Sermon Illustrations for Advent 4 (2016)
Isaiah 7:10-16
It was a difficult time for many Americans. The nation was engulfed in a civil war, and it looked as if it might never end. Bloody battles had taken the lives of brothers, husbands, and fathers. Homes had been destroyed and towns burned down. It was a time of hopelessness and despair. Into the ever-darkening gloom, American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote:
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.