The Joshua Victor Theory

“ Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters !” (Isaiah 55:1a). Come to Jesus Christ, the Living Water! Amen! Today is Pentecost, one of the three great Jewish festivals of the Old Testament, and the day full of grace when Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on the disciples. But I want to talk to you about one of the other of the three great Jewish festivals—the one mentioned in our Gospel reading, John 7! Because at the Feast of Tabernacles (which means tents or booths) Jesus prophesied about sending His Holy Spirit on the disciples.  So, in John 7:37, it says, “ on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out… ”  So, if you look earlier in the chapter, you find out that this last day of the feast is referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a joyful, annual holiday, rich with reminders of how they lived in tents in the wilderness as God lead them to the Promised Land. There was lots of beautiful imagery—God dwelling among His people in Hi...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Our reading today from Hebrews gives us more than enough to chew on, that could keep us occupied for hours, with the many connecting lines between the Old Covenant and New Covenant in Jesus Christ. The Biblical concept of “covenant” is very important in Hebrews. A “covenant” is like a contract or binding agreement between two parties. So our reading is a contrast between the Old and New Covenants. What are those? The Old Covenant is what God made with Moses and Israel on Mt. Sinai. Including the 10 Commandments, but also the whole system of sacrifices and worship. This involved the blood of goats and calves, the ashes of the heifer, the high priest and the tent, all mentioned in the reading. These are all elements of the Old Covenant. God ransomed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and was in the process of establishing them as a new, free nation, set apart to serve and obey Him. And thi...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Good Christian friends, we have waited and worshipped these weeks of Advent, we have yielded to the call of the messenger crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the Way of the Lord”, we have followed Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds all the way to Bethlehem, to the manger, to the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, just as the angels told. Baby Jesus nestled in a lowly manger, bringing Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. But the Gospel of John describes Jesus’ birth with a different phrase. No mention of Mary, mangers, Bethlehem, or shepherds. It’s John’s Christmas Verse: John 1:14, “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” What a deep and wonderful phrase: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . This is the Christmas mystery; a deep and profound truth that does not cease to be a mystery once you know it, bu...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Christmas is here! Today we celebrate Jesus’ birth. The Bible tells about Jesus’ birth from several different angles. Matthew’s Gospel tells of Mary and Joseph, the promise of the Virgin birth, the visit of the Wise Men and the terror of King Herod. Luke’s Gospel, which you likely heard last night, tells of the census, Bethlehem, the shepherds, the angels, and Jesus laid in the manger. The Gospel of John also tells the Christmas story, but in a very different way. He focuses not so much on the human participants and the locations, as on the grand themes of what God was at work doing, and the coming of Jesus into the world. John 1 is the Christmas’ story told from God’s perspective, showing Jesus’ relationship to God and His incarnation, His coming into human flesh right here in the world. All this unfolded in the midst of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wise men’s lives, but John tells how it fits in the grand scheme...