Advent and Christmas thoughts.

 We wish you a merry Christmas! All right, I know that it isn't Christmas yet, but I do like singing Christmas songs. Joy to the world. Silent Night. The Twelve Days of Christmas. Deck the Halls. It doesn't matter to me. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. I always wondered how they knew that the angel's name was Harold, but it must have been so since we sing it each year. (Go ahead and groan, that was a bad pastor joke.) Singing is a part of Christmas. 

It is part of the Advent season as well. There are many great Advent songs. Hark the Glad Sound, the Savior Comes. On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry. Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates. That one is one of my favorites. Why? I can remember learning it while at the Lutheran School Association in Decatur, IL. I was in 5th grade or perhaps 6th grade (memory fails me) and we learned that song to sing it in chapel at school. I can remember going into St. Paul's Lutheran Church, there at LSA, and practicing that song. It was a memory that I carry. Singing that song in that huge church, it reverberated throughout the building. When I sing that song today, I still think about how that sounded in that church. Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates. The King of Glory is coming! Hurrah! Advent songs are great. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. That is also a song I like to sing. I stand in the sanctuary at St. John Lutheran Church here in Clarinda, IA and sing that hymn. It sounds so good in that building. 

Advent and Christmas. What a wonderful season. I love the Christmas gospel. I love the prophecies that point us to that Christmas gospel. It amazes me when I see how the Lord had this all worked out. He spoke through the prophets, telling of what is going to happen when the Savior is born. The place - Bethlehem. Who - a virgin. When - at the just right time. So much. Pay attention to God's Word and you will see what God has said througout the centuries. 

Have you seen this Christmas star thing? Where Saturn and Jupiter will show up in the night sky, close together, something that happens every 800 years or so? People are saying it is the Christmas star. I disagree. The Christmas star happened once - at the time that Jesus was born. It is a star that God placed in the sky to guide the wisemen to Bethlehem to find the King of kings. Was it a couple stars or planets that came together inthe night sky? Nope. It was a star that God Himself used at that time for that special purpsoe. Why do I make this point? Because to say anything else, is to nullify or dismiss the miracle of God there at Jesus' birth. Having Saturn and Jupiter come together is really awesome to see, a neat night time event. I encourage you to make sure that you get out and see it. But remember, it isn't the Christmas star. The Christmas star was a special gift from God at the birth of His Son in Bethlehem.

John the Baptist, what an amazing man. Proclaiming the message that the Kingdom of God was at hand. He spoke God's Word, calling people to repentance. Yes, we need that message. Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Christ is coming again. We don't know when He will come. But it is going to happen. Knowing that, we should be proclaiming the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People need to hear that there is a Savior, One in whom they must believe in order to be saved. Each one of us needs to be the John the Baptist in our communties, proclaiming this message. No, I don't want to eat locust, though wild honey isn't all bad. Nor do I want to live in the wilderness or wear camel's hair clothes. But the message is the same. 

On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry...on the bank of your community, be the voice of one calling people to hear the message of the Gospel.