First Sunday of Advent 2012

 My three favorite Christmas carol books

I posted this a couple years ago, but the message is still true, and I wanted to share it with those who may not have seen it then.

Once again, it's Advent - the weeks before Christmas in which we take time to remember  what Christmas is really all about - the birth of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the promise of a Redeemer.

"...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'" - Matthew 1:20-21


From Ligioner.org:

"Matthew Henry comments that Jesus saves His people “from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the dominion of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from wrath and the curse, and all misery here and hereafter.” We often focus on the role of Jesus’ death in saving us from guilt, but let us never forget that He also died so that by His Spirit we might be empowered to live in a manner that pleases Him."

Besides daily Scripture reading, one of my favorite parts of Advent is the singing of carols.  One of those I've learned in the past few years is 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree,' which seems like an odd title...until you're read the lyrics.

So, I'm posting the lyrics first, then the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, singing the carol.

 Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

Vintage Advent Wreath

 Vintage Advent Wreath

I found this vintage angel food cake pan at a thrift store and decided it would be perfect for this year's Advent wreath.

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Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. So what is Advent?

It is not likely to be found at Walmart or Macy's, nor is it confined to Cyber Monday. The word 'advent' means the arrival of a special person or event. Advent, as it refers to the Christian calendar, means the four weeks before Christmas when we set aside a time to focus on the promise, given so long ago, of a Redeemer (a special person!) who would come to rescue His people (a special event!)

December 2 - The First Candle: The Candle of Promise

December 9 - The Second Candle: God's Unspeakable Love

December 16 - The Third Candle: Awe and Wonder at God Incarnate

December 23 - The Fourth Candle: The JOY that is ours in Jesus Christ

December 24 - The Middle Candle: The candle we light on Christmas Eve - The Candle of Faith

From DesiringGod.org. John Piper:

"Isaiah 11:10: “And again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.’” Jesse was King David’s father. And David was the greatest king of Israel, so that the Messiah that Israel hoped for was often called “the son of David”—he would be one like David, only greater than David.

You recall how Jesus used this mystery to point toward his own divinity. In Matthew 22:42-45 he asked the Pharisees, “‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David’ [in other words, the root of Jesse].  He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, in the Spirit [that is, inspired by the Spirit in writing Psalm 110:1], calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord [God the Father] said to my Lord [the Messiah], Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?  If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?’” And no one answered him a word.
 
The point was: Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, the root of Jesse, but oh, so much more than the mere Son of David! Do you recall how the book of Romans begins? “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,  which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,  concerning his Son [that is, the Son of God], who was descended from David according to the flesh.”

So there it is again. Jesus is God’s Son and he is also David’s son. And that’s what Paul means when he refers to Jesus as the “root of Jesse.”

“In him”—in this Son of God and Son of David, verse 12 says—“will the Gentiles hope.” So our first answer to the question, “Hope in what?” is hope in Jesus Christ. The emphasis falls on Christ as the ground of all our hope.

Bank your hope on him. Not yourself, not your intelligence, not your health, not your money, not your job, not your reputation. None of these can sustain your hope. They can collapse in a moment. God means for our hope to be firm and unshakable and so he put underneath it his own Son. In him will the Gentiles hope..." READ MORE...

Isaiah 9:6,7:

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.

***

Luke 1:26-35:

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! 

The Lord is with you.'

 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'

'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?'

 The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'

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O Come, O Come Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! 

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!



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