ADVENT – A TIME OF TRANSFORMATION
Advent Week One: Hope (The prophecy Candle) on Sunday, November 29th
From Prophecy to Fulfillment (Adapted from The Salvation Army in Canada’s Christmas resources)
As we begin Advent in these weeks leading up to Christmas, we have the opportunity to turn to Scripture and see how God fulfilled prophecy about Jesus’ birth that was first spoken through the prophet Isaiah in 700 B.C.
Isaiah 9:6-7 says: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
Reading from John 1:1‐3 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
When John wrote about “the word becoming flesh”, he was talking about Jesus, who is the human expression of God. To see Jesus is to see God, and to know Jesus is to experience God’s grace and truth. So, was Jesus’ birth a random event, just the birth of another baby boy? Of course, every birth is miraculous, and to be celebrated. Yet, Scripture tells us that Jesus’ birth was foretold centuries before it happened! Jesus’ life fulfilled prophecy and showed us God’s incredible faithfulness and trustworthiness. From our perspective in history, we see what Isaiah would not have lived long enough to see ‐ Jesus the Messiah was born! We can know without a doubt that no matter what is going on in our lives, that if we know God, and have believed in his Son, Jesus Christ, He can be trusted to do what He says.