The Advent Guest Book

Overview of The Advent Guest Book

Every holiday season, our homes are graced by guests. This Advent, invite a different set of guests into your sermons and services. Each guide in this series includes:

• AIM exegetical commentary on the text,

• insightful sermon illustrations,

• inspiring quotes, and

• liturgical resources on themes in the passage.

Created for Advent 2021. Texts are for RCL Year A and are suitable for non-lectionary preachers at any time.

TPW puts you in the driver's seat. We want you to approach God's Word, prayerfully listen to the Holy Spirit, and create a message for your congregation. We don’t offer ready-made sermons. Instead, we provide resources and inspiration to help you craft your own sermons and services.

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Series Introduction

The Family Guest Book

Our family (Scott) keeps a guest book on the glass top of the server just to the right of our entryway. It is a tradition passed down from my parents who kept a guest book in my childhood home. Their guest book, as does ours, catalogs the various people who have shared a meal, spent a night, or dropped by for an afternoon coffee or tea over the years.

It may seem a bit old-fashioned for a 21st century family to keep a written log of home visits and shared hospitality, but it is a diary of sorts for us. We have signatures of guests, contact information, personal notes of gratitude and well-wishing that take us back to certain seasons and events in our lives.

Remembering Visitors

The names of the guests from decades past bring to mind the impact that visit had upon us. There were…

Visitors for whom we were unprepared

We have visitors whose names are written in the book who simply showed up on a Sunday afternoon from out of state unannounced, for whom we were unprepared, but pleasantly surprised to see.

Visitors who challenged us

There are other names of visitors whose time in our home proved a challenge because they queried us on how we lived or what we thought, sometimes in a confrontational way.

Visitors for whom we are grateful

Other names of visitors fill us with gratitude for what they shared, what they gave, and how they encouraged us during the highs and lows of life.

Visitors who enlightened us

Of course, there are those guests whose words and thoughts enlightened our thinking and caused us to constructively reconsider a pattern of thought or plan of action.

Advent anticipates a visit from God.

The Lectionary’s Gospel texts for this season provide a guest list of visits and visitors who prepare us for God’s arrival. Matthew and Luke give us an Advent Guest Book with distinct visits:

1. The forewarning of the unexpected visit of the Son of Man in Matthew 24:36-44 for which we are unprepared

2. The “in your face” visit of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-3, which challenges us to turn away from our comfortable life

3. The visitor who blesses and encourages us and fills our hearts with gratitude in Luke 1:46b-55 in Mary’s Magnificat

4. The visitor who enlightens and expands our thinking in a way that transforms our actions in the angel’s visit to Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25

What is AIM Commentary?

AIM stands for Ancient context, the text through the lens of Jesus (Ἰησοῦς), and our Modern application.

Understanding the Ancient or original context of the passage is necessary to inform and guide our interpretation. We also believe along with the Reformers that the interpretation of the Ancient context of the Hebrew scripture for the church necessarily flows through its Lord, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we affirm that the role of the preacher to bring the congregation from the Ancient context through Christ and to the Modern context, making the message real in our hearts and lives.

We pray that our Advent Guide will be a help to prepare you and your people for the greatest visit of all in God’s presence among us.

—Scott, Stu & the TPW Team