Fourth Sunday in Advent

Sermon Text: Romans 1:1-7

Other Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14 and Matthew 1:18-25


 

  1. One key Old Testament promise about the gospel was given to David and is summarized in Psalm 89, which was used on Sunday. What is the gospel promise in that psalm?
     
  2. Paul makes clear that Jesus is not just truly God but also is truly human. Why is it so necessary that Jesus be both true God and true human? Confer Galatians 4:4,5.
     
  3. Based on these verses, explain the kind of peace we have “from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Asked another way, what brings it about and what effect does it have in our lives?
     
  4. Paul emphasizes how Christians are called by God to faith. But in order to make that call and invitation, God uses people to spread his gospel to others. Think of someone in your social circle who needs the gospel of God. Then, pray for that person and for an opportunity to bring the gospel to that person.

 

  1. The promise is explained in Psalm 89:19-37. There, God promises to maintain his love “forever” and “establish [David’s] line forever, his throne as long as the earth endures.” This clearly cannot be a promise about an earthly, temporal kingdom because a Davidic descendant hasn’t been on Israel’s throne for 2,500 years. It’s a promise that Jesus, descended from David, will always sit on the throne of God’s spiritual kingdom of heaven and rule his believers in grace and peace.
     
  2. By being true human, Jesus could be under the obligation and curse of commandments, meaning he could die for our sins. By being true God, Jesus could be perfect and have his sacrifice count for all people of all time.
     
  3. The peace we have is perhaps best explained by our other readings. God keeps his promises (as seen from Isaiah chapter 7), and God promises that in Jesus we have the grace of salvation from sins (Matthew 1:21). This salvation includes both the forgiveness of sins but also the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). So, to summarize, this peace is knowing that neither sin nor death can rule over us.
     
  4. God bless your prayers and your witness!