Advent is the season of hope and anticipation in light of this
good news: “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9, kjv). This wonderful
theme of God’s visitation is the driving agenda of the Book of Isaiah,
especially chapters 40—66. During the liturgical seasons of Advent and
Christmas, the lectionary is saturated with Isaiah texts—words of hope
that provide “strong wings for weary hearts” (cf. 40:31). The Old
Testament readings for Year B include texts for Isaiah on December 1, 8, 15,
and 29. This series looks to Isaiah 9:1-7 (the Christmas Eve OT reading) for
December 22, and Isaiah 65:17-25 (Isaiah’s vision of the new heaven and
the new earth) for its conclusion on January 5. Inhabiting the world of Isaiah
and his prophetic vision of homecoming and hope can be a powerful experience
for preacher and congregation as they listen and respond to God’s Word
in Advent and Christmas.
The Advent sermons are presented by Mike Jackson. Rev. Jackson is the senior pastor of University Boulevard Church of the Nazarene in Jacksonville, Florida.
The approach to these sermons is different from our typical form. These sermons are topical, but they are also biblical. The move in this series is not so much from text to sermon as from “life need to Bible to sermon.” Therefore, the format is different than the “listening to the text, engaging the text” form we’ve been using previously.
