Unto Us a Son is Given

So one of the things about your pastor taking a vacation is you get to hear from other godly men who come and proclaim the word of God.

And this morning we have Davis Morgan.

And I am a big fan of Davis Morgan, partly because when I asked him, I'm going to introduce you today, what is it that you want me to mention?

He said, I am a native Texan.

And you all know how I feel about that.

And he also said, and I said, well, how are you adjusting?

And he said, I miss Texas barbecue.

So you know how that makes me feel as well.

But he is the pastor of Westside Church.

He's been there about six months, I think we decided.

And we are just so gifted that he has chosen to come and preach to us this morning.

He is the father of three, June, May, and Asa.

And his wife's name is Tiffany.

So thank you so much for blessing us this morning.

And please come forward.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

It is so good to be with you, Cheyenne Mountain.

Greetings from one of your sister churches here in the city.

As Jim said, I am the pastor of Westside Church.

And we have worship on Sunday afternoons.

So I'm free to come and bring God's word to you this morning.

And it is an honor to do that.

So I want to invite you, if you have your Bibles, to open with me to the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 through 7.

Isaiah 9:1–7

And you may be thinking, well, isn't this a Christmas passage?

And I will admit that most of the time that we hear this passage, it is around the Advent season, around Christmas time.

But we as a church have been going through Isaiah this summer.

We've been going through Isaiah 1 through 12.

And I'll speak more on that here in just a moment.

But it has been such an encouragement to us going through this monumental book this summer.

And our plan is to go through it over the next five summers, actually.

So we're cutting it up into five pieces.

And so today, I actually preached the last sermon there from Isaiah chapters 11 and 12 before we go into the fall.

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

But I preached this sermon just a few weeks ago.

It was a blessing to me.

It was a blessing to our people.

And I pray it is a blessing to you.

So draw your attention to the reading of God's word, his holy, his inspired word, given to us for everything regarding life, faith, and godliness.

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 1.

Isaiah 9:1

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.

In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

You have multiplied the nation.

You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior is in battle to molt, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto 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.

This is the word of God.

Amen.

Let's pray real quick for our time in his word.

Join me, please.

Lord God, we do thank you for this word.

We thank you for our time in it.

Lord, it is a privilege that we have getting to hear this word, getting to sit under the preaching of your word, your primary means of grace,

the way that you have chosen, Lord, to reveal the glory of Jesus to mankind and to us, your people.

We pray that you would help us have eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to receive the truth of your word.

We also pray for the children who will be listening as well.

We pray that you might give them the gift of illumination, the gift of understanding, Lord.

We confess that apart from your grace, apart from your mercy and the work of your spirit, Lord, these things remain distant to us.

They remain folly to us.

And so we pray and ask that you would be gracious to your people now, that you would pour out your spirit and you would give us revelation of who Jesus Christ is.

We pray this.

We ask this in his name.

Amen.

Well, it's coming.

Are you ready?

It's 72 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes, and 43 seconds away.

42 seconds.

41 seconds.

Ready or not, it's coming.

Can you handle it?

What is it, you ask?

It is the 59th time in the history of our country that the presidential election will be held.

And with rioting and protesting in every major city or many major cities, the social, the civil tension in our country at levels not seen in 50 years, the political landscape looking more divisive than ever.

We could say that it appears that the stakes have never been higher.

On top of that, we are right in the middle of a global pandemic.

As of today, there have been 5,068 million cases of the coronavirus in our country.

Nearly 5,800 in El Paso County alone.

There have been 176,000 deaths in America.

151 of those have been in El Paso County.

A stunning 54 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March.

665,000 of those are in our state, which is nearly one-fifth of our state's workforce.

And on top of that, we are still faced with the unknown about when a vaccine will be developed to mitigate the virus to the point that life can, or if life can, return to normal pre-coronavirus.

As Bob Dylan said, the times indeed are changing.

We just don't know what they are changing into at this point.

And around the world, while trust in government is at an all-time high around the world,

in America, in a recent poll of 34,000 adults, 76% of those said they were more trusting of Amazon, Clorox, General Mills, and Hershey than our federal government.

I'd take chocolate over the government right now as well.

But in all seriousness, when we dig a little bit deeper beneath the surface of our country, what do we find?

We find approximately 3,000 abortions are performed every day in our country.

That's roughly 616,000 so far in 2020.

40% of all pregnancies in our country end in abortion.

Among minorities, those numbers are even more staggering,

with 1,000 of those 3,000 daily abortions being performed on minorities.

35% of children under the age of 18 live in homes with only one parent,

with the percentage among minorities double that, nearly 70%.

There are 443,000 children in foster care in our country,

and more than 123,000 of those are awaiting adoption.

Since March, there have been 1,600 shootings in Chicago,

with nearly 340 of those resulting in murder.

In New York, there have been nearly 600 shootings and nearly 200 killed.

There have been 24,000 gun-related deaths halfway through the year.

10,000 of those have been homicide.

14,000 of those have been suicide.

And to give you an idea of where those are typically at for the year,

for the year, we average 15,000, and we're already at 24,000.

Human trafficking organizations estimate that there are 40 million people,

40 million, who are in some form of slavery in the world,

whether that is labor, whether that is sexual,

whether that is child exploitation.

In America, there are an estimated 220,000 to 250,000 children

who are at risk for human trafficking or sexual exploitation.

What about faith in God?

Faith in God is at an all-time low in America,

with only 60%, 60% of those in the latest polls convinced that God exists.

That is down from 80% a decade ago.

This is reflected in the increase.

Maybe you've heard of this demographic.

The nuns, N-O-N-E-S.

The nuns, which stands for no affiliation,

is now at 20% of American adults.

This is at an all-time high, of course.

And at the same time, church membership in our country

is at an all-time low,

with only 50% of Americans

who say they belong to a church

are actually members of that church.

And I found out this recently

in the six months since the coronavirus,

that one-third of those who were previously attending church

are no longer attending church,

not even online, not even the live stream.

Why do I share all of that with you?

Well, as if you didn't already know,

but to draw all this together,

the outlook in our country is grim.

There is darkness over our land.

And it can be very easy for hopelessness

and for despair to set in.

Is it not?

But the reason I share that with you

is because much was the same

for the nation of Judah in Isaiah's day.

We come to Isaiah chapter nine,

and at the end of chapter eight in Isaiah,

the words that the prophet had

was distress and darkness,

the gloom of anguish over the land.

That is where Judah, that is where Isaiah,

that is where the nation of Israel was at the time.

And up to this point in the prophet Isaiah,

the questions that have become clear

that Isaiah wants us to understand

is one, who is man or understand the nature of man?

And the example that God used

was his own covenant people.

His own covenant people.

And right away in chapter one of Isaiah,

we find that they are ignorant of who God is.

They are full of sin and iniquity.

They have turned away from God.

And again, that is his chosen people.

Those were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And the result was a society

that was much like the society

I just described of ours.

A society that celebrates evil,

intolerant of the good.

In chapter five, verse 20,

many of you may know that verse,

where God says,

woe to those who call evil good and good evil,

who put darkness for light and light for darkness.

That is where Judah was at in Isaiah's day.

The other question that is apparent

when you read Isaiah chapters one through 12

is who is God?

Who is God?

God is the Holy One of Israel.

He is absolutely sovereign.

He is absolutely holy.

And he is absolute just.

He is absolute just.

And as a result, he sends Isaiah.

He sends Isaiah, who is, as it were,

his covenant attorney,

his prosecutor that is going to the nation.

And he is bringing God's indictment to the people.

And he's saying, you are guilty.

This is how you are guilty.

And if you don't repent, what was going to happen?

Judgment was going to happen.

Judgment was imminent.

For Israel, the northern kingdom at the time,

God had sent the prophets Hosea and Amos.

They had pleaded with the people.

They had warned the people.

And Israel refused to listen.

So then God sends Isaiah primarily to the nation of Judah.

And Isaiah brings that same message.

That judgment is imminent.

But there is time to repent.

There is time to repent.

Darkness and distress over the land,

he says at the end of chapter eight.

And the chapter ends with this darkness over the land.

And the question,

the question that appears apparent

is that the Davidic dynasty,

the dynasty that God had promised to David,

the dynasty that would be an eternal dynasty,

that someone would sit on David's throne,

that his throne would never cease

to have someone seated upon the throne.

That seems in jeopardy

because the kings that had come after David,

for the most part,

had not followed in the ways of David.

There had been a few good ones, of course.

But overall, the kings are leading the people

further and further away from God.

So the question,

what of the Davidic promise?

What of the promise that God had made to his people?

From a human perspective,

if we read the first eight chapters of Isaiah,

it appears bleak.

It appears that there is no hope

from a human perspective

that this kingdom is going to continue.

But what of the divine perspective?

What will God do with the promises that he has made?

And that's when we come to chapter nine of Isaiah.

God will answer and he will answer emphatically.

He will answer so that his people are yet reminded

that he is the Lord and besides him, there is no God.

Now, what is that emphatic answer?

The emphatic answer is found in Isaiah nine,

verses one through seven.

Our passage breaks down.

Here is the outline that I'm using

if you would like to take notes.

In verses one through three,

we have the hope described.

We have the hope described in verses one through three.

We have the hope explained in verses four and five.

And then we have the hope realized in verses six through seven.

The hope described, the hope explained,

and the hope realized.

Now, look with me in verses one through three.

The first thing that I want to point your attention to

is the darkness is reversed.

The darkness is reversed there in the first few verses.

It says this,

but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.

In the former time, he brought into contempt

the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

This was the northern kingdom of Israel.

After Solomon had died,

Saul, David, and Solomon,

these were the kings under the united kingdom

of Judah and Israel.

And after Solomon died,

when his son Rehoboam took the throne,

rebellion ensued,

and the kingdom was split in half.

And Jeroboam took the northern kingdom,

took the northern kingdom of Israel,

and Judah remained loyal to the Davidic throne.

And so God is saying here

that it's going to start,

it's going to start in the place

where the people had initially turned away from God,

where the land was the darkest, we could say.

It says in the latter times,

he has made glorious the way of the sea,

the land beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the nations.

Israel, you may recall,

fell to Assyria in 722.

And Assyria came down along the coast

into this very land

that Isaiah is saying,

light is going to dawn in this very place.

More than that,

the northern part of Israel

was where in the books of Kings, for example,

this is where idolatry and false worship

were the deepest seeded in the land.

You remember Jeroboam,

the first thing that Jeroboam did

when he took the northern kingdom away

from the southern kingdom

is that he set up two calves.

He set up two calves

in the land of Ephraim

so that people would no longer

travel down to Jerusalem.

And by doing so,

Jeroboam called the sacrificial system

that God had put in place.

At the very beginning,

he set up this false worship.

And if you remember what happened

at Mount Sinai,

when Aaron made the golden calf,

it really brings to light

the depths of the depravity,

the depths of the idolatry

where this was happening.

And God says that the light

is going to dawn there

in that very land.

Friends,

this is a great reminder

about the sovereignty of God.

That he is able to make glorious,

to use the language of verse one,

that which was an ugly scar

on the history of the nation.

And may that be a great comfort

to you and to me.

Our scars,

our shame,

our sins.

What is the Lord able to do

with those things?

He is able to make out of you

and out of me

something glorious.

No matter how dark it may be,

no matter how grim it may be,

no matter how enslaved

we may feel that we are,

his light is brighter,

his grace is greater,

and his power is mightier

than that sin

in which you struggle with

or that I struggle with.

This passage reiterates

the fact that his light

is able to dawn

into the darkest of places.

The light has dawned,

it says there in verse two.

And notice how he describes,

he talks about those

that were in deep darkness.

Deep darkness,

a great light has dawned.

In the Bible,

deep darkness is talking moral,

it's talking spiritual darkness here.

It's talking about

the nature of the heart.

This is total depravity,

we could say.

The depravity that was rampant

in the land,

the sin and the rebellion

that the people had had

against God.

And of course,

light,

light is associated

with the presence of God.

The presence of God

in history,

the presence of God

interceding

or intervening

into history

to step into

our dark world

so that the devastation

might give way

to glory

and hope.

And it says,

in the land beyond the Jordan,

in Galilee of the nations.

Now,

what's significant about that

is that this was the land

that was lost

in the exile.

God's work

is that he's going

to bring light

into a place

that there had not been

the presence of God

in a long time.

More than that,

it tells us

that this is not only

going to be

for his covenant people,

for the Jewish people,

for Jews and Gentiles,

but the Galilee

of the nations.

Again,

this light,

this light is going

to start there

and then it's going

to expand

and it's going

to encompass

the nations.

Verse 3,

we have the darkness

reversed

and then we have

the joy multiplied.

Look at verse 3

with me.

It says,

you have multiplied

the nation.

You have increased

its joy.

They rejoice

before you.

Who is the subject?

Who is doing

all of these things,

friends?

It is the Lord.

You have multiplied

the nation.

You have increased

its joy.

They rejoice

before you.

Joy.

Joy multiplied

at the dawning

of this light.

What comes to your mind

when you think

about the work of God?

Is joy.

Is it joy?

Does joy,

does your heart

fill with joy?

Joy in him.

Joy in his sovereignty.

Joy in his word,

his promises

and his work

in which he has done.

Joy is one of those words

that can be hard

to define sometimes.

Typically,

we associate it

perhaps with happiness

or welfare,

prosperity,

but that's not

biblical joy.

Biblical joy

is rooted,

it's grounded,

we could say,

in the Lord,

in the person

of who he is.

you see life

through the lens

of him.

You see life

through the lens

of God's glory,

through his work

in redemptive history.

The dawn of light

and joy

in what God

is doing in us.

So,

here's a question.

Based off everything

that I shared with you

at the beginning,

how is your joy

right now?

Are you struggling?

Are you despondent

about how the world

is right now?

About how our country is?

Are you spiritually

parched,

down,

famished?

Are you overwhelmed

by life?

Our God, friends,

our God has

something for us.

It is to see

his grace

in action.

It is to see

his grace in action.

The light

that has dawned

in history

through the

redemptive work

in which he is

accomplishing.

And he

has included you

in that.

He has invited you

to that.

You are here today

because you

are included.

See that light.

Fight for the joy

that is yours

by faith.

It's there

for you,

dear Christian.

Fight for the joy.

It's yours.

And when we say

that,

we're not just

talking about

on the good days.

But especially

on the bad ones.

When the burden

and the oppression

of sin

feel almost

unbearable,

remember,

remember what it

says here

in Isaiah 9.

The light,

the joy,

and then in

verses 4 and 5

it talks about

what it all means

that this light

has come.

The hope

explained in

verses 4 and 5.

It says,

for the yoke

of his burden

and the staff

of his shoulder,

the rod

of his oppressor,

the Lord

has broken

as on the day

of Midian.

The Lord

has broken

the yoke.

The Lord

has lifted,

lifted the burden,

the oppression

he has done.

There's freedom,

there's life here.

The burden

of guilt,

the stains

of shame,

friends.

God has removed

those.

This is like

Christian in

The Pilgrim's Progress,

that classic

by John Bunyan,

where he

sees the cross

and he runs

up the way

of salvation.

And here's

what Bunyan

says.

He says,

though the hill

is high,

I still desire

to walk up it.

I don't care

how difficult

it is because

I understand

that it is

the way

that leads

to life.

Leads to life.

The power

of grace,

the power

of God's work

to destroy

the burden,

the guilt

of sin,

the oppression

of shame,

the power

of grace

to bring

victory

in what we

share in

is what he

says there

in verse 5.

Look at verse 5

with me.

He says,

for every boot

of the tramping

warrior in battle

to molt

and every garment

rolled in blood

will be burned

as fuel

for the fire.

And here

what Isaiah

is foreseeing

down the road

is that the

enemies of God,

the enemies of God

will be defeated.

And the example

that he gave,

he talked about

as the day

of Midian,

he said there

at the end

of verse 4.

And that was

when Gideon,

if you remember

that story

in Judges

Judges 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

this is when

Gideon

started initially

with 20,000

warriors

and God

withered that

away to 300.

And through

the work

of the Lord,

he brought

victory

when they were

outnumbered

five to one.

It was a

great victory

for Israel

at the time

and it was

something that

they would

reflect upon

because they

had no business

winning that

victory.

That was the

point.

It was God

who did it

and he will

do this great

work yet again,

friends.

Light into

darkness,

joy at the

breaking of

the chains

of sin

and slavery

and he will

also defeat

the enmity

that exists,

the enmity

that exists

in the world,

the language

of warfare

there,

Isaiah sees.

And what

Isaiah,

in verse

five,

what Isaiah

is essentially

seeing,

friends,

is this.

He is

seeing,

God has

given him

a picture

of all

down the

corridors

of history.

Isaiah

is seeing,

is seeing

this hope,

this hope

that is

described

in verses

one through

three,

it's now

being explained

what is

this light

going to

eventually

do?

What's

going to

be the

end game?

Isaiah

sees it,

that the

enemies of

God will

be defeated.

And why

is he

telling Isaiah

this?

It's so

we don't

miss when

the hope

is finally

realized.

In verses

six and

seven,

the hope

realized,

the light,

the joy,

the victory,

they are

coming,

declares

the Lord.

How are

they

coming?

For

unto us

a child

is born.

Unto

us

a son

is given.

Now here's

what I want

you to

see.

God's

promise of

victory,

it's not

through an

earthly

conqueror

by sword

and oppression.

Do you

get that?

It's through

a child.

It's through

a son.

That is

absolutely

incredible.

This is

completely

counter to

the way

our world

thinks

about

ambition,

about power,

about how

do you

set up,

how do you

rule over

people.

It must be

through the

sword,

it must be

through oppression,

it must be

through fear.

That is not

the way that

God is going

to accomplish

his victory.

What is

he going

to do?

First of

all, it

says he's

going to

set up

a kingdom.

It says

the government

shall be

upon his

shoulder,

and if we

take with

what it

says there

at the

end of

verse 7

as well,

the throne

of David,

his kingdom

will be

established,

it will

be upheld

with justice

and righteousness

from this

time forth

and forever

more.

This is

the coming

of God's

kingdom to

earth.

That is

what he is

going to

do.

He's

going to

set up

his

kingdom.

Now,

who is

this

son?

The

description

that we're

given

in verse 6,

at the end

of verse 6,

he is

wonderful

counselor.

Literally,

his wisdom

is unmatched.

He is

mighty

God,

the warrior

God,

we could

say.

His courage,

his strength

is unmatched.

He is

everlasting

father.

Now,

what is

the meaning

of this?

This is

covenantal

language.

This is

covenantal

love,

covenantal

power.

His concern

for his

people is

as though

he is a

father over

his children.

Prince of

peace,

the increase

of his

reign,

and peace

there will

be no

end.

On the

throne of

David and

over his

kingdom,

establish,

uphold,

with justice

and righteousness

from this

time forth

and forevermore.

The zeal

of the

Lord of

hosts

will do

this.

The zeal,

it is this

burning desire

that God

has that

this is

going to

be the

answer.

This is

going to

be God's

answer to

his people's

predicament.

Not only

his people,

but for the

world's

predicament.

For unto

us a

child is

born.

Unto

us a

son is

given.

Little did

Isaiah know

that it would

take 700

years for this

to happen.

But what

do we

know?

In the

fullness of

time,

God sent

forth his

son.

And we

read in

Luke chapter

Luke 2 · chapter mention

2,

almost verbatim

with Isaiah

7.

You know

the passage.

For unto

you is

born this

day in

the city

of David

a Savior

who is

Christ the

Lord.

He is

the Messiah.

He will

be great

and he will

be called

the Son

of the

Most High.

And the

Lord God

will give

him the

throne of

his father

David.

And he

will reign

over the

house of

Jacob forever.

And of

his kingdom

there will

be no

end.

Unto

us,

friends,

a child

has been

born.

Unto

us a

son has

been

given.

Why

has

this

son

been

given?

So

that

anyone

who

believes

in

him

should

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life.

For

God

did

not

send

his

son

into

the

world

to

condemn

the

world

but

that

the

world

through

him

might

be

saved.

And how

would he

do that?

How

would he

establish

his

throne?

He

would do

that

by taking

on the

form of

a servant.

And Isaiah

later

in chapter

53

he sees

this same

son

as a

man of

sorrows.

He

becomes a

man of

sorrows

fully

experiencing

the pain

and the

darkness

of this

life.

You

have to

keep

that

in

mind

because

when

we

keep

that

in

mind

that

Jesus

experienced

the

darkness

of our

world

first

hand

it

brings

it

really

emphasizes

it

magnifies

what he

said

in

John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

where

he

said

there

I

am

the

light

of

the

world

whoever

believes

in

me

shall

not

walk

in

darkness

but

will

have

the

light

of

life.

And

what

that

means

for

us

is

that

Jesus

is

able

to

overcome

our

darkness

he's

able

to

overcome

our

darkness

no matter

what

it

is

example

after

example

in the

gospels

of

those

who

were

in

darkness

the

dregs

of

society

drunkards

tax

collectors

prostitutes

even

even

even

the

self

righteous

and

the

proud

like

Peter

who

fell

the

hardest

among

his

disciples

the

darkness

that

we

all

know

is

there

the

darkness

that

we

are

even

unaware

of

that

we

are

blind

to

in

our

lives

Jesus

is

the

great

light

that

God

promised

through

Isaiah

that

he

would

dispel

the

great

darkness

in

us

the

great

darkness

that

loomed

over

mankind

and

here's

what

that

means

we

can

bring

our

sin

to

Jesus

and

with

confidence

know

that

he

can

handle

it

that

you

are

not

too

sinful

for

Jesus

I

am

not

too

sinful

for

Jesus

he

will

not

cast

us

off

but

instead

he

will

embrace

us

and

he

will

shine

his

light

and

dispel

the

darkness

in

each

one

of

us

he

can

do

that

friends

because

he

took

the

darkness

of

sin

upon

himself

the

wrath

the

condemnation

of

God

he

paid

he

paid

the

full

price

with

his

life

as

he

hung

on

the

cross

and

darkness

covered

the

land

when

the

enemies

thought

that

they

had

triumphed

over

him

he

was

triumphing

over

them

as

he

said

in

his

final

words

it

is

finished

and

then

to

demonstrate

the

reality

of

what

he

accomplished

what

did

he

do

he

rose

from

the

grave

and

the

apostles

say

the

reason

he

rose

from

the

grave

is

because

it

was

impossible

for

the

grave

to

hold

him

down

and

he

has

been

given

all

authority

in

heaven

and

on

earth

his

reign

is

come

his

reign

has

come

repentance

the

forgiveness

of

sins

are

offered

to

you

this

day

in

his

name

for

all

who

will

believe

so

where

are

you

looking

for

answers

what are

you

hoping

for

in

2020

how are

you

hoping

that

2020

is

going

to

end

because

one day

it will

end

one day

2020

will

end

but

whatever

our

outlook

your

king

is

reigning

and

ruling

even

now

until

that final

day

Isaiah

saw that

final day

when the

enemies of

God would

be defeated

with

him

you

have

perfect

righteousness

you

have

justice

he

will

make

all

wrongs

right

perfect

peace

in

him

the

day

has

arisen

the

day

or

the

day

is

foregone

the

light

has

come

look

up

dear

people

of

God

for

your

redemption

draws

near

your

king

has

come

and

he

is

coming

again

amen

amen

let's

pray

together

lord

we

thank

you

for

this

time

we

thank

you

for

the

promise

of

isaiah

chapter

nine

lord

it

is

not

only

a

promise

that

unto

us

a

child

is

born

unto

us

a

son

is

given

lord

but

that

that

promise

has

been

realized

in

history

in

the

humble

first

coming

of

your

son

lord

we

marvel

at

what

Jesus

has

done

for

us

we

marvel

at

the

fact

that

lord

there

is

great

darkness

over

our

land

there

is

great

darkness

even

over

our

lives

to

this

very

moment

lord

we

confessed

our

sins

earlier

to

you

lord

nothing

in

our

hands

do

we

bring

simply

to

the

cross

do

we

cling

and

we

long

for

the

day

when

our

king

does

return

until

then

lord

help

us

to

be

steadfast

help

us

to

see

the

world

through

the

lens

of

king

jesus

help

us

to

share

that

hope

that

treasure

that

we

have

with

others

around

us

as

well

lord

we

thank

you

for

this

time

this

covenant

meeting

as

your

people

we

pray

that

we

would

go

out

from

here

comforted

transformed

and

our

hope

renewed

that

is

found

in

your

son

and

your

son

alone

and

it's

in

his

name

we

pray

amen

and

for

a

especially

you

声

and

our

speech

and

our

hy ovat

have

been

the

left

to

his

eye

and

forth

our

others

can

or

have

his

wants

to

see

in