Scripture referenced 26 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Galatians 4:4-7 central Christmas text on the fullness of time and adoption as sons
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
6 And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
7 So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Romans 5:6-8
Christ dying for the ungodly at exactly the right time
6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 2:7
Herod determining the exact time the star appeared
7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 1:20
Zechariah struck mute until things fulfilled in their proper time
20 Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 1:22-23
virgin birth fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of Emmanuel
22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 2:14-15
flight to Egypt fulfilling 'out of Egypt I called my son'
14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 4:13-16
Jesus dwelling in Capernaum fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about Galilee of the Gentiles
13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 1:1-4
Luke's stated purpose in writing his gospel to Theophilus
1 Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,
2 even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;
4 that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 5:24
Jesus healing the paralytic so that all may know the Son of Man has power to forgive sins
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (he said to the paralyzed man), “I tell you, arise, and take up your cot, and go to your house.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 18:15-16
people bringing infants to Jesus so that he might bless them
15 They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Mark 1:38
Jesus saying he came forth to preach the good news
38 He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Mark 3:2
Pharisees watching Jesus on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him
2 They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 1:7
John the Baptist came as a witness so that all might believe
7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 3:17
God sent his Son not to judge but so that the world might be saved
17 For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 6:28-29
the work of God is to believe in him whom He has sent
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 12:36
believe in the light so that you may become sons of the light
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 15:11
Jesus spoke so that his joy may be in his disciples and their joy made full
11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 16:24
ask in his name so that your joy may be made full
24 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 16:33
Jesus spoke so that in him his disciples may have peace
33 I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 17
high priestly prayer full of purpose clauses including 'that they may be one'
1 Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
2 even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
4 I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.
5 Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
6 I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you,
8 for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
9 I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
11 I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.
14 I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.
19 For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
22 The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Acts 16:30-31
Philippian jailer asking what to do to be saved and Paul answering to believe in the Lord Jesus
30 brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 20:30-31
John's stated purpose for writing his gospel so that readers may believe and have life
30 Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
1 Peter 2:24
Jesus bore our sins so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Romans 15:4
scripture written for instruction so that through perseverance we might have hope
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Romans 3:10-12
no one righteous, no not one, none who seeks after God
10 As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.
11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 3:16
God gave his Son so that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message, preached on the second Sunday of Advent, centered on the idea that God acts on time and on purpose. Pastor James worked through two Greek words for time and a grammatical thread of purpose that runs through the New Testament, showing that the Christmas story is not accidental but carried out with deliberate, stated intent.
What was said
The second candle of Advent is for peace, and Pastor James used that as a starting point to step back and look at Christmas from a wider angle. Rather than moving straight to Bethlehem, he wanted to examine the framework underneath the story: that God chose a specific moment to act, and that He was clear about why.
He opened with two Greek words. Chronos is plain, sequential time, the kind that fills a calendar. Kairos is different. It is the right moment, the opportune occasion, the kind of time that carries weight. Both words appear in the Christmas texts, and Pastor James used them to frame everything that followed.
From Galatians 4, he read that "when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law." That fullness is Chronos, meaning it actually happened inside real history. The God who created time stepped into it at a chosen point. Romans 5 picks up the same thread at the other end of Jesus's earthly life, saying that "while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly."
The second half of the sermon focused on purpose. Pastor James introduced the Greek word hina, meaning "so that," and explained that when it appears with a particular verb mood, it signals purpose: someone acting so that something might become possible. He traced this construction through Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and the letters, showing that the biblical writers consistently told not just what God did but why. "So that he might redeem those who are under the law. So that we might receive adoption as sons. So that your joy may be made full. So that in me you may have peace."
He paused on the word "might" and explained that it matters. Purpose can be accepted or refused. When God says the world might be saved, or that joy may be made full, He is stating His intent while leaving room for a person's own will. He illustrated this simply: if he asked someone to play the piano, the purpose is clear, but the person still has to choose to sit down and play.
He closed where he began, with Galatians 4, reading the full text through to the adoption language in verse 7. He noted that in the culture of the first century, adoption as a son carried full inheritance rights, which made the language stronger than it might first appear. Because God sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, Paul writes, we can call God "Abba, Father." The purpose of Christmas, stated plainly, is that we might move from helplessness to sonship, from slavery to inheritance.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The pastor talked about the difference between Chronos time and Kairos time. Can you think of a moment in your own life that felt less like ordinary clock time and more like an opportune, God-arranged moment?
- The sermon pointed to Galatians 4:4-7, where Paul says God sent His Son 'when the fullness of time came.' What does it mean to you personally that God chose a specific, deliberate moment in history to send Jesus rather than doing it at any random point?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 4,566 words
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
