Saints of God, what day is this?
(Congregation) It is the Lord’s Day!
Why is it the Lord’s Day?
(Congregation) Because Christ rose from the dead on this day!
What kind of day is it?
(Congregation) It is a gift that is glorious and joyful!
This is advent or Christmas season: a time which, as we will see in the kids’ play this morning, we focus on the birth of Jesus. However, we must remembering that beginnings mean very little if there is no proper ending. There needs to be a fitting finish. This day is the Lord’s Day because God always finishes what He begins. It is the Lord’s day because Jesus, the baby born in the maternity barn; the one who shared his newborn moments with cattle and goats and smelly shepherds, because Jesus lived, obeyed perfectly His father, died on the cross conquering the dragon-Satan, and rose from the dead in three days. He is King and He will never surrender His title…world without end. This reality must flavor every fiber of our Christmas festivity and manger remembrance! We know the end from the beginning because the Author has let us in on this one…baby Jesus is now King! That old Serpent, Satan, has been defanged! We the Church are a new creation by the Holy Spirit; we are a new people from the seed of the woman who were rescued by that great dragon-slayer (namely, Jesus) and the gates of hell will not prevail against us! This is glorious, this is joyful and the best is yet to come!
Do we believe this? Rather, do we live, think, sing, pray, hope, give, and talk as though this is a reality? This should remind us of our need to confess our sins and look to Christ.
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