The Advent of Love | Sunday, December 21, 2025

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly... But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5)

The advent of Christ is the advent of love—God's love revealed, embodied, and poured out for a weary world.

Marking the Season of Advent

Christmas is here, the last few days before the holiday. Every year the season seems to fly by faster, and as much as we try to slow it down, it does. So at Cross Connection we want to mark this time by taking the four Sundays leading up to Christmas to remind ourselves of the important themes that surround this season.

I grew up in this church, and we're connected to the Calvary Chapel family of churches. In many Calvary Chapels it's not atypical to ask the pastor what he'll preach the Sunday before Christmas, and he'll say, "Well, this week we'd normally be in Revelation 13, so we're talking about the mark of the beast." You never deviate from the text. But back in 2011 we did our first Advent series, The Key to Unlocking Joy, and I found it really encouraging. Ever since, we've used these four Sundays to return to the themes of hope, peace, joy—and today, love.

Peter said it's good to remind you of these things even though you know them and are established in the present truth. I hope what I share is review for you. But I don't take that for granted, because I meet more and more people in our culture in 2025 who actually don't know much about what the Bible teaches about the gospel and what Christ's coming means. By returning to these themes again and again, I hope they saturate your mind so they overflow from you when you talk with someone at work, at school, in your neighborhood, or in your family.

Why We Celebrate the Coming of Christ

We're not sure Jesus was born at this time of year; we don't know He was born on December 25th. That's not really the point. But it's good to remember and celebrate Christ's coming, because it is the most important event in all of human history—right next to what we celebrate at Easter, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

This is a fitting time of year for it. Today, December 21st, is right at the winter solstice—the longest period of darkness, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. It's appropriate that we celebrate Christ, the light of the world, coming into the world at this time. As "O Holy Night" puts it: "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices." Are we not living in a weary world? And into it comes this thrill of hope.

A Hope That Does Not Disappoint

The advent of Christ is the advent of hope. In Romans 5 we're told this hope does not disappoint. Every one of us has been disappointed by something we hoped for that didn't come to pass. Maybe you remember being a child, the J.C. Penney wishbook catalog arriving, going through and circling your hints—no Amazon wish list back then. And the Red Ryder BB gun didn't come. Your hope was disappointed.

But the hope described in Scripture, associated with Christ, is a hope that does not disappoint. The author of Hebrews says that because of this, it is a sure and steadfast hope that becomes like an anchor for our soul amid all the winds and storms of life. What keeps you moored? It's the hope we have in Christ.

A Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Because we have this hope, Christ's coming also brings us the blessing of peace—not as the world gives, but a peace that surpasses understanding, beyond any earthly explanation. I've seen it clearly this year in friends of ours who lost their sixteen-year-old daughter. Even in the turmoil of that, you could see a peace with no earthly explanation. If you asked them how they could possibly have peace in it, the only answer would be, "It's the Lord."

A Christian philosopher wrote about the Hebrew word shalom. The direct translation is peace, but it's more than the cessation of violence. It speaks of universal human flourishing and wholeness—the kind of peace every human heart desires. That's found in Christ, because He is the Prince of Peace, and we look forward to His kingdom of peace forever.

Through His coming and ultimately His death, burial, and resurrection, we have peace from God. Christ comes as the peace of God to us. Because He died in our place for our sin—the very thing that set us in opposition to God—we can have peace with God, access to the peace of God, and a relationship with the God of peace. As Paul says, when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Every person must come to the realization of how weak they truly are, that the debt of our brokenness and sin is one we cannot pay. And at just that right time, we get the good news.

The Meaning of "Evangelical"

It weighs on my heart that in 2025 the word "evangelical" has been dirtied over the last twenty years, for understandable reasons, so people now have to add modifiers to explain what it really means. But what is an evangelical? Someone who trusts in, believes in, and wants to give out the good news of the gospel. The Greek word for gospel is euangelion; transliterated, it becomes "evangel." My wife and I named our younger daughter Evangeline Grace with that very idea—the good news.

By His death we have been justified by faith and made right with God. Once removed far from Him by sin, we are justified and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is our peace (Ephesians 2). When Jesus came into this world, that is what we celebrate—the peace of God personified, coming to break down the middle wall of separation between us and God.

A Joy Increasing Unto Abundance

Christ's arrival also brings us a fullness of joy accessible now. "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6) is the arrival of a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. As we abide in Christ and in His word, and His word abides in us, and as we endeavor by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to do what God's word teaches, this produces the fullness of joy, God's glory, and our satisfaction.

So I keep coming back to these things on purpose. Without Christ there is no hope, no joy, no peace. But the advent of Jesus is the advent of peace that surpasses understanding, hope that does not disappoint, and joy increasing unto abundance for eternity. And as the late-night infomercials say—but wait, there's more—because the themes of this season are hope, peace, joy, and finally love.

Jesus Is and Brings the Love of God

Here in Romans 5 are some of the most important truths of the gospel, the good news and the bad news together. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6). We were without strength, and at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5). But to die, He had to come—He had to arrive in this place.

Point one: Jesus is and brings the love of God to a dark and dying world. That word "is" is crucial. This has to do with His very nature, not just what He does. The appearing of Christ 2,000 years ago, the baby born in Bethlehem, is the revelation and demonstration of God's love. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

The most famous verse of the Bible answers our question: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." We celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to people we love. When we ask why Christ came, why we have a season called Advent, why we celebrate Christmas—that's the answer.

"Why Do You Celebrate Christmas?"

Years ago, Pastor Nick and I would go to stores like Target on Black Friday—back in the dark days before quick Amazon delivery, when you actually went to a store to get a deal. I'd hand out five-dollar Starbucks gift cards and ask people, "You're doing some Christmas shopping? So you celebrate Christmas? Why?" Nick had the camera, I had the microphone. People often had no good answer. They'd say something off the wall, and eventually we'd get them to sing their favorite Christmas carol. You can still find the videos on our YouTube channel.

But sometimes people don't have a good answer to "why." It really is as simple as John 3:16. Christmas is the revelation and demonstration of God's love.

But God, Who Is Rich in Mercy

Paul expresses this in Ephesians 2: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins... fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." This is the dark, desperate situation every human being enters because of the fall in Genesis 3. We all come into this world far from God, broken sinners in desperate need of someone to deal with sin.

And then those two beautiful words: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace." Think you understand the riches of God's grace now? Just wait—in the ages to come He will be revealing it. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." God's love is so immense that it overflowed toward us in mercy and grace, making it possible for us to be redeemed, adopted, and accepted into His family.

Jesus Is Love Incarnate

This great love is not just something God gives or does; it is who God is, His very nature. That's why I said Jesus is and brings the love of God.

Point two: Jesus is love incarnate. Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God—God became a man. Isaiah 7:14, 700 years before Jesus: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated "God with us."

And what is God's very nature? John answers in 1 John 4: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God... He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Jesus is love in the flesh.

We Need to Know God Loves Us

Going through these things, I'm convinced of two things: we need to know them, and we need to share them. First, we need to know them, because sometimes we doubt that God loves us this way—and the reason we doubt it is because we know ourselves. You know yourself better than any other human knows you. You know the good, but you know the bad too. We can dress ourselves up in nice red suits and put forward a good look, but at the end of the day we know who we are.

Because you know things about yourself that nobody else knows—things that cause you shame and guilt, things in your past you said, did, or thought—it's hard to imagine that an all-knowing God could actually love you. A lot of people think, "Well, God puts up with me." But Scripture reveals that He loved us. He loved you at your worst, when you were farthest from Him, and He demonstrated it by giving Himself entirely to us. He knows every aspect of you, and in that you can rejoice, and your peace, hope, and joy can increase.

We Need to Share This Love

Once we begin to grasp this, we need to share it. I read part of 1 John 3:16: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." But the verse continues: "And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." This is an ethical imperative—notice it says we "ought to."

There's a conflict we all experience between what we ought to do and what we want to do. You'll feel it within the next 96 hours, when you'll want a third helping of dessert but know you ought not. There will be a conflict, then guilt and shame over your decision—so much so that on January 1st you'll make a resolution. Here John says, because He laid down His life for us, we also ought to lay down our lives for others.

God's Love Compels Our Love for Others

How many of you have someone in your life you find it really hard to love—maybe the very person whose name you drew for the secret Santa at work? As a Christian you feel, "I ought to love them, so in 2026 I'm going to really try." But don't grit your teeth and try to muster it. Here's what to do instead: take a few months and study the love of God and how He loves you. It will inevitably change you.

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." We love God because He first loved us, and we begin to love others—even the unlovely—as we comprehend His love. His love transforms us. Our love for God and others is in response to His love.

Point three: God's love for us compels our love for others. The more you know how God has loved you, the more His love compels you to do loving things. This is one reason we give gifts at Christmas—gifts are a demonstration of love, as love overflows in liberality to the objects of our love. Where does this come from? From the fact that you were created in God's image (Genesis 1:26). Because He is love incarnate and loves to give gifts, He has imprinted that on you. The gift-giving God, who is love embodied, overflowed with love toward us, bringing us salvation by grace through faith.

God's Love Is Meant to Be Shared

In response to His great love, we should be compelled to embody and share that love. The most important thing you could give this Christmas season is the good news of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. That's your mission this week—in your office, with your team, with family members and neighbors as you gather—to share the good news of God's grace and love.

Point four: God's love is meant to be shared with others. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Amen.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for these reminders. I hope they are reminders, but I don't take it for granted that many people don't know these things, and there are people here this morning visiting us for the first time—what a great opportunity. God, we rejoice in You, in Your goodness and kindness and grace. None of us deserve salvation; we are the furthest thing from deserving. But because of Your great love, You loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, far from You, living after the lusts of our flesh. You sought us out, You came to seek and search for us, and You gave everything to demonstrate Your love.

Lord, help us remember again today that You love us even when we doubt it, even when we think there's no possible way You could love us. Remind us that the very fact You came at Christmas was to show that love. And as we come to understand Your love, stir us and compel us to love others, even those we have a hard time with, because Your love changes our hearts. Transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would demonstrate Your good and perfect will in this world. We ask this today in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, Amen.