“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this”
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. ”
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
From the very beginning of our need for a savior (which you can find in Genesis 3), God promised one (the serpent stomper in that same chapter). Jesus himself told us in Luke 24 that all the Scriptures point directly to him. More than that, we know from John 1 that Jesus is the Word! This Advent season I have prayerfully entered into a series titled A Promised Coming. In this series we find ourselves in a stretch of God’s Word that reveals the advent (coming) of Jesus Christ in an overt fashion. This little section of Isaiah is cherished by many Christians for its clear, concise, and declarative proclamation of the coming of Jesus Christ.
Above, you will find either the full texts of the Scripture to be preached on or an emphatic couple of verses. Please read and reread them in preparation for each Sunday’s worship service. Jesus is everywhere in the Old Testament, and we will surely see him here in the beginning chapters of Isaiah. My hope is that in looking at this promised coming of our savior we will more fully cherish the reality of Jesus’ coming as it is recorded in the Gospels. As we hold fast to the sureness of our God’s coming to save us, my prayer for our church family at Centennial is a consuming love. First, a consuming love for our God who has saved us. Second, a consuming love for one another because of the very same thing. May God be glorified in us this Christmas season! Blessings to each of you.
Jeremiah