December 14th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"When Understanding Seeks Clarity" (Matthew 11:2-11)

Lectionary Readings — Third Sunday of Advent — December 14, 2025

Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

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Call to Worship (based on Matthew 11:2-11)

Leader: We come seeking the One who was promised, the One who brings hope to the world.

People: Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?

Leader: Look and see what God is doing among us: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised.

People: And the poor have good news brought to them.

Leader: Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at the works of God.

People: We have come to see and to hear what God is doing in our midst.

Leader: What did you come out to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Someone dressed in soft robes?

People: No, we have come to encounter the living God, who works among the lowly and the broken.

Leader: This is more than we could have hoped for. The kingdom of heaven has come near.

People: Among those born of women no one has been greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Leader: Let us worship the God who reverses our expectations and welcomes us into the kingdom.

All: We gather to see, to hear, and to receive the good news of Jesus Christ. Let us worship God!

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Opening Prayer (based on Isaiah 35:1-10)

Let us pray:

Gracious and loving God,

We come before you this morning with hearts that long to see your glory revealed among us. Just as you promised that the wilderness and the parched land would be glad, we ask that you would bring life and renewal to the dry and weary places in our own lives. Where there is spiritual barrenness, bring forth your abundant life. Where there is discouragement, let your joy spring up like flowers in the desert.

Lord, we gather as people who need your strength and healing touch. Some of us come with weak hands and feeble knees, burdened by the struggles of this week. Strengthen us, we pray. Speak to our anxious hearts and remind us that you are our God, that you come with salvation and with the recompense we need. Open the eyes of our understanding that we might see you more clearly. Unseal our ears that we might hear your voice speaking to us through your Word today. May those who feel lame in their faith leap with new vigor, and may those who have been silent in their praise sing for joy.

We thank you that you have prepared a way for us to walk with you, a highway of holiness where we can journey in safety and in the light of your presence. Remove from us everything that would defile or distract us from following you wholeheartedly. As we worship you now, may your redeemed people lift our voices in gladness, knowing that you have overcome sorrow and sighing, and that you offer us everlasting joy. Meet with us here, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]

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Sermon Outline: "WHEN UNDERSTANDING SEEKS CLARITY"

Based on Matthew 11:2-11

INTRODUCTION:

• The Reality: Text shows faithful wrestling with theological questions.

• John’s Situation:

• Key Interpretive Framework:

I. QUESTIONING (vv. 2-3)

A. The Context of John’s Question

B. Understanding What John is Really Asking

C. The Theological Puzzle John Faces

D. Reframing John’s Question

E. The Nature of Faithful Questioning

II. DEMONSTRATING (vv. 4-6)

A. Jesus’ Response: Teaching, Not Rebuking

B. The Evidence Jesus Presents

C. Jesus’ Answer to John’s Question

D. The Two-Advent Framework

E. The Blessing and Warning

III. DECLARING (vv. 7-11)

A. The Significance of Jesus’ Immediate Praise

B. Three Rhetorical Questions About John

C. Jesus’ Definitive Assessment (v. 11a)

D. The Paradox: “Yet the least in the kingdom is greater” (v. 11b)

E. John’s Question in Context

CONCLUSION:

Five Takeaways for Us:

1. Faithful disciples can wrestle with theological questions

2. Jesus welcomes our questions and provides answers

3. Learn to recognize God’s work even when timing differs

4. Trust Jesus’ timeline (”Blessed is anyone who takes no offense”)

5. Rejoice in our privileged position

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers