Advent 2025
A Christmas series tracing the story from John the Baptist's birth through preparing the way, beholding the Lamb of God, and encountering Jesus.
Overview
Advent 2025 traces God's redemptive promise across four centuries, beginning with John the Baptist's miraculous birth and culminating in our personal encounter with Jesus. This series reveals that Christmas isn't merely about a baby in a manger—it's about the Lamb of God who came to sacrifice Himself for our salvation. Through faithful preparation, humble recognition, and surrendered commitment, we discover that knowing about Jesus falls short; only surrendering our lives to Him brings true transformation and the abundant life He offers.
The Narrative Arc
The Promise Fulfilled
God's 2,000-year promise comes into focus as John the Baptist arrives to prepare the way. The series opens by establishing faithfulness and divine timing, then calls us away from self-righteousness toward genuine repentance. These sermons challenge us to fix our eyes on Christ rather than earthly distractions, and to surrender our striving—recognizing that God's work requires our complete letting go.
The Sacrifice Revealed
The heart of Christmas is unveiled: not sentiment, but sacrifice. John the Baptist's declaration—'Behold the Lamb of God'—reframes the cradle as pointing toward the cross. This pivotal sermon exposes the insufficiency of religion alone and calls us to the humility of recognizing Jesus as our ultimate substitute, whose work is already complete and requires only our trust.
The Life Transformed
The series concludes by moving from knowledge to transformation. Through Nicodemus's journey from curious seeker to committed worshiper, we discover that proximity to Jesus isn't enough—only surrender brings rebirth. This final sermon challenges us to answer the most crucial question: Who do you say Jesus is? And to move from curious faith to courageous, committed faith.
Key Themes
Sermons in This Series
4 sermonsThe Birth of John the Baptist
Pastor Thomas Slager traces the birth of John the Baptist from Malachi's prophecy through Luke 1, showing how God fulfilled his promise of a forerunner after 400 years of silence, and calls believers to faithfulness as they await Christ's return.
View sermon →Preparing the Way
Kevin Yule preaches from Matthew 3 that John the Baptist's call to repentance exposes our inability to save ourselves, urging total surrender to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's ancient promises.
View sermon →Behold the Lamb
Pastor Bob Wade teaches from John 1:19-34 that Jesus is the Lamb of God — our sacrifice, substitute, and salvation — and calls believers to respond with humility, worship, and surrender, because the cradle always leads to the cross.
View sermon →Encountering Jesus
Pastor Grabski teaches from John 3 that Nicodemus—despite being Israel's greatest teacher—missed the life Jesus offers, showing that religious knowledge and moral achievement are not enough; only spiritual rebirth through surrendering to Christ brings true life.
View sermon →