O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

by Brian Johnson on December 05, 2025

This Advent, we are calling our sermon series, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”

Each Advent, we are called to prepare ourselves – to make ourselves ready for Jesus to show up. During Advent we sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” – praying for Jesus to step into our lives, into our hearts, and into our world.

Advent is a reminder that our world needs Jesus. Our world is broken by sin and death, hatred and despair – and we need someone to set it right. During Advent, we pray for God to do just that – we take time to ask God to bring the healing, transformation, and hope that we so desperately need. It is a reminder that God has already stepped into our world – becoming one of us in Jesus Christ – and that, because God has entered into our world, God also promises to keep showing up to us – to keep entering our world and bringing peace, hope, love, and new life.

Part of how we pray for God to step into our lives is by taking time to get ready for God to show up. During these weeks many of us spend our time getting our homes ready for Christmas – tidying things up (before we put up the tree and hang the stockings by the chimney). Advent invites us to also get ourselves ready – to tidy up our hearts, to make space in our lives for God to be at work. God can – and does – show up whether we are ready or not. But just like we would take time to prepare our home before welcoming someone who we love into it, Advent is an opportunity to prepare ourselves to receive the most honored guest of all – the God who has chosen to become one of us in Jesus.

We prepare ourselves for Jesus to show up by learning to live in ways that reflect his love. God has given us the free gift of love in Jesus Christ, and that gift – that grace – invites us to respond by sharing grace with others. So, praying for Jesus to show up – making our lives and world ready to receive the King who is coming to save us – means learning to do justice, to practice kindness, to speak up against hatred, to embody the way of love and peace, to share mercy with those who are in need. We prepare the way for Jesus to show up by feeding the hungry, caring for the suffering, spending time encountering God’s story through Scripture and worship, spending time with other people who are seeking God, and so much more.

As we move through Advent and towards Christmas, how are you preparing the way for Jesus to show up? How are you making yourself (and the world around you) ready to receive the gift of Christ? How are you working and praying for the light of Jesus to shine more brightly in your life and in our world?

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. That is our prayer. That is our work. That is our hope. Jesus is on the way, and he is making all things new.

~ Pastor Brian

About the Author

Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson is the Lead Pastor at Williamsburg United Methodist Church. A lifelong United Methodist and Virginian, he brings extensive experience from rural and suburban settings—from a nearly 250-year-old congregation whose building felt as storied as its history to a newly planted church worshiping in an elementary school gym. Brian has served churches in Northern Virginia, the Richmond area, and Mathews County, leading worship in a variety of styles and guiding congregations of all sizes. His primary passion is proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ: telling the story of Christ’s death and resurrection and inviting people to encounter that story through worship, mission, service, and radical hospitality.

Brian also delights in helping churches connect with their local communities and welcoming new faces into God’s unfolding story. At WUMC, he collaborates with staff and lay leaders to deepen community outreach and invite skeptics, seekers, and longtime members alike to find their place in God’s work. Whether organizing a neighborhood service project or crafting a sermon series, Brian aims to make the gospel tangible through both words and actions.

He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Kim, and their two sons—Jeremiah (in high school) and Ezekiel (in middle school). They are avid sports fans, Star Trek enthusiasts, and eager Busch Gardens explorers. As a family, they savor Tex-Mex nights, long walks on quiet neighborhood streets, and weekends spent discovering Williamsburg’s historic trails and hidden gems.

Above all, he considers it a privilege to shepherd the WUMC family, learning every day how God is at work in and through this congregation, and partnering in Christ’s mission throughout the Williamsburg area.