Christmas & Advent Messages

Grace Bible Church's Christmas and Advent series explores the profound mystery of the incarnation through the lens of those who first witnessed Christ's coming. These messages capture the wonder, joy, and transformative power of God entering our world as a baby in Bethlehem.

Advent: Preparing for Christ's Arrival

Hope Through Prophecy

The word Advent simply means "arrival" or "a coming," and at its core centers around preparing for the arrival of Jesus (HOPE // The Prophecy // Advent Week One, 0:08). Over 700 years before Jesus was born, God gave a prophecy to Isaiah: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emanuel" (HOPE // The Prophecy // Advent Week One, 0:22).

This prophecy reveals that God had the story written before He spoke light into the dark, setting the stage thousands of years ago with eager anticipation to send the hero into the story (HOPE // The Prophecy // Advent Week One, 0:37). The incarnation represents the turning point for all of human history - the moment when the infinite almighty God did something wildly unexpected, humbling Himself to fulfill His promise to save us not through a great militaristic campaign, but through a humble birth and life of servitude (HOPE // The Prophecy // Advent Week One, 0:50).

Peace in Humble Beginnings

The birthplace of the Messiah was considered small and insignificant in the tribe of Judah (PEACE // Bethlehem // Advent Week Two, 0:06). Many learned and scholarly people believed the Messiah would come as a military leader with great fanfare, clothed in royal robes (PEACE // Bethlehem // Advent Week Two, 0:21). Instead, within the lowliest place in this little town, the savior of the world was born in the company of farm animals, with the bleat of sheep as His fanfare and strips of cloth as His royal robes (PEACE // Bethlehem // Advent Week Two, 0:35).

God loves to flip the script and make the weak mighty. His first coming was in unfathomable humility, while His next coming will be in unfathomable power (PEACE // Bethlehem // Advent Week Two, 0:46).

Joy Through Angelic Proclamation

Angels served as God's messengers throughout scripture, bringing God's words and carrying out His commands (JOY // Angels // Advent Week Three, 0:08). On that quiet night outside of Bethlehem, one angel appeared to the shepherds saying, "Don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people" (JOY // Angels // Advent Week Three, 0:18).

Before the angel left, a whole army of angels appeared in the starry sky, making night look like day, proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest Heaven and peace on Earth to those with whom God is pleased" (JOY // Angels // Advent Week Three, 0:41). The host of Heaven joyfully pointed the shepherds to the Messiah - the long waiting was over (JOY // Angels // Advent Week Three, 0:55).

Love Through the Shepherds

It makes perfect sense that on the night of Christ's birth, God decided to first share the news of the good Shepherd's arrival with the shepherds nearby (LOVE // Shepherds // Advent Week Four, 0:05). After the dazzling revelation from the angels, the shepherds wasted no time leaving the fields and hurrying to Bethlehem (LOVE // Shepherds // Advent Week Four, 0:15).

They found the little ramshackle barn where a young man and woman were surrounded by animals, and there He was - the savior of the world wrapped in strips of cloth lying in a manger (LOVE // Shepherds // Advent Week Four, 0:21). The angels told the truth, the prophecies came true, and the shepherds left proclaiming the good news to everyone they could find (LOVE // Shepherds // Advent Week Four, 0:35).

The Light of Divine Incarnation

Christmas celebrates Emmanuel - God with us. God put on flesh and came to dwell among us (LIGHT // Divine Incarnation // Advent Christmas Eve, 0:09). In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it (LIGHT // Divine Incarnation // Advent Christmas Eve, 0:12).

He humbled Himself so that we might be saved, embracing destruction so that we might be restored. We were separated from our maker because we thought we knew better, but He endured what we deserved so that we might be a family again (LIGHT // Divine Incarnation // Advent Christmas Eve, 0:21).

We look back at His first coming in wonder that the greatest became the smallest, and we look forward to the second coming when our King comes back for His church in power (LIGHT // Divine Incarnation // Advent Christmas Eve, 0:38).

Celebrating Obscurity: Jesus's Counter-Cultural Birth

Eight hundred years before Jesus arrived, God promised through the prophet Micah that His son would be born in Bethlehem (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 0:26). This was remarkably specific - of all the cities in the world, Jesus would appear in this one little tiny town (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 0:43).

What makes Jesus unique is that He got to choose where He would be born. Unlike us, Jesus is the Son of God - eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 1:36). And He chose Bethlehem - a tiny town five miles south of Jerusalem, always overshadowed by the bigger city (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 1:53).

If ancient Rome was modern New York City, then Jerusalem was Bryan-College Station, and Bethlehem was Snook - a little one stoplight kind of town you blink and you miss (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 2:05). When Jesus chose where He would be born, He chose obscurity, insignificance - a tiny little forgettable, missable place (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 3:22).

Jesus came not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused and dirty. No silk, no ivory, no hype, no party, no hoopla (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 3:37).

Jesus's Unremarkable Body

The prophecy in Isaiah 53 describes how Jesus would appear when He came to earth. He would have "no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him" (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus chose an absolutely unremarkable body when He could have chosen to be extraordinarily handsome (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 8:53).

Remarkably, in the four Gospels - 3,779 verses written about Jesus's life - there is not a single description of Jesus's appearance (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 10:46). Jesus was not the kind of person who would be remembered at a high school reunion because he was completely unremarkable in appearance (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 10:25).

An Unpopular Life of Service

Jesus chose not just an unremarkable body, but an unpopular life. As Isaiah 53:3 describes, "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Jesus chose the form of a slave - the worst possible life to have to live (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 13:52). He chose the kind of life that no one would want to be around, resulting in being forsaken and abandoned by everyone (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 14:22).

A Selfless Death

Jesus's unpopular life made His selfless death possible. Isaiah 53:4-6 reveals that He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 17:49).

Jesus experienced being pierced literally - His hands pierced by nails, His side pierced by a spear. He was crushed, trampled, whipped, and slashed. Jesus experienced all of that pain and agony for us so that we could be set free from sin and death (Celebrating Obscurity by Blake Jennings, 19:02).

Responding Like the Shepherds

Movement: Prioritizing the Gospel

When the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us" (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 11:12). They dropped everything because this was not only a once-in-a-lifetime event, but a once-in-history event - the Son of God had been born within walking distance.

The gospel should change our priorities. These shepherds left their sheep, closed up shop, and said "we gotta go" because other things in their lives, while important and needing to be taken care of, should pale in comparison to the gospel that's our guiding light and lifeline (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 15:16).

When the shepherds heard that the Savior had arrived in their world to deliver them from suffering and death, they moved (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 15:07). The question for us is: what is moving you? What is your top priority? Are you moving towards vacation, gifts, activities, or plans - or are you moving towards the Lord? (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 15:50)

After seeing the baby, the shepherds made known what they had been told about this child (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 17:28). Immediately they began to share the message, the good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel changed their conversations (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 17:39).

Sharing the gospel should be an overflow of our personal excitement, just like a two-year-old excitedly telling her mom about bubbles (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 19:51). It shouldn't be a chore or responsibility or checkbox - we should be excited because the shepherds heard this good news and when they ran into people, they were like "hey oh my gosh I got to tell you about this thing" (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 20:12).

Wonder and Worship

The shepherds and others, even Christ's mother Mary herself, responded to the gospel with wonder and amazement. The Greek term being used describes being shaken with amazement, almost disturbed by what has happened (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 23:04).

The gospel should change our thoughts and focus, producing wonder in our lives. We need to remember that God is our good shepherd - and as sheep, we are defenseless, directionless, and have needs. Jesus Christ says "I'm here to meet those needs, to give you direction and strength, to guide you in the midst of this darkness and uncertainty" (Advent: The Shepherds by Jacob Smith, 9:31).

Responding Like the Shepherds (Extended)

1. Focus and Prioritize

When the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us" ([Christmas Sermon // Matt Morton, 9:29](https://youtube.com/watch?v=1cFXMvtaC-c&t=569