Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Draw near in confidence and find mercy and grace, especially in a time of need.  Take it to the Lord in prayer.

This fourth Sunday in Lent Jesus calls us from sinful selfishness to selfless service. We can view the world from the perspective of selfishness or selflessness. Selfishness puts self before all and leads to favoritism, sinful pride and envy. Repentance, however, means despairing of self, trusting in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice and leading lives of selfless service modeled after our Savior who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for us and for the world.

In Christ you are new. In Christ, you are set free. In fact, Jesus says you are salt, you are light.  You are the light of the world, so be light for the earth. You are the salt of the earth, so be salt for it. This is gospel-driven living. You are blessed, in Christ. Let your light shine! Our calling as sons and daughters of God means our lives will reflect our new status, and the world around us will be blessed by us. Our prayer is that God would help us to believe and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. Alive in Christ, you are set free to do just that.

You are illuminated by the Light! Jesus appears as the light that shines in the darkness. Dark places remain covered in the shadow of sin and unbelief. Now there are, however, bright places, too, and there you find God’s children. Jesus shines his light by preaching repentance and the good news of the nearing kingdom, and he invites us to follow him to a life illumined by him. God has made you new in Christ. Following him means living in the joy of freedom and walking in the light of love for God and neighbor. You are illuminated by the Light!

Jesus appears as the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Anointing is how God prepared Jesus for his mission. Since the days of Othniel (Judges 3:10), the Spirit of the Lord empowered God’s heroes to do his saving work. At his baptism, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and declared this son of Mary to be who he always has been, the Son of God—the one anointed to be the Savior of mankind. And yet there's still more! -- You are empowered by your baptism into Christ!

On Christmas morning we saw that this Child was true God, creator and sustainer of all things.  For our salvation, he also needed to be true man. It was we who had sinned against God. We humans were put under God’s law and expected to carry it out perfectly. So God became man in this child laid in a manger. “When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.” The God-man did all of this so that we would be his own; heirs of heaven; God's children. And God cares for his sons and daughters. He cared for his son, the nation of Israel—though they were rebellious. He cared for his Son, Jesus—though Herod raged against him. He even cares for his newly adopted sons—though we do not deserve it. God cared for us by sending his Son to deliver us from the corruption of sin and transform us into sons just like Jesus. That work of Christ gives us peace that only sons and daughters can have.

God will come to save his people, just as he promised. He saves them through the virgin born Son of David who is also the Son of God, Immanuel. The Church prays for God to come in power to take away the burden of our sins. Since the Garden, there has been only one promised plan to do that: God would take on flesh and blood. Immanuel comes—God in the flesh—exactly as promised to save his people; to save you! Stand firm in the faith: Believe God's Promises.

God promises forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all. Repent and believe. “Praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37). “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:52-53).

The "Story of the Promise" for the first Sunday of Advent is the account of Noah and his family who lived confidently in the promise of God's salvation. The God who delivered Noah and his family has delivered us and the world through Jesus' cross, and His Spirit has brought you and me into the ship of the church. Jesus is with you now and he is coming again soon! Live confidently in the promise of God's salvation! Live in God's promise as you watch for Jesus' coming again. Live in God's promise as you rejoice in that Jesus comes to you through his Word and Sacrament. Live in God's promise and receive the hope God gives us in preparing to celebrate Jesus' advent as the baby born in Bethlehem.