The Advent-ure Part 1: Isaiah and the Messianic Hope

Sometimes we get a picture in our head of how we think God "has" to act... and then God surprises us.  It's there at the heart of the Christian faith--in the midst of expectations of a king to liberate the people like David from Israel's collective memory, there comes Jesus of Nazareth, who defies expectations and announces God's Reign, not by overthrowing the Romans in a bloody revolt, but right under the nose of the empire and while being executed by the Romans, too.  Prophets like Isaiah were hopeful and excited about a promised coming ruler who would finally put things right--but even Isaiah would never have guessed that the Chosen One he dreamed of would look like the itinerant rabbi Jesus.  In our own lives, too, we have a way of pinning down our expcectations of how God "should" act or what God "has to" do in our lives--and the living God always reserves the right to defy our expectations and surprise us... And that's what Advent is really all about--the intentional time for Christians to pause and let God surprise us again as we look to Jesus.  Join Pastors Steve and Erica as they open up a conversation about the God who surprises...