Galatians 4:1-7 Today is the first Sunday of Advent, a time of preparation for the coming of the Messiah, God's promise, Jesus. Each Sunday reveals a new piece in the unfolding drama of His coming. On the first Sunday we look to the prophets and how they told about His coming. They spoke of Him to offer hope and encouragement to a people that often had no hope; to a people often in slavery and dispersed from their "Promised Land". Much of the prophesy was in the form of warnings, because the people had forgotten their God and the fact that He had a plan. That plan was to send His Son into the world to take care of the sin problem and to bring His people back into family relationship with Himself. God, through His prophets, told about when (Prophet Daniel), where (Prophet Micah), how, and why. The prophet Isaiah and David in Psalm 22 wrote many exact details about the life experiences of Jesus. God also prepared history, geography, and politics for the sending of His Son. The common trade language of Greek made it possible to send the Gospel message far and wide. The extensive system of Roman roads made the process easier. The very tax laws helped fulfill the place where Jesus would be born, Bethlehem. The prophets even revealed the family line into which His Son would be born. The prophets didn't just describe the birth, and life, and death of Jesus; but a rather large portion is given to describe how He will return and finish what He started in His first coming. To finish in the sense that He will come to get all who have prepared for and anticipate His return. He will come to restore His Family as He designed it to be from creation - even from eternity. Without the birth, life, death, resurrection and return of Jesus, history - even life has no meaning and there is no hope. Maranatha!

At Just the Right Time - God Had a Plan.