Coming Home For Christmas- Week 1

Devotional

Day 1: God promised a Savior from the very beginning.

From the opening pages of Scripture God declares a rescue plan: enmity between the serpent and the woman and a single Seed who will bruise the serpent’s head. This is not a late idea pulled together in crisis; it is God’s first word of hope and sets Christmas as the start of God’s redemptive story. Remember that the rescue was planned long before you ever needed it, so anchor your confidence in that promise. [06:41]

Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

Reflection: Where in your life do you still act as if God is surprised by circumstances, and what step will you take this week to trust that his rescue plan was in place long before your crisis?

Day 2: Virgin birth confirms Jesus' divine, sinless origin.

The virgin conception shows that Jesus’ humanity was provided by God so that he could be fully human without inherited sin; the woman provides the egg, but God provided the seed. That truth protects the reality of Christmas — God entered our world in a way that made the Savior pure and fit to take our sin. Let the miracle of the virgin birth deepen your gratitude and trust that God does what only he can do. [09:35]

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Reflection: What part of Jesus’ identity (divine, human, sinless) do you find hardest to grasp, and what specific step will you take this week (a Scripture read, a conversation with a believer, a prayer) to anchor that truth in your heart?

Day 3: Jesus is the promised King and everlasting ruler.

This passage names Jesus’ authority and character — Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace — and declares that government will rest on his shoulders. That means every earthly argument, political fear, and anxiety about the future will be settled by his just and eternal reign. Let this reality shape how you live today: honor him as King now and hold your hope in his coming kingdom. [12:17]

Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Reflection: If you truly treated Jesus as “the government on his shoulders” in your family, work, and public life, what is one concrete decision you would make differently this week?

Day 4: Jesus suffered and died to redeem sinful people.

The suffering servant passages make clear that the Messiah would be oppressed, cut off from the living, stricken for the transgression of God’s people, and yet buried with the rich — all fulfilled in Christ. That detail shows the depth and certainty of God’s plan: the Savior’s pain and death were not accidental but redemptive. Bring your sin, shame, and questions to the foot of the cross where this rescue was accomplished and let his suffering free you from hiding. [25:24]

Isaiah 53:8–10 (ESV)
By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Reflection: What specific area of guilt, shame, or secret failure are you still hiding instead of giving to Jesus, and what one practical step will you take this week to lay it down before him (confession to God, talking with a trusted friend, or seeking counsel)?

Day 5: Believers' hope is secure in the rapture.

Because God speaks history with perfect accuracy, believers can hold fast to the twin anchors of hope: the resurrection and the rapture — the promise that Christ will return, the dead in Christ will rise, and the living will be caught up to meet him. This hope changes how we watch the world: lift your head, look up, and live in readiness rather than fear. Let that blessed certainty shape your priorities and comfort your heart today. [33:43]

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (ESV)
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Reflection: When worry over the world wells up, which spiritual habit will you choose to “look up” this week (a set time of prayer, memorizing a promise, joining corporate worship), and exactly when will you do it?

Sermon Summary

I kicked off our Christmas series, “Coming Home,” by pointing to the one feature that sets Christian faith apart from every other religion: prophecy. God didn’t ask us to leap into the dark; He spoke into history with specificity long before events unfolded. From the first announcement in Eden—God telling the serpent that a singular Seed would crush his head—to Isaiah’s promise of a virgin conceiving and bearing “Emmanuel,” the Scriptures reveal a God who declares the end from the beginning. The virgin birth matters because the Savior had to be sinless; the Holy Spirit supplied the seed so the Second Adam carried no corruption. Isaiah also told us a child would be born and a Son given, and that the government would ultimately rest on His shoulders—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We also considered the staggering mathematics behind fulfilled prophecy. It’s not just one or two predictions; there are roughly 340 about Jesus’ first coming alone. The odds of one person fulfilling even eight of them are astronomically small—visualized as finding one marked coin in Texas buried two-feet deep in silver dollars. Jesus fulfilled hundreds. This is not wishful thinking; it’s historical, verifiable, and anchored in texts written before the events took place.

Then we walked through just a few of those fulfillments: riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, being betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver, that money later buying a potter’s field, dying with criminals yet being buried in a rich man’s tomb, speaking specific words from the cross, and rising from the dead. The precision is breathtaking.

What does this mean for us? If God is 100% accurate, we can be 100% confident in Him. He keeps His word. That confidence shapes how we face the future: we live with settled hope in the rapture and the resurrection, knowing our lives are held in nail-scarred hands and our future rests in a God who does not lie. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and He will come again to receive us to Himself. Christmas is God coming to bring us home; salvation is us coming home to Him.

Key Takeaways

1. Prophecy anchors faith in reality God doesn’t ask for blind allegiance; He gives testable promises woven through centuries. The absence of comparable prophetic foretelling in other religions isn’t a minor footnote; it’s the fault line. When doubts show up, let fulfilled Scripture be the floor your faith stands on, not feelings or trends. [04:40]
2. The virgin birth guards sinless rescue If salvation required a spotless Lamb, the Savior’s origin had to bypass Adamic corruption. The Spirit-supplied seed makes Jesus the true Second Adam—fully human yet without sin. Even the non-mingling of maternal and fetal blood hints at a holy separation for our Redeemer. [09:35]
3. Odds demand surrender to sovereignty The math doesn’t merely amaze; it summons. When chance collapses under the weight of hundreds of fulfillments, what remains is the hand of God writing history. Prophecy is more than apologetics; it is an invitation to worship the One who scripts redemption with precision. [16:01]
4. Live ready: rapture and resurrection hope Christian hope is not escapism; it is expectancy anchored in promise. The rapture and our shared resurrection don’t make us passive—they make us courageous, pure, and persevering. Hope rightly held loosens fear’s grip and reorients us toward the King who is coming. [33:43]
5. Your future is held secure A God who cannot lie is a God you can trust with tomorrow. He thinks peace toward you, not evil; the Son and the Father hold you together, and none can snatch you from their hands. Live from that security, not striving for it, and take bold steps into your calling. [35:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
- Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

- Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Observation questions

What single feature is identified as setting Christianity apart from other religions, and what evidence was given for that claim? [04:40]
What specific details about the coming One do Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6 give that point both to his humanity and to his deity? [09:35]
Name at least three specific Old Testament predictions and their New Testament fulfillments that were listed (for example: entry into Jerusalem, betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, burial in a rich man’s tomb). Choose three and point to the OT prophecy and the NT account. [24:08]
What numerical claims were made about the number of prophecies concerning the Messiah and the improbability of chance fulfillment? How were those odds pictured? [16:01]

Interpretation questions

If prophecy is presented as the primary evidence that grounds faith in history rather than feeling, what difference does that make for how a person should test or hold their faith? [04:40]
How does the virgin birth function theologically to secure Jesus’ sinlessness and his role as the “Second Adam”? What are the implications of that claim for how salvation is described? [09:35]
What follows for one’s worldview if hundreds of detailed prophecies were fulfilled by one person: is coincidence, conspiracy, or divine authorship the best explanation, and why? [16:01]
How do the promises of the rapture and the resurrection change the intended posture of believers toward fear, purity, and perseverance in daily life? [33:43]

Application questions

Prophecy is a testable foundation for faith rather than mere feeling. When doubts come, what practical step will you take this week to replace a feeling-based worry with a Bible fact (for example: memorize one prophecy–fulfillment pair, read an explanation, or bring it to a friend)? [04:40]
The virgin birth is given as the theological ground for the Savior’s sinlessness. How does that truth change the way you confess sin and rely on Christ’s righteousness? Name one change you will make in your prayer or confession life this week. [09:35]
The statistical arguments were used to show that fulfilled prophecy points to God’s sovereignty. What specific decision, worry, or plan will you deliberately hand over to God’s sovereignty this month, and how will you remind yourself you’ve done that? (Be concrete: a written note, a Bible verse on your phone, a conversation with a friend.) [16:01]
Hope in the rapture and resurrection is meant to produce courage, purity, and perseverance. Which of those three (courage, purity, perseverance) needs the most strengthening in your life now, and what one habit will you start in the next 7 days to grow in it? [33:43]
The Bible promises that your future is secure (Jeremiah 29:11; John 10; John 14). Which promise most comforts you personally right now, and what practical reminder will you use when anxiety rises (e.g., a verse card, a one-sentence confession, or a phone alarm)? [35:31]
The invitation is described as “coming home” to Christ. Who in your circle needs to hear that invitation presented as historically grounded hope (fulfilled prophecy plus the offer of salvation)? Plan one step this week to share that invitation (a conversation, a text with one prophecy–fulfillment example, or an invitation to church). [38:40]

Sermon Clips

And like I've told you before, and I'm going to say it again. You ready? I got two Bible apps on my phone and neither one of them could get the weather right last weekend. Becausehad I known that, we'd have had church, praise God. But that's another deal. But the reality is we can't predict the weather. And God predicted things thousands of years in advance. It's amazing to me. [00:07:01] (21 seconds) #GodPredictsHistory

So watch this, everybody. The first Bible prophecyever spoken was spoken not by men, but by God. Number two, it wasn't spoken to men. It was spoken to the enemy, which I love it. Love it. God wanted to say, look, can I give you the Charlie Riley version of this? This is God going, okay, before I get started, let me tell you how this is going to end for you. Come on, somebody. That's what he did. [00:07:40] (26 seconds) #GodDeclaredVictory

I can't wait till it all sits on his shoulders. Y'all ain't getting it like I got it. Praise God. I mean, I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, Independent. None of that matters to me. Can I assure you? There is a day when none of that will be a fight, an argument, or even a conversation, because Jesus is king. Praise God. Amen? He will run the government. I love it. [00:12:28] (25 seconds) #JesusAbovePolitics

a nutshell.This is the Charlie Riley, but you can look it up in his book. Whatever. Here it is. You ready?If you took a silver dollar, put an X on it. Okay? The size of the state of Texas, silver dollars two foot deep, scrambled them all up, blindfolded a person, and told them to pick out the silver dollar.That is the equivalent mathematically of what it would take for one man to complete eight prophecies in your Bible. True story. True story. [00:15:08] (33 seconds) #MathematicalMiracles

Jesus would enter into Jerusalem on a donkey. How many of you believe that's a pretty specificprophecy? I mean, the brother comes up. I mean, think about it. If I was writing the Bible and I was writing about a king who was coming to the earth, I would not put him on a donkey. You know, I get it.Matter of fact, I don't even want to be put on a donkey. Afraid of what people might think.Okay? But the Bible says that he would come riding a donkey. That's what it says. Now, [00:21:05] (30 seconds) #DonkeyProphecy

In other words, even though he was crucified and he had to go to hell to pay the penalty for us. The truth of the matter is, he never saw corruption. He neverwas sin. Praise God. He suffered the penalty of sin, but he never was sin himself. He was an innocent person, an innocent man, and an innocent God that suffered for us to redeem us from the penalty we deserved. Amen? That's as simple as it is. [00:30:14] (24 seconds) #InnocentSavior

If God is 100% accurate, which I've proven to you he is, I can be 100% confident in what he said. And I believe that with all my heart.If God is 100% accurate, if he is the alpha and the omega, if he calls things before they happen as though they had already happened, if he can see time from the beginning to the end, which he can, then can I assure you of this? I can put all of my confidence in him. Because only he has the key to the end of the story. Only he has the key to how this thing is all going to play out. [00:30:56] (29 seconds) #TrustGodsPlan

We are never supposed to lose hope. We are never supposed to look out on the landscape of this planet and go, oh my goodness, what are we going to do? We are supposed to lift our heads and look up. Praise God.Just like Noah's ark. Noah's ark didn't have windows out the side. Why? Because Noah wasn't supposed to look out. He was supposed to look up. The Bible says that the window was facing up. Why? Because your help comes from up there, not out there. Praise God. And that's a big difference. Amen. Amen. [00:34:51] (29 seconds) #LookUpForHelp

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Why is the virgin birth theologically necessary?

What is the significance of riding a donkey?

How does prophecy uniquely authenticate Christianity?