Have you noticed in the last couple of weeks something really strange? Just driving around, I’ve seen the evidence of this phenomenon in nearly every neighborhood, street corner, business, and I dare say…even right here in this church! Some homes show simple signs with a single white light in each window; while other homes have thousands of red, blue, green and other lights displayed all across their yards and houses. Some yards have intricate scenes depicting blow-up snow-globes, reindeer, snowmen, and toys…and if you look closely, some of these characters actually move! One of the most common features I see is of some strange old man dressed in red.

This strangeness gets even weirder: most every house decorates a tree of some sort with bows, bells, lights and other ornaments…not out in the yard where trees belong, but people put these tree inside their homes! In addition, I’ve noticed children can’t wait for the newspapers to arrive…not to read them, but to take the advertisements out and secretly circle their favorite toys and ever so discreetly lay it out on the couch for their parents to ‘find.’ In many homes, I’ve seen people remove their nicest china and other decor, and replace them with miniature villages complete with animals and people. A strange sight indeed!

I‘ve noticed that the malls are packed with people, traffic is snarling, and the lines are extraordinarily long at every store in the city. But just when you think a riot would occur over this frustration, I’ve noticed unusual patience, friendliness, and even good cheer. People seem to be more polite and outgoing. People reach out to friends they haven’t spoken to in months with greeting cards, some even including a peculiar piece of correspondence called a “Christmas Letter.”

People are attending church in record numbers. People are giving away money, food, clothes, and toys like at no other time during the year. I’ve even noticed that some radio stations suspend regular programming to play exclusive music that commemorates this strange phenomenon. Nearly every night there is some sort of gathering of friends and family. Many wear special clothes only designed for this time of year, and would never be caught dead wearing it at any other time. I’ve even heard of intricate plans for families to come together from far and wide to play strange games while exchanging gifts and eating so much food that most of the men just fall over asleep!

All in all, it seems that the entire world is caught up and busy preparing, cleaning, decorating, cooking, planning, and going to extraordinary lengths in expectation that something amazing and spectacular will soon happen. And I think I have finally figured out what it is: In a couple of weeks, we are expecting the coming of… the long awaited arrival of …Santa Claus!

If we are willing to do all of that to get ourselves ready for Santa Claus, what might we do if we knew that God was coming to town?

B. Scripture

Although it may not sound like it, this was the question that John was answering in today’s Scripture. This is the first recorded sermon about Jesus Christ and it is John’s attempt to get the people ready for the greatest visitor in the history of humankind.

John the Baptist has long been known as one of Christianity’s most effective preachers because he really knew how to move people to action. After all, what good is a sermon if it doesn’t prompt people to respond? John not only was the first to preach the good news about the coming Messiah, he was also one of the world’s best at moving people to respond to the good news. And that is exactly the meaning of this text…John was preaching on why and how one should respond to the good news that God is coming to town.

C. Why should one respond to the good news?

But…’good news’? This scripture sure does not sound like good news. Verse 18 clearly identifies John’s message as ‘good news;’ but how is it good news when he calls his audience a “brood of vipers” and warns them of a ‘wrath to come?’ He calls them on the carpet for not being worthy of God and explains that those people who don’t bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. He even closes the sermon by explaining that the Messiah, God incarnate, is coming to baptize, not with water, but with fire. FIRE! If I were a literalist, this does not sound like something I would want. But if I did not prepare myself for this ‘fiery baptism,’ then I will become like chaff burned in an unquenchable fire. And then Luke summed it all up by calling John’s message: “good news.” How could a preacher calling his listeners vipers, preaching a message of warning that they are about to be cut down and thrown into a fire, and call it all ‘good news?

The news is good because God has not forgotten them…or us. God is about to come and save his people. Throughout history, God has always provided a way of salvation for his people: Noah through the waters of a flood, Moses through the waters of a Sea, and now Jesus through the waters of a womb. Once and for all, God was coming to claim his people and give them a pathway to eternal life. Without God’s intervention, our pathways of sin and self-centeredness will lead to destruction. You see, God’s primary aim is to save the wheat, not to burn the chaff.

D. How should one respond to the good news? GET READY.

Now, how would you get ready if you knew that God was coming to town to offer you the greatest gift one could ever receive…a glorious life full of hope, promise, joy and meaning …that can begin now, and will continue for all eternity in heaven? I can tell you that it is more than tinsel, twinkling lights, a tree surrounded by gifts, and a few nativity scenes lying about. Oh, we can do all the decorating on the outside to prepare the way, but God is looking at hearts. It is our hearts and souls that need to be prepared.

For this, John was of singular message: the only way to prepare the way for the good news is by repentance. Repentance?!…that word almost doesn’t seem to fit the message of advent does it? It seems that Lent is a more appropriate season for a sermon on repentance. In Advent, don’t we expect feel-good sermons about joy, love, the Christmas spirit, gifts, and hope? We want to hear about mangers and wise men, shepherds and angels. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we really don’t want to hear about a voice that cries out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord!” We don’t want to hear it because we know that we are really not willing to do what it takes to prepare for a King that demands all—all of our loyalty, all of our priorities, all of our money, all of our time--all of our life. If we were honest with ourselves, we want the good news of a Savior, as long as it doesn’t cost us anything. But it doesn’t work that way. If we want to receive the gift of God, we must prepare the way…and if we truly want to prepare the way, our lives need to change.

Repentance is how hearts are made ready for the one soon to come “who is mightier than I.” Repentance turns one’s heart away from one’s selfish desires toward the desires of the King. When we recognize our utter self-centeredness, our need to be in control, and our helplessness to change on our own—when we finally turn to God for help, we have finally opened the door of our hearts for the Lord of Creation to enter and to dwell. This repentance is the core of John’s message and it is the core of the advent message.

John does not stop there, like the good preacher he is John calls us all to action. John goes on to explain that the evidence of a repentant heart is not just one that desperately yearns for God, but a heart that breaks for a hurting world. Verses 10-15 describe that a repentant heart must feel a sense of responsibility for all of God’s creation. We must seek out the injustices and eradicate the inequalities in our neighborhoods, nation and the world. God is not satisfied with a touchy-feely, you and me only relationship. A heart prepared for God is one that reaches out to all whom God loves. Food and clothing must be shared. Shelter must be given to the homeless. Nurturing must be given to the orphans. Money must be given to the poor. Care must be given to the diseased. Voice must be given to the oppressed. And Love must be given to all…regardless of economic status, race, nationality, sexual orientation, or even religion. You see, this is difficult good news. The Messiah did not come just for the white, middle class, mainline Christian denominations who think they have all the answers. No, God became flesh for all persons…whether we like it or not—the Methodist, the Baptist, even the atheist…God came for the adulterer, the homosexual, murderer, the terrorist, the priest, the Christian, the Jew, and the Muslim. The good news is that all can return to God! And unfortunately for some people, all might be too many. But in the end, to prepare the way of the Lord means that we not only repent of our selfish ways, but we must also be active in reaching out to all God’s people.

The truth of the good news of a coming Messiah is indeed difficult.

Andrew Pratt has beautifully summed up the good news of Christmas and the difficult truth of preparing the way in a hymn he wrote earlier this year called, “Christmas Is Real,” set to an old tune. (I wanted to sing it to you, but John Blizzard advised against it) As I read it, listen for the true meaning of the good news as well as how one prepares to receive it.

“Christmas is real when the cost that we measure reaches the manger and touches the skies. Shop fronts give way to divine revelation, God is among us and selfishness dies.

“Christmas is real when the gifts that are given mirror the love of this God upon earth; God who is known in self-giving and loving, crowning our poverty, coming to birth.

“Christmas still echoed when screams of the children, slaughtered by Herod inflamed people’s fear. Christmas remains when the trees and the tinsel make way for the news that we’d rather not hear.

“Christmas is real when we enter the squalor mirrored in Bethlehem so long ago; offering the love that was seen in the Godhead, total self-giving not baubles to show.”

Ultimately…John’s message creates a moment of truth for each of us: the good news is only good if we are prepared to receive it. God is coming to town. The decorations are up, the cookies are baked, the cards are sent, and the songs are in the air announcing that God will soon arrive. But is ALL ready for God’s arrival?

we can no longer can people just sit back and wait, but one must be active in preparing for the coming King. The people were expecting a Messiah, a Savior, a Redeemer, a living God. This King was about to come, it is time to prepare for his arrival.

As the old song goes, this IS the most wonderful time of the year. It is a time when people are more giving, more ready to visit nursing homes, bake cookies and give to neighbors. It’s because the entire world gets ready for Christmas…sure some may forget exactly why the reason for the season, but nonetheless, the spirit continues to grow.

I’ve often wondered why the Christmas spirit has a hard time making it past New Year’s Day, and I think I figured out why. Because it seems like everyone is living in anticipation of a better day, so everyone is busy making preparations…the right ones…giving gifts and taking care to wrap them just right. Picking angels from the angel tree. Donating much food, clothing and money to the less fortunate. Decorating our houses in expectation of coming visitor. Even relational things like trying to mend broken relationships. Sending greetings to friends and family that live far away or that we’ve lost touch.

[A few months ago I was organizing some of my old sermons and discovered one of the very first sermons I ever delivered at a former church. As I read through it, I was appalled at the words that came forth from the pages (and believe it, it was pages). I couldn’t believe I wrote it, much less spoke it in public. I am not sure it really had a point, and I even found myself bored as I read it. I felt like I needed a write a formal letter of apology begging for that congregation’s forgiveness.

Hopefully, I have improved over the years, but I am still struggling with preaching. It takes me hours to prepare and I have determined that I really don’t know what I’m doing. There are times that I write a sermon that I think is absolutely terrible, feel like it is rambling, and might even be pointless. It is these sermons that over the next week that I get unsolicited praise telling me how much it had moved them, and gave them the exact encouragement they needed that week. Some even will print the sermons off the website and take them to their friends. Believe me, I am humbled beyond measure. At other times, I will write what I believe is the perfect sermon. Sharp, to the point, the flow and pattern of words so poetic that tears sometimes form in my eyes as I write them. And, then when I deliver the sermon, I hear crickets and it drops like a lead weight. Mysterious indeed. I have concluded that I have no idea what is good. I find myself spending the majority of my time worrying about the length of the sermon than the content as if the only criterion for a quality sermon is its length. In the end, I find preaching extremely difficult because it has so little with what I do when God’s word is challenge don’t really in speaking God’s word and challenging people to action…at best…it is sometimes hit and miss.

What good is a sermon if it doesn’t move people to action? This question has haunted me as I am continuing to learn this great art called preaching. I must admit, that I am struggling with the mysteries of preaching. Mystery is the exact right word.]

As Katie and I anticipated the birth of our first child, Kenzie we not only spent hours on end planning how we would decorate the nursery, gathering the appropriate supplies such as diapers, changing tables, baby clothes, car seats, etc., we also spent much time discussing our hopes and dreams for our child, and how we would accomplish it. We had to examine our life and set new priorities and change some of our lifestyle habits that was more suited to raising our baby that was worthy of the dreams we had for her. To prepare for Kenzie’s arrival, we had to change to a better way of life: we committed ourselves to the priority that God would be the center of our family’s life…we would be in church every week, we would pray with our kids, we would read the Bible together, and we would be diligent to teach our kids to hear God’s voice. Not only that, but we wanted to keep our marriage as the central relationship in the family.

How many of you have ever invited friends and family to your home for a special occasion like a birthday, wedding reception, or anniversary? Don’t you work really hard to clean every nook and cranny, put away anything that might be embarrassing, put out the good china, and decorate with little regard for expense. Don’t you clean yourself up so you don’t stink and put on your best clothes? You do everything you can to put your best foot forward, while cleaning up or hiding the dirty sides of your life.

We are more than willing to go to extraordinary lengths to prepare for the special guests that arrive for special occasions within our lives, imagine what we can and should do to prepare for the special occasion of the arrival of the Lord of our lives!