Oh Come Emmanuel - Pastor Bradley Peters - Video

Advent is a holy pause between promises made and promises fulfilled. I invited us to resist the rush to arrive at Christmas too soon and instead to dwell in the hope, peace, joy, and love that mark this season of waiting. Isaiah 7 shows a king, Ahaz, who refuses God’s invitation to trust, yet God still gives a sign: a virgin will conceive, and his name will be Emmanuel—God with us. This hope is rooted in God’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7) and blossoms in Jesus (Matthew 1), who steps into our real history and secures a future that is more certain than our fears.

Advent trains the heart to live in the “already and not yet”—to celebrate what Christ has accomplished and to long for what he will complete at his return. Jesus’ teaching on the faithful servant calls us to a readiness that is active but unhurried: giving food at the proper time, attending to ordinary faithfulness, and refusing the anxious, distracted life that crowds out love. This season is a gift that reorders our days so we can remember: God is with us, and God is coming to us.

I also urged us to disciple our young people (and ourselves) in an Advent-shaped vision of desire. Holiness is not merely a binary checkbox of clean/unclean; it is the stewardship of longing, the honoring of a gift within its covenant home, and the cultivation of anticipation without premature grasping. Even where innocence has been wounded, grace is stronger. Christ, the Bridegroom, washes his church with the word; his cross claims our failures and gives us a new future. Romans 8 reminds us that all creation groans for redemption—and so do we. Revelation 22 ends with the Spirit and the Bride saying, “Come.” That is our Advent prayer: Come, Lord Jesus. And in that prayer, we find courage for today and hope for tomorrow.

Key Takeaways
1. Emmanuel meets us in real crises
God’s promise of “God with us” was given in the middle of political fear and personal failure, not in a moment of spiritual triumph. Advent invites us to locate hope in the same place: right where things feel fragile. Faith does not deny the trouble; it insists that Jesus has stepped into it. The sign given to Ahaz now stands at the center of our story. [38:26]
2. Advent trains us to wait well
Waiting is not passive; it is the practiced alignment of our days with the pace of God’s promises. In the “already and not yet,” we learn patience that is alert, joyful, and rooted in trust. The season rehearses how to hope without hurrying and how to rest without quitting. This is how desire matures instead of breaking. [41:52]
3. Holiness reframes desire as stewardship
Our bodies and longings are not problems to solve but gifts to steward toward their proper home. Teaching sexual integrity as anticipation rather than as mere prohibition restores dignity to the journey and hope to the struggler. Advent shows us how to honor a gift by not grasping it too soon. Desire becomes worship when it waits. [48:08]
4. Grace restores what sin has bent
The gospel is not a scorecard; it is a Savior. Where we feel disqualified, Jesus cleanses, reclaims, and re-commissions us, washing his people with the word and clothing us in newness. Advent hope is for those who need a future that isn’t chained to yesterday. Christ’s cross is that future breaking in. [53:02]

Youtube Chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[30:06] - Advent, not Christmas yet
[31:45] - Prayer and caring for mourners
[33:23] - Ahaz refuses a sign
[35:57] - God builds David a house
[38:00] - Emmanuel fulfilled in Jesus
[40:47] - Living Advent: hope, peace, love
[42:22] - Resisting busyness; making room
[45:13] - Faithful servant and readiness
[48:08] - Advent-shaped view of sexuality
[53:02] - Grace for those who stumbled
[54:54] - Creation’s groan and real hope
[56:36] - Revelation’s invitation: Come
[58:51] - Come, Lord Jesus! Amen