The text for this morning's message is taken from the book of Genesis, chapter 17,

and I'll be reading verses 1 through 8.

And I'd invite you to follow along with me in your Bibles or in the Bible in the

pew in front of you. Genesis 17 verses 1 through 8. When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God

Almighty, walk before me and be blameless, and I will make my covenant between me and you and

will multiply you exceedingly. Then Abraham fell on his face and God said to him,

behold my covenant is with you.

And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made

you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and will make nations of you and kings shall come forth from you.

And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant

to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the

land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.

I can think of three very typical advent dangers in America.

One is covetousness. Everybody shops. And shopping exposes you to a thousand things you don't need and didn't realize you wanted until you saw them. Second is the danger of depression. Tis the season to be

jolly. How many people are jolly at Advent season. Many are lonely, many are discouraged, many are depressed, and therefore

the jolly sounds do nothing but compound the difficulty. And third is the danger of tension. It seems like everybody

has a deadline, a deadline to get the tree up, a deadline to get the meal made, a deadline to get this service over in four minutes. It won't happen. If you need to be home by 12, you leave right now.

What we need in Advent season is a truth from scripture, a powerful, steady,

deep word from God that gives ballast in the ship as it moves through this hectic

society. Keeps us on course, clear-sighted. We need a solid insight about the meaning of Christ's coming

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