Advent sermons can be thorny. First, one has to decide if you are preaching on the first Advent of Jesus in Bethlehem or the Second Advent of Jesus at the end of history. Then, there are a lot of terms that we use in Advent that we don’t use any other time of year. The word Advent itself is a problem.
So, here is my modest attempt to preach about Advent 2011 from the perspective of Isaiah 64:1-9.
Credits for the illustrations and ideas found in the sermon:
The definition of Advent came from a Bible dictionary
The definition of ‘attah is from Strong’s Bible Concordance.
The idea that when Jesus Christ ‘advents’ himself it is in the transformation of the human heart is an idea I picked up from reading Karl Barth and, I think, is highlighted in the book
“Karl Barth: Theologian of Christian Witness” by Joseph Mangina.
Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson, Jr of Huston, Texas preached a sermon with the illustration about I.J. Paderewski.
Here’s my sermon: Making Mud Pies
Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ 