It is customary for ministers to preach a series of sermons from texts that speak specifically about Jesus’s birth during Advent (i.e. Luke 2 and Matthew 2, among others). However, we are going to do something a little bit different this year.

In the Middle Ages and through the Reformation, the practice of most ministers at this time of year was to preach sermons on what is known as “The Four Last Things.” What are these things? The answer, at first, seems like the most un-Advent, non-Christmas-like sermon series imaginable: death, judgment, hell, and heaven. 

Despite our initial aversion to talking about such subjects in general, let alone at Christmas, there’s good reason to follow this practice. Our forefathers in the faith grasped something that we find elusive. They knew life was short. They knew time was precious. They knew that the great realities of eternity were always and only a breath away. Faithful ministers wanted their people to be prepared. So, as each year drew to a close, they would preach on these subjects in order to prepare their people for the great joy of Christmas. 

Unless we understand why Jesus was born at all—which is what studying the four last things requires us to do—then we won’t value why we sing “Joy to the World.” We will only celebrate Jesus’s birth when we realize what He has saved us from (death, judgment, and hell) and saved us to (heaven). Our forefathers in the faith were onto something. 

This Advent, we’ll journey through our sermon series on the last things, entitled “Far as the Curse Is Found.” As you may know, that is a line from “Joy to the World”—and a powerful line at that. It reminds us that Jesus did, in fact, come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found. This is why we celebrate His birth each year. This is why we sing and give gifts. May He pour out His promised blessings on us during our time together at Advent!