Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ,
And here we are–into the delightful season of Advent! A new Church Year has begun. What a joy! And as we prepare for celebrating Christmas–officially beginning on Christmas Eve and running until The Epiphany of Our Lord on January 6th, we are blessed by the Word of God that we hear on Sunday mornings but also at our Midweek Advent Services on Wednesdays at 11:00AM starting tomorrow (Dec. 4th, 11th, and 18th). The theme is: ‘TABERNACLED’ God Dwells with Us. Here’s a bit of description:
Tabernacled! God tabernacles amongst His people! He appeared in many spectacular ways in the Old Testament—to His servant-leaders and to His people. He appeared among the Israelites by a pillar of cloud by day and by a pillar of fire by night as He led them out of bondage in Egypt and protected them. He appeared to Moses and the people on Mt. Sinai in smoke and fire, with trumpet blasts and thunder sounding. The Lord then gave instructions to Moses to construct the portable tabernacle where the Israelites were to assemble and worship Him as they made their wilderness journey to the promised land.
And then, in the promised land, almost 500 years later, God directed King Solomon to build the temple in Jerusalem where the Israelites were then to assemble to worship Him. There in the Holy of Holies—first in the tabernacle/tent and later in the temple—was the ark of the covenant—representing God’s presence with His people. There His glory dwelt.
And we have this blessed revelation given: “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, as the only One begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 A translation of the Greek text). Jesus Christ is that Word made flesh—the incarnate Son of God. He came to dwell among us, bear our sin, be crucified and die, and on the third day rise again, to reveal His glory—His grace and truth.
Before His ascension, the Lord Jesus gave His Word and Sacraments (Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) to His Church—and in these Means of His Grace He dwells among His people. Present in His Word and sacraments, Jesus Christ tabernacles among us to prepare our hearts for heaven.
God’s desire and His goal is for us to dwell safe and secure with Him for all eternity in the Paradise that the Lord Jesus Himself has gone ahead to prepare for us.
Our Advent plea stands firm and resounds with joy and confidence: “Come, Lord Jesus!” And He is here! One day, we shall see Him in the flesh in glory. Jesus assures that we shall be with Him—forever!
Join us if you are able to do so.