Second Mid-Week Advent Service, 2022

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The Hymn # 81                O Jesus Christ Thy Manger
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 2 on page 123
The Lections

Exodus 3

John 8

The Sermon Hymn #56     Jesus Came the Heavens Adoring

The Son of God Dominates the Old Testament

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
The Hymn # 83        Hark What Mean These Holy Voices

Announcements and Our Prayers

• Randy Anderson is doing well.
• Doctor's care - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz, Kermit Way, Callie.
• The Constitutional Crisis

KJV Exodus 3 

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM That I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

KJV John 8:52 

Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The Son of God Dominates the Old Testament

    I often get free books about the Bible, since so many classics are in circulation. They are often great treasures, but the best and most valuable source is the Word of God itself.

    I was reminded of this from reading a book on Spener, who founded what is called Pietism. His work was largely against "Your dogmatics books versus my dogmatics books." This is what we have today, especially because the rationalists have taken over and used the Bible to promote their philosophies. This is true for all the denominations, including the Lutherans, who should know better. It even involves an obsession with costumes to wear and the proper use of incense.

    What we have in the Bible is a book about the Bible called the Bible. The best way to study the Scriptures is through regular reading of the Word of God.

    So many oddities are part of the puzzle that we can put together through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is always active through reading, hearing, and remembering the Word.

    Like the "faith of Jesus," a phrase or passage has to mean something, especially when it is erased from most modern translations - as "the faith of Jesus" is.

    So here we have the Angel of the Lord speaking to Moses through the Burning Bush. The Angel of the Lord is God in more than one place (Peniel) but not always.

    Often someone will be quite brilliant but miss the obvious - obvious to a believer. Roland Bainton had many good qualities and was a brilliant historian. But he did not accept the divinity of Christ, a popular notion at the turn of the century. He used this statement - "I agree with John and the Apostle Paul." 

    It is true that those apostles did not teach about the Virgin birth of Christ, but John revealed that "the Word became flesh," which is another way to describe the Nativity. Paul explicitly taught the Two Natures of Christ in Romans 1, the most important doctrinal letter. Variety helps us see the same truth from various perspectives.

    How else to describe the nature of God than to have the Son execute the Father's commands with the Spirit as witness and teaching us?  He is always working with the Word, and never apart from the Word. That is John 1, which explains Genesis 1 to us.

    John 8 teaches us about the pre-existence of the Son, before He was born.

This is a mystery that we cannot comprehend on our own, but we see it carefully shown to us in various ways.

    Jesus is teaching us clearly that He was and is God, that He existed long before King David - even from eternity. "Before Abraham was, I AM."

    All the English translations use - I am, or I AM. But when the same two Greek words are translated elsewhere in John and in Mark, they write "I am he." That is like answering the phone, not revealing divinity.

    This is clearly taught by the Word itself. No one can give a rationalistic answer for how God works. But the Word puts us in a state of wonder about God's nature, past, and character. This one and only Triune God can and does exist in the past, present, and future. He is all powerful and yet listens to a child's prayer. He knows our anxieties and troubles, and He sees far ahead to help us.