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Sermon Details
- Pastor Name: Jonathan Cornell
- Date & Time: November 29, 2015 | 10:00am
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SERMON SERIES:
The Weary World Rejoices
There’s a phrase in that song that has always captivated me: “The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” The thrill of hope, that feeling Chicago Sports fans all over have felt this year… There’s something inspiring about the idea that a sad and broken and tired world can, in spite of it all, begin to rejoice. Such a poignant and appropriate thought as we kick off this year’s Advent Series.
The one thing I didn’t anticipate however, is this phrase is actually kind of hard to say. Turn to your neighbor and say to each other “the weary world rejoices” as fast as you can. It’s actually kind of hard not to end up sounding like Elmer Fudd when you say it: “the weawy world wejoices.”
What is it about the birth of Jesus that allows us to rejoice? Israel’s story is not unlike our story. We think that we can get along just fine without God, but what we end up doing is fuddling things up. Right about the time when it appears that hope is lost, God steps in and says, “Why didn’t you turn to me in the first place?”
For much of Israel’s history, the circumstances that they found themselves in were less than ideal. And pivotal moments are often birthed when we’ve exhausted our best efforts. Into their darkness, a glimmer of light bursts forth. Even in the darkest of places, the faintest flicker of light is able to conquer. That glimmer of hope the prophets held was a promise made many hundreds of years before, a promise to Abraham and to David—“remain with me, and I will remain with you.” But at this point in the history of God’s people, the presence of Yahweh was pretty thin.
Throughout this Advent Series, we are going to be looking at passages from the Old Testament Prophets. These are the words of average, everyday men who had the unique ability to hear from God when the ears of those around them were closed. These grizzled, relentlessly faithful—though not always optimistic—men trusted that the plans of Yahweh will always be fulfilled, but not without opposition. In the midst of it all, it’s the Prophets who teach us how to hope in difficult times.
Download the entire sermon transcript here: Jeremiah 33 14-16 Planting Pine Trees in the Rubble
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