Glory to God in the Highest

December 7, 2018 Series: Christmas Season

Home Group Study - Sermon Date: 07 December 2018

Text: Isaiah 9:1-7

Opening Discussion: Someone once asked their pastor if parents should allow their children to believe Santa Claus is bringing them gifts on Christmas? What would your response be?

Observation - What does God’s word say?

For the world, Christmas has become a commercialized frenzy of crazed shoppers who trample each other underfoot while trying to get a good deal on shoes, games, and clothing. They have forgotten what Christmas is about… God sent his son into this world to redeem us from the consequences of our own sin, the wrath of God.

For the Christian, Christmas is a time of celebration of the birth of the Lord God in our world so that He might save us from this sin. Isaiah 9:6 is a prophecy that is fulfilled in Jesus who was born so that He might die.  It was Jesus who was born in a manger so that He might hang on a cross. In the birth of Christ is our redemption, our blessing, our cleansing, and all our hope. In Isaiah 9:6, Christ is given four names, which describe four aspects of the nature of His character. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father & Prince of Peace.

How do the following New Testament references allude to the prophecy of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6?

Read: 

  • John 14:26; Acts 2:22
  • John 20:28; Hebrew 1:8
  • John 14:9; Revelation 1:18
  • Luke 2:14; Colossians 1:20

Meaning - What does God’s word mean?

Jesus came into the world, clearly claiming to be the Messiah of Israel, this Wonder King. But His first coming was to lay the foundation of the glory that would follow, that is, His death on the cross would reconcile people to God, bringing them into eternal peace with God through the forgiveness of sins. And so now as we look forward to His coming again, the words of Isaiah hold out hope for us too. The Word of God is clear: there is coming a time of complete and lasting peace with the coming of Messiah. There is hope. We who know the LORD by faith need not despair as those without hope. But what then are we to do while we wait for this King? First, it is our task to carry on the ministry that Isaiah had, to announce to the world the only hope, Jesus the Messiah. Our primary concern is that people find eternal peace with God. We are the ambassadors for this King, calling others to be reconciled with God. And what goes along with this? Our lives must be purified from sin so that we may present to others the hope of righteousness. Our efforts must be tireless to declare to the world that the hope of peace rests with Jesus Christ and none other. And our promotion of causes of peace and righteousness must be consistent with our message, in our families, our communities and our world.

But secondly, this passage also instructs us about the resources available to us even now from our King. We know that Jesus is the Wonderful Counsellor, so we may obtain instruction and guidance for our lives from Him and in His Word. He is the Mighty God, for all power is given to Him, so we may trust Him to accomplish great things in and through us. He is the Everlasting Father, so we may take comfort in the stability that knowing our sovereign Lord reigns brings. And, He is our Prince of Peace, so we may rest in Him, knowing that because of Jesus Christ all is well between us and God. In short, these descriptions of our Lord Jesus Christ are calls to greater prayer, greater confidence, and greater service.

Read the following article from John Piper on the goal of Christmas, and discuss the applications:  

The salvation of sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus is the goal of Christmas.

  • Jesus came at Christmas to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
  • Jesus came at Christmas to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
  • Jesus came at Christmas to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
  • Jesus came at Christmas not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13).
  • Jesus came at Christmas to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
  • Jesus came at Christmas that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death(Heb 2:14)

So the birth of the Son of God, the very God, very man, is simply stunning and glorious and infinitely serious, an overflow of the happy news. The angel called it “good news of great joy” — great joy, not small joy, not a little bit of joy, but great joy (Luke 2:10).

It is mindboggling to me that any Christian would even contemplate such a trade, that we would divert attention away from the incarnation of the God of the universe into this world to save us and our children. Not only is Santa Claus not true — and Jesus is very truth himself — but compared to Jesus, Santa is simply pitiful, and our kids should be helped to see this. Santa Claus offers only earthly things, nothing lasting, nothing eternal. Jesus offers eternal joy with the world thrown in — the fire engine is thrown in (1 Corinthians 3:21–23).

Santa Claus offers his ephemeral goodies only on the condition of good works: “He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake.” That is a pure works religion. And Jesus offers himself all the gifts freely, by grace, for faith.

Santa Claus is make-believe. Jesus is more real than the roof on your house. Santa Claus only shows up once a year. Jesus promises, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). You say to your kid every night: “He is standing by your bed. He is with you when you get up in the morning. He is with you when you go to school today. If mommy and daddy die, he will be right there with you.” Santa doesn’t hold a candle to this flame, Jesus.

Santa Claus cannot solve our worst problem. Jesus did solve our worst problem: our sin and our alienation from God. Santa Claus can put some icing on the cake of the good life, but he cannot take a shattered life and rebuild it with hope forever. And our kids need to know that about Christmas. Santa Claus is not relevant in many cultures of the world. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords over all the peoples of the world. Santa Claus will be forgotten some day and Jesus “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

So there is no contest here. I cannot see why a parent, if they know and love Jesus, if they have found Jesus to be the greatest treasure in the world, why they would bring Jesus out of the celebration and Santa into the celebration at all — I mean, he is just irrelevant. He has nothing to do with it. Zero.

So my counsel is to give all your efforts to making your children as happy as they can possibly be with every kind of surprise that is rooted in the true meaning of Christmas. Let your decorations point to Jesus. Let your food point to Jesus. Let your games point to Jesus. Let your singing point to Jesus. Out-rejoice the world, out-give the world, out-decorate the world, and let it all point to Jesus. If being Jesus-focused is a killjoy for your Christmas, you don’t know him well.

Prayer Points:

  1. Pray that NLC’s greatest treasure will be Christ and our desire to know our Saviour more and more.
  2. Pray that NLC honour Jesus this Christmas, by being faithful ambassadors of our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father & Prince of Peace.
  3. Pray that NLC would be able to rest in Him, knowing that because of Jesus Christ all is well between us and God.

More in Christmas Season

December 25, 2022

The Birth of our Lord

December 18, 2022

Steadfast Joy in Christ our Saviour.

December 11, 2022

Steadfast Trust.