![]() ![]() The next king is a guy named David - you’ve probably heard of him - he’s known for defeating the giant Goliath. And a man named Saul is the first king of Israel - but he didn’t turn out to be a very good king. And these tribes eventually decide they want a king like all the other nations. Originally there were twelve tribes of Israel. Now - at this point in history - the Jewish people are divided into two nations. And Isaiah spent most of his time in and around the city of Jerusalem - the city - not where Jesus will be born - Jerusalem is the city where Jesus will be killed. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 8.) - which means he lived 700-800 years before Jesus was born. He lived during the 8th century BC (John N. Isaiah is a prophet - and a prophet is someone who spoke on behalf of God. Now to set up our text, I want to give a quick overview of who Isaiah is and what his book is all about. And that’s my hope for you - that you’ll find such sweet joy in Jesus that you’ll leave here glorifying and praising God this Christmas Eve. Though they started off scared - when they saw the angels - after seeing the Christ child - the last we hear of the shepherds is of them glorifying and praising God. But I want you to know that my hope for all of us - regardless of who you are - regardless of how often you’ve found yourself sitting in a church - my hope is that you will leave here with the kind of joy we saw in those shepherds who were watching their flocks at night. A familiar Christmas text regardless of how many times you’ve found yourself in a church. ![]() We’ll be looking at verses 2-7 together.Īnd while you’re finding Isaiah chapter 9 - earlier you heard words from the gospel of Luke. If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 9. SERMON INTRODUCTIONĪnd our text - for this Christmas Eve - is a culmination of the previous weeks as we discover the joy of Christmas. Again - reason after reason for us to repeat the sounding joy. We’ve seen the joy of redemption - how both creation and the people of God are being renewed and have a glorious future promised to us. We’ve seen the joy of Emmanuel - joy because God is with us. We’ve discovered how there’s joy for the nations because of the birth of Christ. That - because of the birth of Jesus - we have reason upon reason to repeat the sounding joy. SERIES INTRODUCTIONįor the past few weeks - here at Gateway - we’ve been discovering the joy of Christmas. Regardless if it’s your first time with us or if you’re joining us at our North Main campus - I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too. And - as always - there’s one thing I want you to know. Merry Christmas! It’s a joy to be with all of you for our Christmas Eve services. ![]()
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