Christmas speaks into a world that knows darkness—war, loss, fractured families, and private aches no one sees. Isaiah promises that a great light does not ignore the night but breaks right into it. In Jesus, God turns on the dawn, not as a momentary flash, but as the beginning of a new day. His arrival brings real joy, like harvest after lean years and victory after a long fight. If your hope has thinned, lift your eyes toward the horizon; the Light has already risen. Let that light warm the cold corners of your heart today [41:25].
Isaiah 9:2-3 — A people surrounded by darkness will be surprised by a brilliant sunrise. Over those who sit in shadow, new light breaks. God will expand His people and overflow their joy; their celebration will feel like threshing-floor abundance and the shared spoils after a long battle.
Reflection: Where is one corner of your life still shadowed by discouragement, and what is one concrete way you could turn that place toward Jesus’ light this week (a prayer, a conversation, or a small act of obedience)?
Day 2: Freedom Like Gideon’s Day over Midian
Oppression wears many faces—fear that nags, shame that returns, habits that rob. Isaiah remembers Midian, when God routed a brutal enemy through unlikely means so His people would know the victory came from Him. In the same way, Jesus snaps the yoke that bows your shoulders and burns the boots of battles you thought you had to keep fighting. Freedom is not won by your intensity but received by trusting His strength. Bring your 'Midian' into the open, and ask the Lord to fight for you. He delights to turn midnight raids into morning songs [47:01].
Isaiah 9:4-5 — God will snap the harness that digs into their shoulders; He will break the club raised over them, just as He did when Midian was routed. War gear—the stomping boots and stained uniforms—will be thrown into the fire because the fight is over.
Reflection: What burden has been “stealing your harvest” lately, and how could you invite God’s strength into it—perhaps by confessing it to a trusted friend or surrendering a specific next step?
Day 3: A Son Given; the True King
The Child does not arrive as an opinion to consider but as a King to receive. He is not elected and cannot be voted out; the government rests securely on His shoulders. Yet He comes as a gift—given for you—inviting you to open your hands like a child on Christmas morning. His names tell the story: wise ruler, God in power, Father without end, Prince who heals what is broken. Let this King lead your decisions, calm your fears, and reorder what you carry. Say yes again to the gift no one else could give [49:31].
Isaiah 9:6 — A child comes for our good; a Son is handed to us. Authority rests on Him, and His titles tell His nature: wise ruler, true God in strength, Father forever, and prince who brings wholeness.
Reflection: If Jesus is the King given to you, what is one decision or area of leadership in your life you will place on His shoulders today, and how will you demonstrate that trust?
Day 4: Prince of Peace and the Rhythm of Shalom
Peace is more than quiet; it is the steady rhythm of being in tune with God. Shalom is wholeness—life working together as it was meant to, like a heart beating with a healthy cadence. Many of us try to earn our way to peace by overdoing, and our souls slip into arrhythmia. Emmanuel means God with us, not merely us busy for God. Today, create room to be with Him and let His presence reset your tempo. From that rhythm, true peace flows into conversations, schedules, and even your inner storms [57:39].
Matthew 1:23 — A virgin will carry a child and give birth to a son, and He will be called Emmanuel—meaning that God has chosen to live right here with us.
Reflection: Considering your current pace, what simple practice could you adopt for the next seven days to be with God (for example, five minutes of silence before your phone, a midday walk of prayer, or an evening examen)?
Day 5: The Zeal of God and Undivided Hearts
God’s zeal is not a temper but a burning, faithful love that refuses to share you with lesser gods. Like a devoted spouse or a caring parent, He is rightly jealous for covenant closeness with you. This same zeal builds an unending kingdom and calls your heart into undivided worship. When His desire meets your willing surrender, your life takes on the steady beat of justice, righteousness, and joy. Do not settle for lukewarm affection when a blazing love is offered. Ask Him to gather your scattered loves and set them firmly on Him [03:54].
Isaiah 9:7 — His rule will keep spreading and peace will keep deepening without end. He will sit on David’s throne, establishing and sustaining His kingdom with justice and what is right, now and forever. The blazing jealousy of the Lord of hosts will see it done.
Reflection: Name one rival affection that competes for your heart’s attention; what graciously practical shift will you make this week to give that space back to God?
Sermon Summary
Merry Christmas! I love the joy and fun of this season, but I also know how desperately we need its hope. I opened with a playful “not top five” of Christmas songs to warm the room, then turned to Isaiah 9 to name what we all feel: the world is dark and heavy. Isaiah speaks of trampling boots, bloodied garments, and oppressive yokes because God’s people were actually surrounded and attacked. Into that real darkness, God promises a real dawn. He points back to Gideon and Midian—victory not by human strength but by God’s power—so we’d know the rescue is His doing, not ours.
That’s why the child is “given.” He wasn’t ours; He was entrusted to us—a gift. I shared our family’s adoption story because that moment of receiving a son helped me feel the weight of the Father’s generosity. Jesus takes the government on His shoulders—not as an elected official checking polls, but as the true King whose reign cannot be voted in or out. And Isaiah stacks four names on Him to stretch our categories: Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace (kingly titles), and then the shockers—Mighty God and Everlasting Father. The King is God. God came near in flesh.
I focused on “Prince of Peace.” Peace isn’t just quiet or the end of arguments; biblically, it’s shalom—wholeness, fullness, rhythm with God. I likened it to a heart in rhythm. Some of us are spiritually in V-fib—lots of activity with no life. Others are in PVC—overcaffeinated religion, doing so much for God that we stop being with God. Jesus came to bring us into rhythm with the Father’s heart.
Isaiah says this Kingdom is established by the zeal of the Lord—His holy, burning desire and godly jealousy. That’s not petty insecurity; it’s covenant love. Like a faithful husband and a present father, God refuses to share us with idols. Christmas is God saying, “I’m giving you Myself.” So I invited us to respond—believers to realign and rest in His rhythm, and friends who are far from God to receive the Son who was given.
Key Takeaways
1. Light dawns in our deep darkness God does not deny the world’s brutality; He breaks into it with a new day. Isaiah’s hope isn’t sentimental—it’s victory over oppression by God’s hand, like Midian all over again. Real hope faces the dark and announces a greater Light that cannot be extinguished. [41:25]
2. Receive the Son as sheer gift You don’t earn Him, impress Him, or manage Him. You open your hands, and the Father entrusts His Son to you—costly, personal, undeserved. That posture keeps your heart tender and your worship true. [51:29]
3. Shalom is rhythm with God’s heart Peace isn’t merely the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of wholeness. Like a healthy ECG, your soul finds life when it beats in time with God—neither dead activity nor frantic religiosity. The Prince of Peace restores your rhythm so love and obedience flow. [58:27]
4. Jesus: King who is Mighty God He isn’t JV royalty—He is the Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, and astonishingly, Mighty God and Everlasting Father. The manger holds Majesty; the cradle cradles Deity. Bowing to Him is sanity because the Kingdom’s center is God Himself. [53:21]
5. God’s zealous, jealous love pursues you Divine jealousy is covenant love that refuses to share you with lesser lovers. His zeal establishes a Kingdom that outlasts empires and outlives your failures. Let His burning desire for you purify your desires for Him. [63:54]
[75:57] - Broadcast and matching gift announcement
Bible Study Guide
Bible reading - Isaiah 9:2-7
Observation questions
What specific images of darkness, oppression, and victory appear in Isaiah 9:2-4, and what do those images tell you about how deep the problem was that God promises to fix? [41:25]
Read Isaiah 9:6. What are the four names given to the child, and how does the arrangement of those names shape the reader’s understanding of who this child is? [53:21]
How does the reference to Gideon and the day of Midian (Judges 6–7) help explain the kind of rescue Isaiah promises? What details of Gideon’s deliverance are highlighted by the passage? [45:44]
Isaiah says “a son will be born to us” and “a son will be given to us.” What does the wording “given” emphasize about the action and posture of God and people? [49:31]
Interpretation questions (third person)
What does the gift-language (“a son… given”) indicate about God’s initiative in salvation and about the posture people are meant to have in response to that gift? [51:29]
How does understanding “Prince of Peace” as shalom — a restored rhythm and wholeness with God — change the expectations for what peace actually accomplishes in a person’s life? [58:27]
If the kingdom will be established “by the zeal of the Lord,” how should that shape confidence in God’s purposes and the believer’s sense of responsibility (i.e., when to act and when to rest in God’s powering work)? [01:03:54]
How can the portrayal of the child as both “Mighty God” and a vulnerable newborn be held together theologically, and what does that tension tell about God’s way of saving?
Application questions
The Son is given as a gift; receiving him requires open hands, not performance. What would it look like this week for you to receive Jesus as a sheer gift (one concrete change in prayer, posture, or confession)? [49:31]
The Prince of Peace restores rhythm with God rather than producing mere quiet. Which rhythm best describes you right now — V‑fib (no life/rhythm), PVC (overactive doing), or a healthy beat — and what is one practical step you will take this week to be “with” God (not just do for God)? [58:27]
God’s zeal is a burning, covenant jealousy for his people. Is there a competing affection or idol that has your heart’s time and energy? What specific thing will you remove or reorient this month so your heart’s desire is clearer? [01:03:54]
The child will “take the government on his shoulders” as sovereign King. How does submitting to Jesus as King affect one current decision or priority (work, family, money, use of time)? Name the decision and one next action. [48:47]
Many try to approximate life with God by doing more; God calls people to be with him. What is one activity you can pause or give up for the next 7–14 days to create space to listen to God’s heart? How will the group hold you accountable? [01:01:20]
For anyone sensing a need to receive or recommit to the Son today: what immediate, practical next step will this person take (pray a confession, meet with a believer, join a course, be baptized)? Who in the group will follow up and when? [01:09:36]
Sermon Clips
The people of God were facing constant conflict and war. That's why the language here is that they have a trampling boot of battle, that they have blood-drenched clothing from war. The people that lived in Isaiah's time knew war and it was a part of their daily life. Every spring, you would go out and fight to defend your territory because if you didn't, they would conquer you. Every spring, the armies of the king would go out and they would go to the boundaries of their land and defend themselves from the other nations.
[00:44:01]
(37 seconds)
#SurroundedByWar
``Gideon raises up an army. God says, there's too many for me to save Israel with the thousands of men you have raised up to go fight this battle. And sends most of them away. Gideon's left with just a few thousand. God's like, that's still too many for me to free Israel. In the end, Gideon is left with 300 men. They sneak up on the armies of Midian in the middle of the night. Cry out loudly, holding a trumpet in one hand and a torch in the other. And the enemy is routed, not because Gideon is smart, but because God's power is great.
[00:46:19]
(41 seconds)
#GodsPowerOverNumbers
Now, when we think about government, what do we think about? We think about our republic that we have in America, and so we're thinking, okay, is he going to be like a president? Or is he going to be an elected official? Because we think of the three branches of government, don't we? We think about the executive branch of the government. We think about the legislative branch of the government and the judicial branch of the government. We think about the way our government is, but that's not the government that they're talking about here. They're talking about a kingdom with a king.
[00:48:10]
(30 seconds)
#KingdomWithAKing
Consider this. This son is given. We didn't own him. He wasn't ours. He was given to us. I don't know any other way to describe this phenomenon other than just the experience that I've had as a father who's been able to bring a child into our family through adoption. Adoption is a beautiful picture of the gospel. In fact, it points us to the heart of God for his people. And we have three lovely daughters that are biological. But over the years, Tabitha and I both felt God calling us to bring a child into our home and adopt on purpose.
[00:49:33]
(40 seconds)
#AdoptedIntoFamily
And so we went through a season where we just prayed about it. In fact, before any of our biological daughters were born, we felt like this is something God had for us but the timing wasn't right. And so we just kept praying. And after our kids were kind of like all out of diapers, we started just going, okay, is this the time to do this? And we started praying and felt like the Lord said yes. Which is like so amazing because in many ways, like I felt that God put it on my heart that if there was a child that needed a home that we would open ours.
[00:50:13]
(31 seconds)
#AnsweredAdoptionPrayer
So we got there and we met our son the next day. And I will never forget the moment when Josiah's birth mom, who's lovely, handed me Josiah. And she waited for us. She didn't have to do that. But she was like, here, have this, this is your son. Here's a picture of that first morning, first time I held him. And it was like this moment like, wow, I've been given a gift. A gift to shepherd and steward. This is my son. That's the image that God gives of Jesus coming to us.
[00:51:14]
(39 seconds)
#AdoptionAsGospel
Well, in Judaism, there are two kinds of names. One is your personal name. And the other is, is like an epithet, which is descriptive name. So, for example, like Michael Jordan, we all know like Michael Jordan. He's got a couple of epithets on his name. He's Air Jordan, right? That's an epithet. Like, he floats in the sky. Some people call him the goat. Some people are like, you know, that means the greatest of all time. Those are all not really his name. They describe him, right? Jesus has these four names. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
[00:52:38]
(39 seconds)
#FourNamesOfJesus
Because this king, this child, is mighty God. So, they're like, Yahweh is coming? The same one that spoke the world into existence, the same one spoke from the burning bush, that guy is coming? Like, I don't know how to have a category for that, that this child's going to be mighty God. Also, eternal father, everlasting father. The idea of eternality, that this child who's coming has always been and will always be.
[00:55:20]
(28 seconds)
#JesusIsMightyGod
When God made the whole world, there was perfect shalom. There was rhythm. Things worked together. There was fullness. There wasn't division or strife. We knew what God's heart was. And when we think about rhythm, I think that there's probably no better metaphor than that of the human heart. So, some of us in this room are far more acquainted with like the intricacies of the human heart, but just for time's sake, let's just realize, of course, obviously, that every single person has a heart beating within their chest, right? If you didn't, you wouldn't be here. And that heart should be in rhythm. It should beat regularly like a metronome.
[00:57:52]
(39 seconds)
#HeartInRhythm
But there are other graphs, right? There's like this one, which is a V-fib graph. This one obviously looks different, kind of squiggly. If this is happening, there's no blood pumping and you're in a life or death situation. So, if you go to V-fib, like, listen, you need a shock to the system or you need to actually have surgery. This is life-threatening. There's no blood going through your body. And I just want to take a moment to just point out the difference between the two of these when it comes to shalom and rhythm.
[00:58:57]
(29 seconds)
#RestoreShalomRhythm
This means you're connected to God, listening in His heart. Many of us are here where there is no blood pumping because we are not made alive in Christ yet. A non-believer can never have that one on the top. Why? Because you don't know God's heart and you're not His. Your life looks like this. Oh, there may be some activity but it is not bringing true life. And listen, you were made for this, for peace.
[00:59:26]
(33 seconds)
#AliveInChrist
There's life when you find yourself connected to the rhythms of God because He's made you for that connection, to be close to His heart, for your heart to beat in time with His. But what many of us try to do is we try to make ourselves sound like God or try to be moral so sometimes we have our rhythms look like this which is called PVC which is an irregular rhythm and if you do this too frequently it can weaken your heart.
[01:00:32]
(36 seconds)
#GuardYourRhythm
This is a great danger for Christians because we're like man, I gotta try harder I'm gonna add add as much caffeine to my life I'm gonna just do more and then hopefully I'll be in rhythm with God and God's like no, no, no I'm not calling you to be a human doing I want you to be a human being I want you to be with me I want you to be with me.
[01:01:50]
(21 seconds)
#HumanBeingNotDoing
I'm not calling you to be a human doing I want you to be a human being I want you to be with me that's what we hear at Christmas that God will be with us right, Emmanuel that's the name given to Jesus by the angel God with us how are you doing at being with God not just doing things for God how are you doing at being with God are you with him at all these are great questions to consider this morning
[01:02:03]
(34 seconds)
#WithGodNotJustDoing
What God is pointing to here is the kingdom of God and I think when people saw Jesus come the first time they didn't really understand what Jesus was really doing what kind of kingdom he was setting up. The Bible does tell us someday in the book of Revelation he will rule and reign over the earth but when Jesus came for the first time he set up a different kingdom one that will never end and that kingdom is found in people.
[01:03:01]
(27 seconds)
#KingdomInPeople
the word zeal in Hebrew is actually somewhat different the word zeal means burning desire and jealousy which means that what the Bible is saying is the reason why God will build this nation for himself and the reason why he wants you to be close to his heart is because of his jealousy his burning desire for you and his people.
[01:04:24]
(27 seconds)
#GodsBurningZeal
All of us in this room are jealous and it's a good thing I'm going to give you two examples number one my wife I'm jealous for my wife I don't want to share her with anybody else that's what jealousy means I'm not like hey you know you should go on a date with that guy that would be weird we all agree I wouldn't want her flirting with somebody else I don't want her having a relationship with anybody else why because we took covenant vows that the only person that we were going to have a relationship like that with was with each other that's godly jealousy
[01:05:17]
(34 seconds)
#GodlyJealousy
he wants to be with you and he wants you to know him and he wants your heart to beat like his not chasing after any other love other than God that's what he wants and if we want to focus on the essence of Christmas it's that God says I'm giving you myself I'm coming to you why so that you can know my heart and you can know what I'm like because when you look at Jesus you see what God is like
[01:06:18]
(27 seconds)
#HeartbeatWithGod
how is your heart is it consumed with a zeal for God do you have a zeal do you have a burning desire to know Jesus to be connected to his heart or are you just like apathetic you're like man I don't care and there's no blood pumping through your veins and you're dead even though your body's still animated because you're chasing things that bring death
[01:06:51]
(28 seconds)
#IgniteYourZeal
If you've never trusted Jesus Christ this is the time to do it there's some of us who have been running away from God for a long time today's the day you can stop running and get connected to his heart so I just want to tell all believers if you're a follower of Jesus I want you to just consider hey am I am I not connected to Jesus am I chasing something else and I want you to recommit it right now that this Christmas you're going to chase shalom rhythm and peace with God and his heart
[01:08:22]
(38 seconds)
#ChooseShalomToday
