Advent Begins in the Dark
Pastor Brian Schafer
December 8, 2024
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The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. - Isaiah 9:2
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The Big Idea Today: ADVENT BEGINS IN THE DARK.
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Advent doesn’t begin with an angel choir or a star over a manger in Bethlehem. It begins with:
- 400 years of Silence from God.
- An elderly couple who wants to have a child, but cannot.
- Feeling distant from God.
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Take your own notes here…
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“Before any great achievement, some measure of depression is common. Such was my experience. When I first became a pastor in London, my success appalled me. And the thought of the blossoming ministry, so far from elating me, cast me into the lowest depths, out of which I uttered my misery and found no room for proclaiming the glory of God. This depression comes over me whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry.” - Charles Spurgeon
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God works in the
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Take your own notes here…
Luke 1:11-17
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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Luke 1:18 (Zechariah’s Response to the Angel)
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”
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Zechariah is filled with
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Faith is not the absence of doubt. By definition, you cannot have one without the possibility of the other.
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Cognitive Dissonance: the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.
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“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” - Brennan Manning
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Take your own notes here…
The church should be the safest place in the world to ask questions.
What do you think about that statement above?
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“Doubt is not a sign that a person is wrong. It is usually a sign that he’s thinking.” - Oswald Chambers
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Luke 1:19-20
The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen.”
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“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal
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Perhaps Zechariah’s inability to speak for 9 months was not a punishment, but God’s grace. Zechariah was given the gift of silence, listening to God’s voice, and processing his questions and doubts before God.
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When your doubt is brought before God, it becomes the catalyst for spiritual growth.
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Take your own notes here…
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Zechariah’s silence leads to his song of worship to God.
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When you know someone’s story, you can understand their
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How can we, as a church, learn one another’s stories? (The doubts, the darkness, the joy, the salvation, etc.) How can we, as a church, learn the stories of the people in our neighborhood who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus?