God with Us - Advent 2025
The Saviour
The Saviour – Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 1, verses 18 to 25 Three reasons Christmas proves Jesus can be trusted Jesus was born to save his people from their sins She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ Matthew 1:21 Jesus was born because God keeps His promises All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: Matthew 1:22…
The Servant
The Servant – Isaiah chapter 42, verses 1 to 4 Human evil Human evil, a problem that no human can fix. Christmas is a landmark reminder that our world is broken. But the promised King is not what the world seeks: not a strong man, not a military conqueror. He comes through a womb, not a palace. Here is the first of Isaiah’s “Servant Songs”. “Behold my servant”. The Servant’s Identity ‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one…
The Shoot
The Shoot – Isaiah 11:1-9 A Ruined Kingdom 11 Then I said, ‘For how long, Lord?’ And he answered: ‘ Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant,until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, Isaiah 6:11 Imagine a mighty forest burnt to stumps. This is what God said to Isaiah’s question “how long?“. But the ruin is not final, for He is a promise keeping God, to Abraham and to David. “A king forever from David’s line.” A…
The Son
The Son – Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 to 7 Darkness to light Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan – 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.3 You…
The Sign
The Sign – Isaiah chapter 7 The Christmas Surge! No need to panic. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 The birth of Jesus is seen in the birth of this child 700 years before. Fear Now the house of David was told, ‘Aram has allied itself with Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the…