December 10, 2023
Pastor Matt McFarland
Advent Series, week 2
Isaiah 40: 3 – 5 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Luke 1 : 18 (KJ21) And Zacharias said unto the angel, “Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
Matthew 3: 1 – 3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’”
John 1:20 – 21 And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Art thou Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Art thou that Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
John 1: 25 – 27. And they asked him, and said unto him, “Why dost thou baptize then if thou art not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there standeth One among you whom ye know not.27 He it is who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoe’s strap I am not worthy to unloose.”
Matthew 3: 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Matthew 3: 14 – 17 But John forbad Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me?” 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John suffered Him. 16 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. 17 And lo, a voice came from Heaven, saying, “This Is My Beloved Son, In Whom I Am Well Pleased.”
John 3: 25 – 26 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John and said unto him, “Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness — behold, the same baptizeth and all men come to Him.”
John 3: 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
