I've always wanted to be able to make good cinnamon rolls. Last year, my oldest daughter and I were determined to accomplish this task. We followed each instruction to the letter, put the potential goodness into the magical food kiln, then we waited...
We could smell the cinnamon in the air. Our stomachs started to rumble at the thought of drizzling the top of these pastries with sweet goodness, fresh out of the oven. We set the timer and waited...and waited...and waited. We waited until what seemed like forever, when the buzzer finally broke the sound of our hungry stomachs.
After pulling the pan out of the oven, we pulled apart these glorious looking baked goods. the first bite on the fork brought with it a smell of cinnamon that reminded me of Christmas. I put the bite in my mouth, and was incredibly disappointed. It was heavy and dense. It tasted nothing like the name it was given. What I anticipated to be a beautiful dance on my tastebuds became a disappointment and an extra pound in the garbage.
We decided to try it again this year. I don't give up easily! We followed the instructions to a "t"! Again, the smell was wonderful, it looked quite pleasing to the eye, and we hoped we would get a different result this time around. We pulled the rolls out of the oven and noticed how glorious they looked! Sure enough!! We took one bite and were amazed at the wonderful flavor that came from them! There was no way these were going into the garbage! Finally, what we anticipated became a reality! We loved them so much that we decided to make another batch the next day!
The Israelites were anticipating something great and wonderful to come; the Messiah! They had high hopes to be freed from the bondage that they were under. They were anticipating freedom. In. walked. Jesus. They wondered, "Is this man REALLY the Messiah?"
Come to Cornerstone on Sunday and we will be looking at another example of why Jesus is the Messiah and what that means for us today!
See you Sunday!
~Pastor Jesse