Dear church,
In 1 Corinthians 1:27 the Apostle Paul writes, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” Despite the fact that it was a tiny hamlet, not prominent enough to be included in the list of cities that would soon be destroyed from chapter 1, Micah prophesies in chapter 5 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. From there, One who is to bring peace, shepherd, and rule Israel will come forth. Of course, neither of these truths from 1 Corinthians and Micah 5 teach that it is foolish to follow Jesus or that we should only expect to see important events in highly populated areas. What they do teach, however, is that God regularly uses what is lowly and despised to teach us that we should hope and rely on Him alone.
Micah 5 is a tremendous chapter about the faithfulness, consistency, and providence of God. While I’ve grown to love each chapter of this book for their own unique contributions, it was mainly Micah 5 that led me to the decision to preach through this book during Advent. After all, it is quoted in Matthew 2 as the narrative of Jesus’ birth unfolds. Like the rest of Micah, there are difficult, but important themes to wrestle through, but what stands out from this chapter are the reasons we have to trust in the promises of God. I hope you will make it a priority to be in church this Sunday as part of your Advent worship. We will sing, pray, and hear the preaching of God’s Word as we celebrate Jesus’ birth and excitedly await His Second Coming together. The weeks before Christmas are great Sundays to invite friends and family members who have not accepted the good news of Jesus to church. There is, even statistically, a more open and willing spirit toward spiritually significant conversations and invitations at this time of year. Let’s take advantage of those opportunities for God’s glory and many people’s good.
For the sake of His name,
Pastor Adam
