By Josh Bundy
(This blog is condensed from the entire sermon that you can watch or listen to using the players above.)
Opening and Introduction
Good morning. I’m Josh, one of the pastors here at Covenant. I’m glad to be with you this morning. We are beginning our Advent series today. It is called Miracle, and we are talking about the true story of Advent—the story of God doing the miraculous by sending His Son, Jesus, in the fullness of time to redeem us.
This Advent season, we’re exploring moments in Scripture that point to the miracle of Jesus. Today, we begin with the birth of Isaac—a story of waiting, doubting, laughing, and believing.
The Promise to Abraham and Sarah
In Genesis, God makes an outrageous promise to Abraham: that he and Sarah will have a son in their old age. Abraham is 75 when God first gives the promise. Twenty-five years pass before Isaac is born.
At one point, when Abraham hears the promise again, he falls on his face and laughs. Later, Sarah hears it and also laughs. Their laughter exposes disbelief, confusion, maybe even pain—but it also becomes a doorway for God to show His faithfulness.
Genesis 18:9–15; 21:1–7
Genesis 18:9–15 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Genesis 21:1–7 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
The God Who Keeps His Word
There’s a long, aching gap between promise and fulfillment. Abraham and Sarah feel the tension, confusion, and disappointment. They laugh at God’s timing and method. And yet—God keeps His word.
The story teaches us that: - God is not slow, though He may feel slow. - God is not limited by our circumstances. - God is faithful even when our faith wavers.
God asks a profound question: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
When Our Laughter Comes from Pain
Sometimes we laugh because we don’t want to cry. Sarah’s laughter came from disappointment, age, cynicism. She had prayed for decades. She had hoped for years. Eventually, hope had collapsed into a kind of protective skepticism.
We do the same. We protect ourselves from disappointment by lowering expectations, numbing our desires, or building emotional walls.
But God sees through the laughter and into the heart. He invites us into honest faith—a faith that acknowledges our doubts but still hopes in Him.
God Turns Doubt into Joy
When Isaac is born, Sarah laughs again—but this time, it is the laughter of joy, wonder, and freedom.
The same mouth that said, “After I am worn out?” now says, “God has made laughter for me.” God transforms cynical laughter into redeemed laughter.
This is the kind of miracle God loves to do: - He brings hope where hope has died. - He brings life where barrenness feels permanent. - He shows up in His perfect time.
Advent and the Miracle of Jesus
Isaac’s birth points beyond itself. Like Isaac, Jesus is born through miraculous intervention—but on an even grander scale.
Advent reminds us that: - God keeps His promises. - God steps into our waiting. - God brings joy where there once was sorrow.
Jesus is the true and better miracle—God in the flesh, come to rescue us.
Invitation to Trust
Where do you feel the ache of waiting today? Where have you laughed in disbelief? Where does your heart whisper, “It’s too late”? Advent invites us to bring those places to God.
The story of Isaac says: God is able. God is faithful. God keeps His promises in His time.
Trust Him. Even in the waiting.
