Yardley United Methodist Church
Nov 30 - Holy Night - Nothing Is Impossible

      • Isaiah 2:4NRSVUE

  • O Come O Come Emmanuel
  • Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
  • Here I Am To Worship

      • Luke 1:26b–36NRSVUE

      • Matthew 1:18–24NRSVUE

  • Nothing Is Impossible with God

    The Dominant Thought: The second coming of Jesus is never to be thought of as impossible, because all things have been proven to be possible with God.

    1. Waiting On A Promise

    God promises a broken and hurting world that he will send a Messiah
    Again and again in the Old Testament, God promises a broken and hurting world that he will send a Messiah — that is, a Deliverer — to begin renewing and restoring all things.
    Again and again — to start to renew and restore all things.
    Let me read just a few of these promises for you... (read from:
    Isaiah 9:1-7
    Micah 5:1-4
    But we know there was a marked delay in God fulfilling these promises. Most scholars agree that by the time we enter the New Testament period, nearly 400 years had passed since the last messianic promise from God. And the wait goes back even further, to Genesis 3:15, meaning the world had been waiting thousands of years.
    What must that wait have been like for Israel? It must have stirred up hopelessness. You know the hopelessness we feel when we are forced to wait mere seconds for anything — for an item in the microwave in finish cooking or for a text to be sent? This should underline, then, just how deep Israel’s hopelessness would have been after 400 years, especially since they suffered so much during that time, including under brutal Roman occupation.
    In those 400 years of silence and suffering, wouldn’t it have been easy for God’s people to accumulate a long list of reasons as to why the Messiah might not come at all? Thoughts like these had to have been rolling around in Israel’s head:
    • Maybe the powers of this world hold too much power for the Messiah to overcome.
    • Maybe the powers beyond this world hold too much power.
    • Maybe we’ve sinned too much, so we’re undeserving.
    • Maybe too much is needed by way of miracles to pull this off.
    Because the coming of the Messiah was a long time coming, it was easy for God’s people to start to think of it as impossible.
    (Transition to Section Two)
    But then, suddenly, the 400-year silence was broken! Broken by news from God that the seemingly impossible was becoming possible. Broken by an angel’s message to a young girl named Mary (Luke 1:26b-36), and another angel’s message to a man named Joseph (Matthew 1:18-24).
    But God was going to make it seem even more impossible by the way God would bring Jesus into the world. Think about it: God is going to employ the help of a teenage girl and a man in his twenties from a poor backwater community to serve as the mother and the stand-in father? Two folks deeply impoverished and without any real religious or social standing? And the girl will conceive the Messiah while she remains a virgin? Really?!?
    Can we think about what might have been going through their heads as they weighed whether or not this could even be possible? Mary had to have wondered if Joseph was going to leave her, which in the ancient world would have been as good as leaving her—and the supposed Messiah—for dead.
    Despite all the questions and concerns nipping at their heels, Joseph and Mary relentlessly pressed on, believing in what God said he was going to do. Even when all seemed impossible, they were faithful.
    And it begs a question that demands an answer: how on earth were they able to do it? How were they able to relentlessly press on, believing, while everything seemed so impossible?
    Have you seen any of The Chosen TV series? It's a series that explores the life of Jesus. There’s a Christmas episode titled “Holy Night.” We’re going to watch a few scenes from it throughout this sermon series. Today, I want to show you a clip that finds Joseph and Mary slowly making their way to Bethlehem....
    (Show Scene from “Holy Night”: Mary and Joseph on the Road to Bethlehem)
    (Just After Scene from "Holy Night")
    The answer is subtly presented here in this scene.
    How on earth were Joseph and Mary able to relentlessly press on? Because they relentlessly remembered.
    Just after Mary has been rehearsing all the reasons Joseph could have left her, Joseph deliberately points to the heavens and simply says, “God told me to.” He remembered there was a divine authority behind this, so he pressed on. Soon after, Mary mirrors this. When Joseph says with a sigh, “This all seems impossible,” she replies, “Yes, yes, but remember what the messenger said to me....”. Mary relentlessly pressed on because she remembered that she’d been called by God himself via his angel, his messenger.
    But this is key: their relentless remembering wasn’t limited to merely remembering the authority behind their calling; they also remembered that they were listening to the call of an accomplished authority. They were heeding the call of God, God who had a proven track record of accomplishing the impossible.

    2. Remembering What Is Possible

    The coming of the Messiah, Jesus, was never to be thought of as impossible, because all things had already been proven to be possible for God.
    When Mary confessed that everything seemed impossible, she offered the declaration and the invitation: “Yes, yes, but remember what the messenger said to me: nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:26b-36).
    Hidden within that declaration is an invitation to Mary and Joseph to consider whether or not it is true. It’s an invitation for them to remember — to think back through the stories of old and see how God has always been able to accomplish the impossible.
    What stories would have come to mind for Mary and Joseph? Stories that surely would have given them hope: Maybe they remembered how God had built a nation from one small family. Or how he broke the back of Egypt, the world-renowned power in the Ancient Near East, through the ten plagues and by splitting a sea in two. Or how he slayed a giant through a shepherd boy.
    Here’s one story we know Mary was quite keen on relentlessly remembering: the story of Abraham and Sarah. It's referenced in the climax of a song she wrote (Luke 1:46-55).It’s obvious why she would remember and hold onto the story of Abraham and Sarah as dear, seeing as it involves a couple who welcomed a child into the world despite seemingly impossible odds.
    The Teaching Point remains: The coming of the Messiah, Jesus, was never to be thought of as impossible, because all things had already been proven to be possible for God.

    3. Waiting For What Is Possible

    Today marks the beginning of Advent. We know that the word “advent” means “coming” or expecting an arrival. This season, leading up to Christmas Day, is a time to reflect on the coming of Jesus to begin to renew and restore a broken and hurting world. But it's also a time to look ahead to when Jesus will come again to finish the renewing and restorative work he started.
    The Scriptures evidence that God has indeed promised the Messiah, Jesus, will come again... (Matthew 24 and 25, 1 and 2 Thessalonians).
    Israel waited for hundreds of years for his first coming; we’ve been waiting thousands for his second coming.
    And, because the second coming of Jesus has been a long time coming, it’s easy for us to think of it as impossible.

    3. Waiting Beyond Doubt

    We know the ache of waiting.
    If waiting mere seconds for something stirs skepticism or hopelessness, just how deep does our hopelessness run in having to wait thousands of years? Our hopelessness runs even deeper because of our prolonged suffering.
    (A brief survey of the more difficult news headlines of the last few days or weeks).
    And as the people of Israel did in Jesus’s day, we doubt on occasion that Jesus might not come at all:
    Maybe the powers of the world hold too much power for Jesus to overcome them.
    Maybe the powers beyond this world hold too much power.
    Maybe we’ve sinned too much, so we’re undeserving.
    Maybe too much is needed to pull this off.
    Teaching Point: Because the second coming of Jesus has been a long time coming, it’s easy to think that it’s impossible. Nothing is Too Much!
    (Transition to Section Four)
    “But” — The second coming of Jesus is never to be thought of as impossible, because all things have been proven to be possible with God.

    4. Remembering God

    The messenger’s word to Mary is also a word to us. It’s a declaration—nothing is impossible for God—but it’s also an invitation for us to consider whether the declaration is true or not. It’s an invitation for us to relentlessly remember as we wait and wrestle against hopelessness.
    The only way we can relentlessly press on like Mary and Joseph as we wait for the second coming—the second Advent—is if we relentlessly remember what God has faithfully brought about in the past and become aware of what God is doing in the present.
    It would serve us well to remember the stories of old that might have come to mind for Mary and Joseph. But let’s also list newer stories of God accomplishing the seemingly impossible.
    [Speak of the birth of Jesus (His first coming serves as credible evidence that he can come again, as God sees fit!). Speak of his ministry, his death, his burial, and (of course) his Resurrection. Speak of the establishment of the Church and the global spread of the Gospel.]
    [Then, weave in a story or two from your church or from the lives of your listeners—stories that show how God has always proven able to accomplish the seemingly impossible.]

    Remember the Goodness of God

    I invite you in this season to do as Joseph and Mary did as they waited: remember the goodness of God. The second coming of Jesus should never be thought of as impossible, because all things have already been proven to be possible for God.

    Remember the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

    Again, today is the first day of the Advent season—a time leading up to Christmas Day to remember the coming of Jesus. His coming brought about a great turning for the world. Since ancient times, the world has been hounded by hopelessness, shame, profound sadness, and the coldness of self-concern and self-preservation. Yet Christ’s coming brought about a great turning toward hope, peace, joy, and love.
    These are our four themes for each Sunday of Advent. We’ve already covered the first angelic message this morning: “Nothing is impossible with God,” which gives us hope—indeed, a confident expectation that nothing is impossible for God, because nothing ever has been.

    Nothing is impossible with God

      • Isaiah 9:1–7NRSVUE

      • Micah 5:1–4NRSVUE

  • There's Something About That Name
  • Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow
  • In Christ Alone
Yardley United Methodist Church
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