Embracing the Wonderful Counselor This Christmas Season
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Go ahead and grab a seat. Man, you guys sound great today. So do you guys. We're going to press pause on the service for a minute to do something really special. If you have been a part of our church, you know that baptism is one of our favorite times. And today we have two baptisms that we get to celebrate with those being baptized and with all of you. But today is a little bit different because what do you do when you, for whatever reason, are not able to use your normal mode of baptism? [00:30:26] (33 seconds)
And they say in this about what do we do when it comes to things like fasting and baptism and communion. And this is what the Didache says about baptism. This is how you should baptize. Baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in running water. If you don't have running water, then baptize in still water. [00:31:42] (21 seconds)
If you have neither, then just pour water. On the head three times in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So if you remember, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and we built a tank. And full disclosure, as one who regularly gets in there to help with this, it's warm and it's lovely. [00:32:08] (19 seconds)
There's a lot to take in at the international level, at the national level, at the city level, at our own personal family levels. It's a lot to take in. So what do we do? Is there any hope? Is there any help for us? I'm going to argue that we're going to find some help this year by going to one of the oldest writings that we have on record and looking and seeing from a prophet named Isaiah that there is actually reason for hope and joy and peace and love this Christmas season. [00:56:51] (31 seconds)
Now our beliefs, our Christian theology teaches that this passage is a reference to the promised Messiah that would one day come and liberate his people and establish his kingdom. And we believe that that Messiah has already come and his name is Jesus Christ and that the world actually, whether they know it or not, they are celebrating his birthday when they celebrate Christmas. That's what we hold to and that Christmas is a time of celebrating that baby. [00:57:58] (27 seconds)
So what's so special about this Jesus, this baby born in a manger? Well, a lot. And if you have ever read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet has the famous line, what's in a name? Well, when it comes to Jesus, a lot. A lot is in a name. So what we're going to do this year is we are going to unpack the four titles that are given or names given to this Messiah. [00:59:11] (24 seconds)
And it's used in the Bible specifically to talk about acts of God that were just way bigger, way better than we thought. One of the best examples of this is if you go back to Exodus chapter 15. If you don't know the story of Exodus, God's chosen people are slaves in Egypt. They come out and the way God liberates them is he walks them through the Red Sea. And you're like, well, that's not cool. That's a lot of water. Yeah, he stopped it. They walked through. The army chased them. He closed it, destroyed the world's biggest army, saved his people. And what did they say in their song of praise to God? He is Pele, the way he saved us. That was wonderful. That was miraculous. That was supernatural. That was God -sized. That was so much bigger or better than we could have comprehended or expected. That's wonderful. [01:01:13] (44 seconds)
You have a wonderful counselor who is able and capable to not only give you good advice, but miraculous, supernatural guidance to help you and guide you to answers that are far beyond your expectations. So when we put these... When we put these together, when we put this pele -yo -ets, this wonderful counselor together, what we start to see is that this promised Messiah will be a source of miraculous insight, miraculous wisdom, offering guidance that is far beyond human comprehension, far beyond human understanding, far beyond human expectations. [01:03:47] (36 seconds)
And Kevin said, I said, I'm doing this series on Isaiah 9 -6. And what do you think? And he goes, okay. So my immediate gut level response is, I'm going to do this series on Isaiah 9 -6. The question was, what does wonderful counselor mean to you? He said, my immediate gut level response is, one who welcomes and invites us with all that we bring to him, our thoughts, emotions, physical and relational realities, and enters into our story with us, helping us discern what is true about ourselves and what we are bringing to him. In his presence, love becomes greater than fear. [01:09:06] (36 seconds)
The best part is, the great news about Christmas, is that you have access to such a counselor. I have access to such a counselor. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. His name shall be called Emmanuel. God with you, entering into your story and being with you in it. His name shall be called Jesus. [01:12:17] (29 seconds)
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And they say in this about what do we do when it comes to things like fasting and baptism and communion. And this is what the Didache says about baptism. This is how you should baptize. Baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in running water. If you don't have running water, then baptize in still water. [00:31:42] (21 seconds)
If you have neither, then just pour water. On the head three times in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So if you remember, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and we built a tank. And full disclosure, as one who regularly gets in there to help with this, it's warm and it's lovely. [00:32:08] (19 seconds)
There's a lot to take in at the international level, at the national level, at the city level, at our own personal family levels. It's a lot to take in. So what do we do? Is there any hope? Is there any help for us? I'm going to argue that we're going to find some help this year by going to one of the oldest writings that we have on record and looking and seeing from a prophet named Isaiah that there is actually reason for hope and joy and peace and love this Christmas season. [00:56:51] (31 seconds)
Now our beliefs, our Christian theology teaches that this passage is a reference to the promised Messiah that would one day come and liberate his people and establish his kingdom. And we believe that that Messiah has already come and his name is Jesus Christ and that the world actually, whether they know it or not, they are celebrating his birthday when they celebrate Christmas. That's what we hold to and that Christmas is a time of celebrating that baby. [00:57:58] (27 seconds)
So what's so special about this Jesus, this baby born in a manger? Well, a lot. And if you have ever read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet has the famous line, what's in a name? Well, when it comes to Jesus, a lot. A lot is in a name. So what we're going to do this year is we are going to unpack the four titles that are given or names given to this Messiah. [00:59:11] (24 seconds)
And it's used in the Bible specifically to talk about acts of God that were just way bigger, way better than we thought. One of the best examples of this is if you go back to Exodus chapter 15. If you don't know the story of Exodus, God's chosen people are slaves in Egypt. They come out and the way God liberates them is he walks them through the Red Sea. And you're like, well, that's not cool. That's a lot of water. Yeah, he stopped it. They walked through. The army chased them. He closed it, destroyed the world's biggest army, saved his people. And what did they say in their song of praise to God? He is Pele, the way he saved us. That was wonderful. That was miraculous. That was supernatural. That was God -sized. That was so much bigger or better than we could have comprehended or expected. That's wonderful. [01:01:13] (44 seconds)
You have a wonderful counselor who is able and capable to not only give you good advice, but miraculous, supernatural guidance to help you and guide you to answers that are far beyond your expectations. So when we put these... When we put these together, when we put this pele -yo -ets, this wonderful counselor together, what we start to see is that this promised Messiah will be a source of miraculous insight, miraculous wisdom, offering guidance that is far beyond human comprehension, far beyond human understanding, far beyond human expectations. [01:03:47] (36 seconds)
And Kevin said, I said, I'm doing this series on Isaiah 9 -6. And what do you think? And he goes, okay. So my immediate gut level response is, I'm going to do this series on Isaiah 9 -6. The question was, what does wonderful counselor mean to you? He said, my immediate gut level response is, one who welcomes and invites us with all that we bring to him, our thoughts, emotions, physical and relational realities, and enters into our story with us, helping us discern what is true about ourselves and what we are bringing to him. In his presence, love becomes greater than fear. [01:09:06] (36 seconds)
The best part is, the great news about Christmas, is that you have access to such a counselor. I have access to such a counselor. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. His name shall be called Emmanuel. God with you, entering into your story and being with you in it. His name shall be called Jesus. [01:12:17] (29 seconds)
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