though. Most importantly, we are still looking ahead to Christ's second coming, and in this we have much to learn from the prophets who provide an example of faithfully waiting for God's salvation to arrive. More simply, we must look ahead to the days still ahead of us in our earthly pilgrimage. None of us know what is contained in the days and years ahead, but we are called to walk by faith, looking always to Jesus.
That is another great thing about this time of year. With the close of one year, we naturally start turning our minds to the year ahead. You may have begun thinking about your financial plan, your vacation plan, and your exercise plan, but have you considered any spiritual plans for the year ahead? Here is a simple list of questions to help you start:
- How much of the Bible will you read next year?
- How will you spend the 52 Sundays next year?
- What will you do for family worship?
- How will you build or restore relationships with other Christians?
- Is there a book that you could read, to help you grow spiritually?
- Is there some way that you could serve at church?
- Are there any spiritual questions or problems that you could bring to your pastors or elders for prayer and counsel?
- Is there a younger Christian that you could mentor?
Looking ahead like this reminds us that we need the Holy Spirit's help to serve Christ faithfully until the day comes when we will not need to look ahead anymore.
One final note: you are invited to our Christmas Eve service, December 24 at 6pm. We will enjoy a selection of scripture readings and carols, and afterwards we will take our caroling to the whole neighborhood! It is always a grand time, and we would love for you to join us.