In Philippians 2.5-8, Paul shows us that in his advent, Christ willingly subjected himself to humiliation. There are two ways the church has historically understood Christ’s advent as humiliation: 1) his incarnation and 2) his death.

We continue our Advent series by looking at Isaiah 11.1-1. Here we find that through Isaiah God promised Christ to reign on David’s throne and establish everlasting peace and righteousness on the earth for all the peoples. The best thing for us this advent is to know more of Christ and to make him known. Isaiah shows us that God’s promised Christ will be: 1) Davidic King, 2) Anointed King, 3) Righteous King, 4) Edenic King, and 5) Universal King.

This Sunday we look at 1 Thessalonians 5.1-11 as we continue our Advent series. This December we’re specifically thinking about the final or last advent. Just as the OT saints looked forward in anticipation of Christ’s first coming, the church should be looking forward to Christ second coming, and advent is a reminder that Jesus will come back for his church. In our text we find two ways that the church can prepare for the final advent: 1) we need to continue growing in spiritual discernment and 2) we need to continue growing in spiritual sobriety.

For the rest of December we’ll take a break to focus on Advent, specifically the second advent of Christ. Here in 1 Thessalonians 4.15-18, we consider three important aspects of the final advent: 1) the return of the king, 2) the resurrection of the dead, and 3) the reward of the saints. It’s the kuleana of every Christian to help others live in anticipation of this final advent.

In Luke 2.8-20, we see that the good news of Jesus’ arrival is a gospel of great joy. it’s meant to lead us to rejoicing that overflows into every area of our lives, including in our relationships with unbelievers. In this sermon there are two main ideas that we highlight: 1) Good News (8-12) and 2) Great Joy (13-20).

In Luke 2.1-7, Mike Komatsu helps us to see how the Sovereignty of the Father and the Humility of the Son are put on display through the birth of Christ Jesus.