Second Sunday in Advent

Advent puts John the Baptist in our ears again: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repentance is not about mustering up religious effort or making ourselves acceptable. Scripture’s language is strikingly concrete: in Hebrew, to turn; in Greek, a change of mind and heart. It is turning from a dead-end road to the path of life; from self-justification, self-indulgence, and self-will to the mercy of the One who draws near. And this turning is not our achievement. God repents us. He grants repentance, creates faith, and brings us home by His Spirit.

Because repentance is God’s gift, it is bound up with Baptism and the preaching of forgiveness. John called sinners to confess, and then he baptized for the forgiveness of sins. To silence repentance is to silence forgiveness. If nothing needs turning, then nothing needs forgiving. That is why the easy voices of our age—inside and outside the church—are so deadly. They rename sin as preference, call God’s Word oppressive, and invite us to keep walking toward the cliff. Love does not watch someone walk off a cliff. Love calls out, turns around, and brings home.

Repentance is not despair but freedom. It is God breaking our alliance with the flesh, the world, and the devil, and joining us anew to Christ. John’s call to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” is not a demand for self-powered improvement; it is a summons to live from the Spirit’s power. The fruits—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—are not produced by intimidation from the Law but by the Gospel that frees us from condemnation and then frees us to love God’s will.

Advent is for preparing—clearing the debris, smoothing the way, making room. That preparation happens when the Lord brings us to honest confession and deeper trust. Turn from the darkness; turn to Christ who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. Receive His absolution. Come to His table. Remain in the Vine. The axe is already at the root of dead trees, but those joined to Christ are made living trees that bear lasting fruit. So, turn to God, give Him your sins, receive His righteousness, and watch His Spirit make you new.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Repentance is God’s gracious gift Repentance is not a ladder to climb but a gift God gives by His Spirit. He grants the change of heart and mind that turns us from death to life, and He anchors it in Baptism and the preached forgiveness. Faith trusts that when we confess, He truly forgives and restores. From this gift, everything else flows. [42:41]
• 2. Bear fruit in keeping repentance John’s command does not call for self-powered moralism; it calls us to live from the Spirit’s power. Naming sins honestly and turning from them is the soil where new fruit grows. The Spirit replaces the works of darkness with love, joy, peace, and more as we remain in Christ. This is change God sustains, not a project we perform. [41:08]
• 3. Expose and resist counterfeit voices Our age renames sin as freedom and treats repentance as a threat to love. Those voices—often religious-sounding—lead us to the cliff, not to Christ. True love names sin and calls sinners home to forgiveness, life, and peace. Refuse the lie that grace makes holiness optional. [36:40]
• 4. Law and Gospel rightly ordered The Law measures good works but cannot create them; only the Gospel can. The Gospel frees us from condemnation so that, as new creations, we can love God’s Law without fear. Detaching the Law from preaching empties the cross of meaning and silences real repentance. Held together, Law wounds and Gospel heals unto life. [44:03]
• 5. Advent readies hearts by turning Preparing for Christ means turning from darkness to His light. This is not legalism; it is the response of beggars to a feast freely given. In confession, absolution, Word, and Supper, the Lord clears a straight path and makes us new. Advent readiness is a Spirit-led, hope-filled return to Him. [44:39]

Youtube Chapters

Bible reading (ESV)
Matthew 3:1–12
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” 4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Observation questions

1. What single command does John give in verse 2, and how does the word “repent” get explained as both a turn and a change of mind/heart? [31:09]
2. Who came to John to be baptized, and what two warnings or calls did he address to them in Matthew 3 (note: “bear fruit” and “the axe is laid to the root”)? [24:23]
3. How is “the one coming after” John described in verses 11–12, and what concrete images are used to show what he will do? [24:50]
4. How does the text link baptism, confession, and forgiveness in the people’s response to John’s preaching? [32:39]

Interpretation questions

1. John’s command to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” links turning with changed life. What does this imply about the relationship between genuine repentance and ongoing Christian behavior? [41:08]
2. If repentance is something God grants (not merely a human achievement), what does that mean for how the church should call people to confess and to receive forgiveness? [42:41]
3. The warning that the “axe is laid to the root” emphasizes judgment. How should the reality of divine judgment shape the way Law and Gospel are held together in teaching and pastoral care? [44:03]
4. The promise that Christ will baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” uses strong, purifying language. How should this language shape a congregation’s expectation of spiritual renewal and the Spirit’s work in believers? [24:50]

Application questions

1. Repentance is turning away from a dead-end road. What one habit, attitude, or relationship in your life feels like a dead-end and needs a concrete turn this Advent? (Name it and one first step.) [27:02]
2. Baptism anchors repentance and forgiveness. When was the last time you intentionally remembered your baptism? What practical practice (a prayer, reading, or conversation) will you use to live from that gift this week? [32:39]
3. Cultural voices often rename sin as harmless preference. Which cultural message are you most tempted to accept, and what specific action will you take to resist it (conversation, media fast, accountability)? [36:40]
4. The Spirit produces fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.). Which one fruit do you most need the Spirit to grow in you, and what small, concrete habit will you begin this week to cooperate with that growth? [43:24]
5. Honest confession readies the way for Christ. Who could you confess to in a safe, accountable way during Advent, or what confession practice could you begin at home? (Give one name or one practice.) [44:39]
6. The text warns that unfruitful trees are cut down. What is one visible change you will make before Christmas to remove a stumbling block to faithfulness (time use, media, spending, a relationship decision)? State the change and a measurable way to keep it. [24:23]

Use these questions to guide 60–75 minutes of conversation: begin with the Bible reading, work through the observation and interpretation questions together, and spend most time on the application questions so each person can name one concrete step to take this week.