READ: Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; and 53:1-12
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
KEY THOUGHT: It’s hard to imagine not being home for Christmas as we anticipate time with our family together around the tree and the table. But every Christmas season there are many who spend days and nights away from home while being “Home for Christmas” is only in their dreams. As Christmas approaches, imagine what it must have been like for a King to leave His throne, and His heavenly home, to come to a place where many sought Him, but few would recognize Him or make room for Him. Imagine what that night of anticipation might have been like, as angels sang, shepherds quaked, and wise men sought the meaning of a new star. Though we may dream today of a Christmas white with snow, on that night long ago when the heavenly host sang, the clarity of the sky revealed the birth of the King. The anticipation of that night is captured in the 12th century carol, O Come, O Come Emmanuel: O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer As the nations called forth for Emmanuel to come, they provided no home for His arrival. Rather, as the King was born, He entered this world in a stable, an afterthought for a world caught up in the hustle and bustle of a census. That sounds a lot like Christmas today… we sing, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, as we shuffle from place to place, caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. So maybe, considering what it might be like to be away from home for Christmas brings to mind another time when Emmanuel left His heavenly home so that He could fulfill His mission to come and reside in the hearts of man. He left His home to make a home with us. Has He found a home with you…or has the busy-ness of Christmas left Him no room? By God’s grace, you can be home with family and friends for Christmas… and with Emmanuel, God with us. CONSIDER: APPLICATION: Make a place for Christ to have a home in your heart this Christmas.
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
