ADVENT HOPE. Ichabod and Emmanuel This morning, I want to talk to you about two babies. And the birth of these two babies. And the two names given to these babies. And the two parts of the Bible where we find the stories of these babies. And the two circumstances in which these babies were born. 1 Samuel 4:19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” So that day she gave birth to a little boy and named him Ichabod – the glory has departed. The glory is gone. Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. A domain of darkness. What a terrible place to be, in the kingdom of darkness. It seems that all the bad things happen in the darkness. The darkness is the devil’s kingdom. There’s no presence of God. Now, a thousand years later, there’s another birth. The time was equally dark. Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). And then we have Mary living in that same world who will call her son Jesus because he will have the spirit of Immanuel which means God is with us. John 1:22 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The glory had returned. Jesus is God’s presence on full display. Jesus is God’s glory on full display. Jesus is God’s grace on full display. Jesus is God’s love on full display. The glory of Jesus begins to bring light and hope everywhere. John 1:4 The Word (Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” The scariness of the dark is broken by light. And in Jesus there is never any darkness. Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe. The name of Jesus is safety for the scared. The name of Jesus protects those in danger. The name of Jesus shelters the attacked. The name of Jesus guards the injured. We are going to live life under one of these two names. There is hope this morning. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Let’s see what GOD can do! Pastor Brian Harrell