O Come, Key of David

Key Takeaways

• Failed leadership is self-serving and corrupting - When leaders prioritize themselves over those they're called to serve, everyone suffers.

• Faithful leadership is called, parental, key-bearing, and load-bearing - True leaders steward authority for the benefit of others, creating safety and bearing burdens.

• All human leadership eventually fails - Even the best leaders reach their limits and cannot ultimately save us.

• Jesus is the final leader who brings us home - Christmas isn't about us finding our way back to God; it's about God coming to get us through Jesus.

Study Questions

• Question 1

  In what ways might you be using your influence (at home, work, or in relationships) for self-serving purposes rather than serving others?

• Question 2

  How does the contrast between Roald Amundsen's meticulous preparation and Robert Falcon Scott's overconfidence challenge your approach to spiritual leadership and decision-making in times of crisis?

• Question 3

  John states that 'your character in private will always go public.' What hidden attitudes or patterns in your private life might surface under pressure, and how can you address them now?

• Question 4

  How does understanding Jesus as the one who 'came to get you' rather than waiting for you to find your way home change your understanding of salvation and grace?

• Question 5

  In what areas of your life are you still trying to 'save yourself' instead of surrendering to Jesus as the true Key of David who has already done the work?

• Question 6

  John mentions that 'all of life is either ministry or manipulation.' How does this distinction challenge the way you approach your daily interactions and opportunities?

5-Day Devotional

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

Day 1 : Failed Leadership and Our Need for a Savior

READING :

Isaiah 22:15-19

DEVOTIONAL :

Shebna's story confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: self-serving leadership leaves people stranded. While Jerusalem crumbled, he built monuments to himself. How often do we do the same, using our influence for personal gain rather than serving others? Every relationship, every conversation, every moment can be either ministry or manipulation. The seed of Shebna's sin exists in all our hearts. We prioritize our legacy over loving people in an attempt to secure our own comfort. Shebna's removal reminds us that God will not tolerate shepherds who abandon his sheep. This Advent, acknowledge where you've served yourself instead of others, and turn toward the one who came not to be served, but to serve.

Day 2 : The Faithful Steward Points to Christ

READING :

Isaiah 22:20-23

DEVOTIONAL :

Eliakim emerges as everything Shebna was not—called by God, fatherly in care, bearing the key with humility, and strong enough to carry the household's burdens. He represents faithful leadership that creates safety and opens doors for others. Yet even Eliakim's leadership was temporary. The passage hints that this peg will eventually give way. The best human leaders reach their limits. Parents fail. Pastors disappoint. Mentors let us down. But Eliakim points beyond himself to one whose leadership never fails. Today, reflect on the keys of influence God has entrusted to you. Are you opening doors for others or closing them? Are you load-bearing or self-protecting? Let Eliakim's faithfulness inspire you while remembering he ultimately points to Jesus, the perfect steward.

Day 3 : Jesus Holds the Key of David Forever

READING :

Revelation 3:7-13

DEVOTIONAL :

Revelation reveals what Isaiah prophesied—Jesus is the ultimate key-bearer. What he opens, no one can shut and what he shuts, no one can open. This isn't just authority; it's permanence. Unlike Shebna who was thrown out, and Eliakim who was eventually cut down, Jesus' leadership endures forever. He opens the door to the Father's house and no power in hell can close it. He has opened wide our heavenly home, made safe the heavenward road, and barred the way to death's domain. This week, rest in the security of Christ's unshakeable leadership. Your salvation doesn't depend on your strength to hold on, but on his power to hold you fast.

Day 4 : From Exile to Home

READING :

Luke 15:11-24 (The Prodigal Son)

DEVOTIONAL :

Since Eden, humanity has been in exile, longing for home. We feel it in our nostalgia, our restlessness, the deep sense that we're meant for something more. The prodigal son's journey mirrors our own. We take life into our own hands, believing the lie that we're better off on our own. But the heart of the gospel isn't the son's clever return; it's the father's relentless love. He runs to meet his son, embraces him, and restores him. Christmas declares that you don't have to find your way back to God—God has come to find you! Jesus didn't wait in heaven for you to clean up and return. He entered your exile, your danger, your darkness so you can stop trying to earn your way home and simply receive the Father's embrace.

Day 5 : The True and Better Leader

READING :

Philippians 2:5-11

DEVOTIONAL :

Jesus is the true and better Eliakim. Called by the Father, he shepherds us with perfect love. He bears the key of David on his shoulder—the weight of leadership, the burden of authority exercised entirely for our good. On the cross, he was treated like Shebna—hurled out, rejected, and cast away. He took your judgment in a divine exchange so you could receive his righteousness. He bore your load for every sin, failure, and every way you've been a Shebna instead of an Eliakim. Leadership is "you in a crisis looking like Jesus Christ." On the cross, Jesus in the ultimate crisis looked exactly like himself and is faithful, loving, and load-bearing to the end. This Christmas, marvel that the king became the steward, that the owner became the servant, all to bring you home.

This Week’s Liturgy

O Clavis
by Malcolm Guite

Even in the darkness where I sit
And huddle in the midst of misery
I can remember freedom, but forget
That every lock must answer to a key,
That each dark clasp, sharp and intricate,
Must find a counter-clasp to meet its guard,
Particular, exact and intimate,
The clutch and catch that meshes with its ward.
I cry out for the key I threw away
That turned and over turned with certain touch
And with the lovely lifting of a latch
Opened my darkness to the light of day.
O come again, come quickly, set me free
Cut to the quick to fit, the master key.

Call to worship

Leader: Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

All: Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Psalm 24:9-10

Advent reading

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.’ I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Revelation 3:7-8

Confession of sin

Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sought a way home apart from you. We have trusted ourselves, grasped for control, and failed in the stewardship given to us. We have forgotten that you are our true home. Have mercy upon us, O Key of David. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

This Week’s Playlist

Looking Ahead

Join us next week as we continue our Advent sermon series with Haggai 2:1-9.