Morons though we all have been, there is nothing we need that Christ hasn’t given us.

By his first Advent in the flesh, through his second Advent with bread and wine and water and Word, we await his third Advent at the end.

The waiting of Advent isn’t just for Christmas; it’s for God’s reversal of all sin and evil and his renewal of all things.

That is the task of preaching in these last weeks of the Church Year, to enable the people given to our care, to praise God from the perspective of the end when our Lord will return in glory bringing us into His Kingdom of glory.

This is the patient love of God. He is stubborn about the salvation of sinners. He will not be rushed even if his name is mocked, and the trustworthiness of his promises are called into question.

The Advents of Christ (past, present, and future) elicit faith in the word of Christ, confirmed by his presence.

Getting ready for Christ’s coming is a practice in humility.

“The days are coming,” and God said it. God, who kept his promise that Christ would come at Christmas.

If Jesus is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever, everything his enfleshment brings is already assured: life, salvation, and forgiveness.

The grace of God does not save us at the beginning only in order to keep ourselves in his good graces by our good enough readiness.

Repentance means to turn or change your mind. It is not a turn from sin to righteousness. It is a turn from sin to the righteous Son of God who has defeated all sin.

To a world enslaved to time (because it has no future), the Church's disregard for clocks and calendars is ridiculous.