Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Intro
Finally ok to listen to Christmas music
Darkness - Christmas lights
Darkness of life - The hope of Christmas
Transition
We’re not stopping today at the traditional narratives.
8th century BC—
Context and the end of chapter 8
Didn’t follow God the way they used to.
Fighting with Israel
Assyria
Always winter and never Christmas
Darkness - People looking for answers in all the wrong places
Isaiah says, “If the advice doesn’t mesh with God’s word, they have no light.”
So he points them in the right direction and lets them in on God’s plan.
Along the way I’ll provide some historical context to give insights.
Text
Is 8.19-
Always winter and never Christmas
l
The Light of Christmas
In the middle of distress, God promised Christmas.
Christmas was, and is, God’s plan to change everything.
Christmas would be
Zebulun and Nephtali were in Northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee, but they were the first to fall to Assyria.
But that doesn’t mean God was done with them.
God had a plan for them yet!
The light of Christmas was coming!
In spite of their sin and struggles, God was going to show up and be raised in Galilee.
To those living in deep darkness.
If you’ve spent much time walking around in the darkness, you’ll know it can be dangerous.
Hunting story
Darkness is a powerful metaphor in scripture.
Danger
Fear
Ignorance of God
Sin
Shadow of death
We should be careful when we look back at them in judgement.
Sooner or later we all end up in the darkness.
Sooner or later we all in up stumbling around in the dark.
A light has dawned.
Christmas was coming.
Poetry.
The tense changed το the perfect tense (completed).
Now Isaiah defines what he means.
The tense changed το the perfect tense.
Is 9.
Christmas Defined
Christmas is marked by joy!
He has enlarged the nation.
Consider the context.
The nation is split and the North had fell to Assyria.
They were gone.
Most walked around in darkness, ignorant of YHWH.
Were God’s promises trustworthy?
You have enlarged the nation!
This is much larger than you thought.
In Isaiah’s poem, joy sweeps over the people.
Three pictures
God’s people grow in number
The harvest is incredible
Instead of getting beat-up.
They divide the spoils of war.
As in the days of Midian
Unlikely hero named Joshua (Yeshua).
Christmas will make everything different.
He covers all their fears and replaces them with every sort of joy imaginable.
Consider the context.
The nation is split and the North had fell to Assyria.
They were gone.
Most walked around in darkness, ignorant of YHWH.
Christmas changes all that!
Light replaced darkness, plenty replaced famine, deliverance replaced oppression.
Joy replaced death.
Everything would change because of Christmas.
About 750 years later, angels would light up the night sky and say, “Don’t be afraid…peace on earth.”
Christmas somehow brings “shalom.”
Shalom is more than simply an absence of conflict
Shalom - illustrate
Illustrate
What is the scariest thing in your life?
Let God’s word speak to you this morning.
Christmas is the beginning of God’s incredible plan to make everything sad come untrue.
Illustrate
But how?
How is God going to do this?
Isaiah 9.6-7
Christmas is explained
How will God rescue his people?
With an angelic army?
With spectacular miracles?
Nope, just like with Midian, he is going to do something not spectacular, but seemingly weak.
He didn’t offer a General, he offered a baby.
In fact, God is so strong that he overcomes his enemies by becoming vulnerable, transparent, and humble.
Unto us a child is born—a son is given.
Isaiah puts himself in the mix.
Unto us...
The hope of Christmas isn’t a feel-good story about a young couple beating the odds.
Christmas is real hope for all people!
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