Isaiah 9:6 Christmas: Wonderful Counselor Series

ISAIAH 9:6 CHRISTMAS: WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

ISAIAH 9:6

#isaiah96christmas

INTRODUCTION… Cool Gifts for Christmas 2021, thegrommet.com

Christmas, more than any other time of year, is a season of giving gifts. It is part of what we do and what makes this time of year special. I am a full-service pastor so we are going to begin today in this ‘season of giving’ with some cool gift suggestions to get you warmed up to giving gifts and give you some good ideas. [all from thegrommet.com]

#1 Handmade Flat Candle. This thing is cool. Hand painted, flat, no dripping, different ones can go in the stand. I think this is functional and stylish, but I am a guy so I don’t think I know what stylish really is.

#2 Wad-Free Washer and Dryer Bed Sheet Detangler: This thing is also cool. Somehow this thing keeps the sheets from tangling, twisting, and balling up in the washing machine and in the dryer. It gets 4 of 5 stars out of 286 reviews.

#3 Automatic Pot Stirrer: Prevents burning, and frees up your hands. Thankfully it is also heat-resistant up to 248 degrees and even comes with three stirring speeds. The person who likes to cook in your family needs this. Side thought: get it for the person in your family who likes to start arguments… because they too are an automatic ‘pot stirrer.’

#4 Gourd Thumb Piano: The Mountain Melodies gourd pianos are elegantly designed and crafted in the United States from polished gourds. With the included songbook and its intuitive design, you will be playing and experimenting with your own music in no time.

THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS

Gift giving is definitely part of Christmas, but the reason that we celebrate and give gifts is because of the birth of Jesus. We who believe in Jesus make sure each year that we observe and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

In the Church, “the earliest feast day in connection with the birth of Jesus was January 6, Epiphany, the Day of His Manifestation. This was originally the celebration of the birth itself.” Later, the Christ-mass was celebrated on December 25 because the Christians at the time did a corporate takeover to push out a pagan holiday at the same time each year. This happened under Constantine in the early 300s (The Story of Christianity, Gonzalez, 1984, page 96). The truth is Christians have always celebrated the birth of Jesus and we moved the date early in the Church to push out a big holiday not connected with Jesus.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus because He is the greatest gift that the world has ever received! Jesus is worthy of being celebrated and we celebrate everything about Jesus… even His birth!

We celebrate the birth of Jesus because…

… the birth of Jesus is a supernatural event where God becomes flesh and dwells with us

… the birth of Jesus looks forward to all the magnificent miracles He would do

… the birth of Jesus looks forward to all that He would teach us and His life example

… the birth of Jesus looks forward to His meaningful death

READ MATTHEW 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His Name Jesus.

Jesus is so important and so grand that even before His birth He had a nickname! His nickname in this passage from Matthew was “Immanuel” which is a significant name which means “God with us.” That nickname came from an Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah about the coming of the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Christ which means He is the plan for salvation that people were waiting on.