During Advent and Christmas, we will be using study prompts and other activities tied to the sermon for the week. Read the sermon aloud and follow-up with spoken responses to the two questions at the end. Find our full sermon compilation for individual, small group, or congregational use, Sermons for Advent and Christmas 2023 at…

RCL: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126 or Canticle 15 or 3; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 Emptiness If you have ever stood at the rim of a canyon, you know what it is to comprehend the immense majesty of emptiness. These clefts in the earth, carved by the incessant flow of water over millennia,…

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Suppose I were to ask you what it means to be saved. Would you explain salvation as a fixed reality, a progressive ontological shift, or perhaps something more dynamic and fluid? In my younger years, if I had been presented with this question—my answer might have been something like this: “Salvation means…

Isaías 61: 1-4, 8-11 Supongamos que te pregunto qué significa ser salvado ¿Podrías explicar la salvación como una realidad fija, un cambio ontológico progresivo, o quizás como algo más dinámico y fluido? En mi juventud, si me hubieran presentado esta pregunta, mi respuesta podría haber sido algo como esto: “La salvación significa que Dios ha…

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 In this passage from Third Isaiah, the exiles have returned from Babylon. Their task is to rebuild the city: to create a new Jerusalem. The theme is transformation. The messianic overtones and gospel message are unmistakable on this third Sunday of Advent as we rejoice in the expectation of God entering the…

Isaías 61:1-4, 8-11 En este pasaje del Tercer Isaías, los exiliados han regresado de Babilonia. Su tarea es la de reconstruir la ciudad: la creación de una nueva Jerusalén. El tema es la transformación. Las connotaciones mesiánicas y el mensaje del evangelio son inconfundibles en este tercer domingo de Adviento cuando nos regocijamos en la…

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Isaiah is the first book of the Latter Prophets, which are mostly made up of prophecies written in a poetic style. Isaiah is closely linked with the books of Kings, which together address the destiny of Jerusalem. The books of Kings end with the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the…