The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today on the 1 st Sunday of Advent, we hear from Jeremiah the prophet, who lived in a dark period of Israel’s history, but prophesies brightly of the coming Christ who will restore righteousness and justice in the land. A quick thumbnail sketch of the history, is that the nation of Israel had endured several centuries of sliding into decline, idolatry, corruption, and gross immorality. They had experienced their “glory days” around 1000 BC under the reigns of King David and Solomon, when the nation was strong, the leadership was mostly just and wise, and the 12 tribes were united. Shortly after Solomon’s death, the decline began. The kingdom was divided during the reign of his son—the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the two southern tribes of the Kingdom of Judah. Eventually the ten tribes of Israel were swallowed up by the empire of the Assyrians. The looming thre...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. During these three weeks of Advent we’ll be looking at three prophecies from the book of Isaiah that point forward to Jesus the Messiah and King. Today we look at the first, from Isaiah 7, the prophecy of Jesus’ virgin birth. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. This Scripture passage is all about faith. It’s about faith in God’s promise to carry out salvation through His Son, the Virgin-born Messiah. It’s about the having the faith to trust in God and His continuing presence and action in our lives, even when circumstances dictate otherwise. It’s one thing to do whatever is in your ability and trust God to provide a way through challenge and difficulty when the way is uncertain. It’s another thing altogether to disbelieve God and try to engineer your own solution to a problem through dishonorable means. The reading from Isaiah describes just such a s...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. I want to draw your attention to a common theme between our Old Testament and Gospel readings today. The theme of God’s promise to establish a “house” for David. In order to make the connection more clear, I’m going to read the few verses that were left out, 2 Samuel 7:11-16: “I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. An...