Category: Christmas

  • Isaiah 11:10-16: Signal for the Nations

    Jesus’ birth is not just a story of presents and angels singing in the sky, it is the arrival of the Messiah, God’s signal to the nations, that they too could retune their radios from the static of sin to embrace the frequency of reconciliation to God.

  • Isaiah 11:1-9: The Righteous Shoot

    While Christmas typically takes us to the wonderful passages of Isaiah 7 and 9, the coming Messiah was prophesied throughout Isaiah and the whole Old Testament. In Isaiah 11, the coming of the Messiah promises the universal righteous reign and rule of Jesus, our Saviour. Jesus’ arrival promised more than an earthly king, it promised…

  • Psalm 65: Another Year of Salvation

    As we reflect, and look forward, let’s remember to also thank God for another year of salvation, and look forward to another year of God’s goodness too. Psalm 65 encourages us to do this through its praise of God’s salvation, praise of God’s power, and praise of God’s provision. All three of these themes are…

  • Genesis 21:1-7: The Promise Fulfilled

    When God promises, God acts. The deed follows the word which announces it. As Christmas quickly approaches, we remember again God’s fulfilment of the many promises he made about the coming of Jesus, the promised son. Just as Isaac’s birth fulfilled the promise made to Abraham and Sarah, so too the birth of Jesus is…

  • Genesis 17:15-18:15: The Promised Offspring

    God had his own plans and wisdom that were greater than Abraham’s. The inheritor of God’s covenant promises to Abraham would come through Abraham and Sarah, not Ishmael or another (v.19). Ishmael would receive his own blessing (v.20), but Isaac would inherit the promises (v.21). In a year, they would see.

  • Isaiah 7: God With Us

    Christmas reminds us that God does act to save and deliver his people, even when times seem desperate. While the initial context of Isaiah 7 was earthly struggles, the greater fulfillment in Christ reminds that God defeats far more than earthly opposition; he saves us from our sins. While those who deny God go on…