He Shall be Called... | Pastor Jerry Lawson | Christmas at Daystar Church

This week I reminded us how simply God moves through our obedience. A stranger in a white truck paid for four coffees and left a Christmas invite card; a couple longing for a church and newly pregnant took it as God’s nudge. That’s how the Spirit works—He does the heavy lifting while we take the next faithful step. From there we turned to Isaiah 9, a promise first spoken into a season of deep darkness. I traced the costly path by which that promise reached us: Isaiah’s fearless witness and martyrdom, the Essenes’ painstaking copying and hiding of Scripture in caves, and the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered by a bored shepherd boy. God went to extraordinary lengths so you could hold this living Word today.

Isaiah writes as if the future has already dawned: a child is given, and on His shoulders rests real authority. The names are not decorations; they are solutions: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Wonderful Counselor (pele yoʿets) means a miraculous royal strategist. Before we ask everyone else, we listen—silence, attentiveness, and trust—because He knows everything about everything and desires our good. Mighty God (El Gibbor) is the warrior God who chose a manger and a cross to show that His strength works in our powerlessness. The scandal of Christmas is that omnipotence became an infant; the hope of Christmas is that our insufficiency is not the end of the story.

Everlasting Father is not a polished version of our earthly dads. Jesus reveals the Father who doesn’t age out, burn out, or tap out—there’s always room in His house. That’s why a foster family opening their door again and again sings the gospel without words. And Prince of Peace is not the absence of problems but the presence of a Person. Peace is what happens when control moves from our clenched hands to His pierced hands. So we named our anxieties before Him and laid them down. For any who are far from God, there is room in the Father’s house today. Grace meets you where you are, and Jesus is enough to lead you home.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Start with the Wonderful Counselor We default to podcasts, friends, and our own best guesses, but wisdom begins with silence and a surrendered ear. The Counselor is not a motivator but a royal strategist whose counsel forms us before it informs us. Start by listening, and make obedience your first move, not your last resort. He knows everything about everything—and He loves you. [15:56]
• 2. Powerlessness is where God works El Gibbor entered history as a baby to prove His power does not need our leverage. When the diagnosis, the prodigal, or the budget refuses to move, His strength is not stalled—ours is. Yield the illusion of control and ask what faithfulness looks like when you can’t fix it. The cross and the resurrection are the pattern: weakness offered, power revealed. [20:24]
• 3. Meet the Everlasting Father’s heart God is not a cleaned-up version of your dad; He is the Father every heart aches for. He doesn’t tire of you, change His mind, or ration space at His table. He loved you knowing the whole story, and He still says, “There’s room for you.” Receive the love that outlasts your failures and re-learns you into belonging. [26:41]
• 4. Let the Prince of Peace rule Peace is not achieved by removing problems but by recognizing Presence. Anxiety rules when we clutch outcomes; peace reigns when we entrust outcomes. Practice the exchange in prayer: name it, place it in His hands, and refuse to pick it back up. His nearness becomes the quiet center that steadies the storm. [29:35]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:01] - Coffee drive‑thru testimony
• [02:20] - Everyday evangelism challenge
• [03:34] - Holiday joy and hidden pain
• [04:40] - The price behind Isaiah 9
• [06:21] - Isaiah’s courage and martyrdom
• [09:43] - The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered
• [11:02] - You’re holding a miracle
• [12:50] - Darkness meets a dawning Light
• [14:33] - Wonderful Counselor: divine strategy
• [18:49] - Mighty God in apparent weakness
• [22:49] - The Everlasting Father’s heart
• [24:30] - A foster home that says “room”
• [29:35] - Prince of Peace: presence, not ease
• [32:12] - Prayer, surrender, and invitation

1. In Isaiah 9:2, what words describe the people’s condition, and what action does God take toward them?
2. Isaiah 9:6 gives four names. According to the claim, “The names of Jesus are not just titles. They are solutions…” What problem does each name seem to meet? [13:34]
3. Trace the chain of events described that brought Isaiah 9 into our hands (prophet’s witness, preserving scrolls, discovery). What moments stand out and why? [10:28]
4. The phrase “Prince of Peace” is in Isaiah 9:6. How does the definition shared (“Peace is not the absence of problems but the presence of a person”) clarify what kind of peace is promised? [29:35]

1. “Start with the Wonderful Counselor” implies a posture before any decision. What does beginning with silence and a surrendered ear suggest about how God forms us through counsel? [15:56]
2. The “scandal of Christmas” is that Mighty God arrives as an infant. How does this reshape views of where God’s power is most at work—especially in moments that feel powerless? [18:49]
3. “God is not the polished version of your dad… He’s the perfect Father.” What does this mean for someone whose experience of fatherhood was absent, harsh, or unpredictable? [26:41]
4. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, what does it practically look like for anxiety to stop ruling and for His peace to rule instead? [30:16]

1. A simple, faithful step (like paying for coffee and leaving an invite) can open a door God has already prepared. What is one small, tangible act of obedience you can take this week, and who is it for? [01:01]
2. When facing a decision, what would it look like to “start with the Wonderful Counselor”? When and where will you practice silence and listening this week before you seek other input? Be specific. [15:56]
3. Where do you feel most powerless right now—diagnosis, relationship, budget, emotions? What would it mean to stop trying to leverage control and instead ask, “What does faithfulness look like when I can’t fix it?” [20:24]
4. Where does the word “father” still trigger ache or distance in you? What next step could help you receive the Everlasting Father’s steady love—naming a wound, inviting prayer, opening Scripture, or telling a trusted friend? [27:35]
5. Practice the peace exchange: name the specific worry, place it in His hands, and refuse to pick it back up. What is the worry you will name this week, and what will you do when you’re tempted to take it back? [31:28]
6. Considering the costly path by which Isaiah 9 reached us, what is one way you will treat Scripture as the miracle it is—daily reading plan, memorizing Isaiah 9:6, or bringing a physical Bible to group? [11:02]
7. “There’s room in my house” sounds like the Father’s heart. In your world, how can you make room—an extra chair at your table, a text to include someone, a ride, a gift, an invite to church? Choose one concrete way for this week. [24:30]