The Appearance
Titus 3:4-6
December 18, 2022
NASA’s Apollo Missions program successfully sent 24 astronauts to the moon and 12 of those actually walked on the moon. The last Apollo mission was sent up in 1975; since then, there have been numerous Space Shuttle flights as well as flights to the international space station. But no one has walked on the moon since 1972 — now 50 years.
So, NASA has started another space venture, called Artemis; the goal is to again place mankind on the moon on its third flight, scheduled for 2025. Its first flight — an unmanned venture — just returned to earth on December 11. While it was unmanned, it wasn’t empty; it carried several artifacts into space, among them a commemorative coin from Apollo 8, a bolt from an Apollo 11 engine, and a mission patch from Apollo 17.
While there is limited room within the capsules, most space flights include some artifacts — some are put on display in museums, and others are sold because the value of the items increases significantly after it has been to space. Some items that have gone into space (on both private and NASA missions) include:
- Dinosaur bones and part of a dinosaur eggshell
- Amelia Earhart’s wristwatch
- A 17th century shipping tag from the Jamestown Colony
- Human ashes — some 1500 people have been “buried” in space by the company Celestis
- A bit of fabric from the first plane of the Wright brothers that flew
- At least three different Olympic torches
- 66 lbs. of hops, which Samuel Adams used to make “Space Beer”
It seems if something goes to the heavens, it becomes more valuable. [You know where I’m going, don’t you?] Of infinitely greater worth is what has come from Heaven to earth — the eternal God-Man, Jesus Christ. He is of infinite worth not because of where He went (space) but because of who He is. And His value and significance is magnified by what He did — coming to earth and ultimately to die for sin.
This Christmas season, we are considering the advent of Christ from Paul’s letter to Titus. Last week we saw the promise of Christ’s coming, this morning we will be reminded of the importance of the appearance of Christ, and next Sunday we will observe the fulfillment of Christ’s coming. These are passages that not only point out the importance of Christ’s advent, but they also emphasized the hope of His coming.
This morning, as we look at Titus 3, we will discover that,
Every blessing for the believer is founded on the appearance of Christ on earth.
In this passage we find three implications from the appearance of Christ:
- The Motive for Christ’s Arrival (3:4a)
- The Meaning of Christ’s Arrival (3:4b)
- The Manifestations of Christ’s Arrival (3:5-6)
Download the rest of this sermon on Titus 3:4-6.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.
Photo of Artemis 1 by NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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