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Summary
The Christmas service focuses on the topic "And the government shall be upon his shoulders" from Isaiah 9:6-7. The sermon discusses the coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His government, which will bring peace and justice. The service also emphasizes the importance of trusting in the Lord, especially in challenging times, and living a life of humility and obedience to God's will.
Sermon transcription
Link to the service video.
Our topic for today is titled "And the government shall be upon his shoulders." An interesting topic for a Christmas message. So let us read our passage today, Isaiah 9:6-7. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this.
Father God, we thank you for the opportunity to listen to your word in our celebration today. We believe that you are going to speak to each one of us. Give us direction, Lord, in our celebration and also in our lives. We take up this challenge, and we pray that your Holy Spirit will give us the understanding of your word so that we may embrace it and make it part of our lives. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Amen.
There are three parts to this vision, the prophecy of the coming Messiah, but also projecting towards the future, the return of the Messiah as king. The vision of His coming and His return, the expanding hope of His eternal kingdom, and the call to worship Him and trust Him. The message of Advent, which is the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ to be born as a baby, and also looking forward to the hope of His second coming.
In the midst of Chaos, in the midst of these uncertainties, we still need to do our part. But while thinking about that, have the right attitude as children of God, that we will be the best version of ourselves in the society where we are living, having the right attitude, the right worldview, the right mindset, that does not deny the fact that we are living on a very unstable, uncertain world.
The Lord wants us also to be prepared for anything. There are threats to the cables, the power cables, the internet cables, and even the gas supply. And then, adding to all of these are the threats of extreme weather conditions, the uncertainties of the weather all over the world at this time. So, so how can we make sense of it all as believers, as Christians?
We go to the second point, which is the expanding hope of His eternal kingdom. While all of these things are happening, we need to sustain our spiritual focus. And verse seven says, "of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end." There is the aspiration for what lies in the future for all of us, children of God. First of all, as believers, we do not neglect our responsibility to do our very best while living here on earth. It is our responsibility as God's children to make the world a better place for everyone, not only for us.
The Lord is coming to establish His government. In the second part of verse 7, it talks about establishing His kingdom with justice and righteousness continuously, and then forever. He will establish justice and righteousness. When Jesus returns here on earth, finally, we can experience the real justice where in this world so many people experience injustice.
Our attitude should be to trust in the Lord, trust in His best wisdom, trust in His power, and then worship. Our song leaders were encouraging us to focus our minds in lifting up the Lord in worship today, and we have to do that in our lives. That is to be our response.
The challenge I'm giving you today, brothers and sisters, is that we put our trust in the Lord. Fully trust the Lord. What does it mean in your life to trust in the Lord in these challenging and difficult times? What does it mean to say, "Whatever happens, I will worship the Lord?"
So let us just close in prayer and invite you to come forward in prayer. Hallelujah. Father God, we thank you for this wonderful time of celebration. Truly, this is a blessed time that we can see our family and friends together, being gathered here in this place, enjoying the celebration of your birth, enjoying singing our songs of praise and our worship. And as we open up our hearts and minds, reminding us that our hope of your return is alive. And we are expressing our complete trust. You know better than we do. You know what's going to happen. Nobody can predict what is going to happen next. The uncertainties of life, the reality of the chaos around us. We choose to trust you, and we choose to worship you.
Take-aways
- The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in the Lord, especially in challenging times.
- The establishment of God's government will bring peace and justice to the world.
- Believers have a responsibility to do their best while living on earth and to make the world a better place for everyone.
- The expanding hope of God's eternal kingdom should sustain our spiritual focus, even in the midst of uncertainties and chaos.
- Worship and trust in the Lord should be our response to the challenges of our times, and we should put our complete trust in Him.
Food for thought:
- What does it mean to trust in the Lord in challenging and difficult times?
- How can we sustain our spiritual focus in the midst of uncertainties and chaos?
- What is our responsibility as believers to make the world a better place for everyone?
- How can we worship and trust in the Lord in our daily lives?
- What does the establishment of God's government mean for our lives and for the world?