Don't Get Caught in a Trap!

                           1^st Sunday of Advent!

 (1)  Focus statement:

 This sermon focuses on Jesus' warning to be on guard so we will be ready and so that day won't catch us unexpectedly, like a trap, when he comes in the clouds with power and great glory.

 

(2)  Function statement:

This sermon will challenge the congregation to prepare for Christ's second coming by committing to a more consistent prayer life and Bible study.

 

Introduction:

What is Advent?  Watch this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_lah83UY0&index=2&list=PLpeHYvMPWtf0GRTSYWD9-MUcZjoXVYS3-

 

     Advent is a time of waiting, hope, and expectation for the celebration of his first coming, Christmas, and for His coming again.  The colors are purple or blue (the video said blue but purple is also appropriate).  Purple reminds us of the getting ready nature of Advent.  During Advent this year, the first two Sundays will be about getting ready for His second coming, the third Sunday we will look at the theme of no room in the inn and think of the implications of that as get ready to celebrate Christ’s birth, and the fourth Sunday we will devote to how to Celebrate Christmas since that will be the day before Christmas, so with that in mind, let us pray.

 

Prayer

Luke 21:25-36

1st Movement

When I was young, we didn't go fishing very much because we lived in St. Louis and only went when we were on vacation.  We were not very professional at it.  We didn't use lures and things like that.  We were always getting our strings hung up in tree limbs and all; we being my brother, my sister, and myself.  Yes, sometimes the tree limbs were still hanging from the trees.  My dad had grown up doing some fishing and pretty well knew what he was doing, so he spent most of his time trying to salvage sinkers and floats from the trees, getting our fishing poles ready, and every once in a while taking a fish off of our lines while my mom, my brother and sister, and myself fished.  I have fond memories of these family outings even though we didn't always know what we were doing. 

 

We usually used worms or minnows for bait.  We were instructed to thread the hook up through the worm so that the hook could not be seen.  I can remember trying different things to make the bait appealing so that the fish would bite.  Sometimes the fish would very cautiously nibble on the bait and you could see the float bob up and down very little.  You would wait for the fish to finally go for it, but after some time, you would take the line up to find the worm either stripped completely off of the hook or everything gone down to the part of the worm that contained the hook.  The fish or sometimes a turtle had gotten away with a free meal.  Other times, you put the line in the water and all of a sudden your float goes under.  You jerk the line and reel the fish in.  This one did not get away; it fell for the patiently set trap.  The fish thought this was just another worm floating by and was caught unexpectedly by a hook in the mouth.

 

2nd Movement

Jesus cautions us to "Be on guard" so we aren't caught "unexpectedly, like a trap."  He has just been asked by his disciples in the earlier part of this chapter, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"  What we have here is part of his answer to their question.  By the time of Luke’s writing, the signs that he gives them have all taken place except His coming in the clouds!  That is the point!  It could be anytime!  He uses the fig tree as an example; when we see the trees sprout leaves we know summer is near.  The signs of his coming are here, so his coming is near!  Like the fish that is caught unexpectedly by a hook in a would-be meal floating by, we do not want to be caught unexpectedly by Christ's second coming.  We need to be ready.

 

3rd Movement

To be ready for his coming, we need to first receive what Christ has already done for us to make us right with God.  Accept Christ!  You can do that at the end of this service as we encounter Christ at the table or talk to me afterward, but make your commitment to Christ; that is the first thing we can do to be ready!  Also, as we're entering into this season of Advent, for all of us, let's try to establish some habits that will help us be prepared for Christ's second coming.  There are a couple things that we can do to help us do that.  We can set aside a time each day for Bible reading.  It is in the Bible that we can see God's revelation of himself in Christ.  We can know who God is!  We can learn the love of God.  We can see how God would have us to live out that love in our lives.  We can begin to grasp the “Hope” that we really do have in Christ to make a difference in our world.  I would suggest reading one of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.  If you read a chapter a day, you could probably complete one of these during Advent.  Secondly, we can get serious about and establish a better prayer life.  We can be sure to set aside time to pray each day, really pray.  When we pray, it should be a two way conversation.  Many times we just tell God what we want and say Amen.  Let's not forget to give God time to speak to our hearts. To help you to remember to do these things, you could make a home Advent Candle; take a long candle and mark it for every day between now and Christmas (either with a marker or notch it with a knife).  Each day, when you do these read and pray, burn the candle down to the next line.  You could do this as a family for family devotions or individually.  When we do these things, we won't be caught unexpected by Christ's second coming because we will be prepared.  Thanks be to God!  Amen!