What does First B Jackson teach about advent?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on Advent works from a single conviction: that God's movement toward humanity in the birth of Jesus was neither accidental nor distant, but deliberately timed and full of genuine goodwill. Pastor Joel, preaching on the fourth Sunday of Advent 2024, anchored that in the Greek word eudokia, the word the angels use in Luke 2:14 when they announce peace and goodwill toward people. That word, he showed, carries the weight of kindly intent, delight, and real desire. The biblical picture of God, he argued, is not a stern or indifferent one. God is genuinely pleased when people receive what He has planned for them, and that pleasure runs through the whole New Testament wherever eudokia appears.
Pastor Ben, preaching the second Sunday of Advent in 2016, pressed into a related question: why did the birth of Jesus happen when it did, and why did it happen at all? He drew a distinction between two Greek words for time, kronos and kairos, to show that Scripture treats the timing of the incarnation as both chronologically exact and perfectly fitted to the moment. The purpose behind it is just as explicit. The grammatical construction that appears over 670 times in the New Testament tells you plainly why God acted: to redeem those under the law, so that people might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5 pulls both threads together directly.
Those same themes run through the Christmas Eve services and the other Advent messages at First B. Pastor Mike and Pastor Ray have each returned to the light imagery of John 1 and John 8, and to the nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke, to show that Advent is not nostalgia for a past event but an ongoing invitation. The genealogy in Matthew 1, which Pastor Ray walked through carefully, shows that the line of the Messiah runs through deeply imperfect people, Gentiles included, because the blessing of God has always been moving outward toward all people. The Advent season at First B is a time to receive that again and to carry it forward.
Taught from Luke 2:14 · Galatians 4:4-5 · John 3:16 · Matthew 1:1-25 · John 8:12
The passage taught · 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
9 For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- December 22, 2024 Goodwill Toward Men Pastor Joel explores "goodwill toward men" from Luke 2:14, tracing God's purpose and desire for all people to receive peace through faith in Jesus Christ.
- December 10, 2023 Near to the Heart of God A Wyoming pastor shares Psalm 145 and stories of unexpected divine appointments to show that God is near to all who call on Him.
- December 24, 2016 Christmas Eve 2016 (3) A Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Jackson: scripture readings, candlelight, and the message that Jesus, the Light of the world, cannot be extinguished by any darkness.
- December 18, 2016 The Lineage of the Savior - Traditional (3) Matthew 1 traces Jesus's ancestry through flawed, unlikely people, then shows Joseph's simple obedience to God's call. What is God asking you to do?
- December 4, 2016 On Time and On Purpose - Traditional A Christmas Advent sermon on God's timing and purpose, exploring two Greek words for time and the "so that" phrases throughout Scripture that reveal why Christ came.
- December 24, 2014 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (4) A Christmas Eve service celebrating Christ's birth, with candle lighting, Scripture readings from Isaiah, Matthew, and Luke, and a reflection on Jesus as the light of the world.
Mentioned along the way
- December 1, 2013 The Shepherd's Dog Missionaries Ken and Lori McCune share how compassion for lost people drives their work among Spanish speakers in Wyoming, drawing from Matthew 9 and John 10.