3rd Sunday in Advent - Rev. David Pileggi

The Season of Epiphany or of the Revelation of the Messiah begins with the Journey of the Magi, priests of the Zoroastrian faith from the Medo-Persian empire, who set out on a journey to find the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews. In this message Michael N. takes us on a journey through history, geography and the prophets, to a promised prophetic highway that will be a blessing on the Earth (Isaiah 19). It’s fulfillment is part of the good news of the Kingdom that brings Jews and Gentiles together in Messiah that has implications on how we live our lives in this present evil age as we long for HIs appearing.

This line from a popular Buffalo Springfield song sums up well the life of King Herod the Great. His insecurity and fear drove him to rule with a cruel hand, killing members of his own family and slaughtering the innocents in Bethlehem. This is not just First Century history; it is also a tale of our times. The worrisome rise of uncertainty and paranoia is causing many to look for scapegoats (anti-Semitism) and to demand an immediate fix for our problems. But it's the expanding rule and reign of King Jesus that is the best response to such recklessness, which, if left unchecked, will bring disaster upon us all.

In this Christmas Day message, Rev. Tom Burden, Director of CMJ Israel, talks about Luke 2:1-20 and how God reached down into the real world to live for us.

John the Baptist grew up hearing the promises of the Messiah foretold through the prophets. He also would have heard of his own miraculous birth—and that of Jesus. The prophecies regarding John were not all ancient, his parents knew prophecies and prophesied. John was also a prophet who bore witness to the Messiah and prepared the way for Him in the wilderness. But in a time of trial, faithful John was still confused and questioning what he knew to be true—not because he wasn’t faithful but because trials can be very difficult to go through. James tells us that we are to be patient in times of trials until the coming of the Lord. But God will come and judge. So we must prepare ourselves for His coming.

The season of Advent calls us to repentance, humility, and spiritual readiness and directs us to align our lives with God’s purposes even in these times of uncertainty and conflict. Biblical hope enables us to trust and remain faithful while looking forward to the fulfilment of God’s redemptive work in Jesus the Messiah.

Jesus teaches us to watch and prepare for His return. Yet that teaching is relevant for more than just the Last Days. It prepares us for the unexpected and helps us remain faithful in the face of disappointment, misfortune, or disaster. And it enables us not to miss the day of God's visitation.

Archbishop Foley Beach’s sermon “How to Persevere in Good Times and Bad” encourages believers to stay faithful and grounded in Christ no matter their circumstances. He teaches that perseverance is not based on whether life is easy or difficult, but on trusting God’s unchanging character, maintaining spiritual discipline, and guarding against both complacency in good times and despair in hard times. Ultimately, he calls listeners to anchor their hope and identity in Christ so they can remain steady, obedient, and spiritually resilient through every season.

When reading prophetic passages we often overlook that they have something to teach us today. Paul, when warning the Thessalonians not to be deceived about the Lord’s coming, highlights the need to love the truth and adhere to the tradition that he handed down to the church. This will also help us to stand firm in difficult times and enable us to resist the deception and lawlessness and in our midst.

The first chapter of Ephesians is one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament and has inspired uncountable sermons and commentaries. But if we overlook its Jewish context, we miss the full riches of what Paul is teaching about our identity in the Messiah of Israel.

The parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee may not be as simple and straightforward as it appears. One Jewish theologian has suggested that Jesus set a trap for his listeners in order to expose the ever present self-righteousness and hypocrisy of the human heart. But we just don't hear how shocking this story is unless we understand its social and historical context