Each year we celebrate the first Advent of Christ, and each year we marvel at His nativity. You can imagine what the three magi must have thought as they approached that humble setting. How could this be the king of the Jews—the Messiah that was promised of old? And yet, like the shepherds, they saw past the lowly manger and swaddling clothes only to recognize that this frail little infant was in fact God in the flesh, the King above every king who was more worthy of their most reverent worship. The Apostle John beheld an entirely different scene in Revelation 4-5. His experience involved the glories of heaven, the majestic throne, and the continuous praise from angelic beings fit for such a King. The baby that was born in the city of David was none other than the “Root of David,” the Lion of Judah, and the Overcomer of sin and death (5:5). However, in the very next verse, the Lion is pictured as a Lamb “standing, as though it had been slain.” The imagery is profoundly rich. If the incarnation wasn’t humbling enough for the Son of God, the fact that He not only took on flesh but His arrival was by means of human birth in a lowly obscure cave is beyond comprehension. He then proceeds to live a humble life and die a humiliating death. But here, John witnessed the exaltation of this slain Lamb who is standing alive and worthy to take the scroll of redemptive history from the hand of God and open it in an act of kingly triumph. Revelation 5 is the climax of Luke 2 and the birth of Christ. As you celebrate Advent this month, allow John’s vision to captivate your attention and inform your worship of Jesus as not only the baby in Bethlehem but the worthy Lamb who secured your salvation and provided joy to the world! —Pastor Nate
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: Reformation Heroes: Conrad Grebel
10AM: Pastor Rory–Lion & Book, 1–Revelation 5:1-14 (sermon notes)
6:00PM: Christmas Vespers
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