12-14: A Child is Born :: Help for the Helpless
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Thank you for joining us today for worship! This week we look at Isaiah 7-9 and how the Promised One is our help when we feel helpless. He is Emmanuel - God is with us.
Resources:
: The Bible Project :: https://www.bibleproject.com
: YouVersion Bible App :: https://www.bible.com
Isaiah 7
A Message to Ahaz
[1] Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
[2] When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
[3] Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, [4] and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. [5] For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying: [6] ‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’ [7] But this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘It will not arise;
it will not happen.
[8] For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
[9] The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
then you will not stand at all.’”
The Sign of Immanuel
(Matthew 1:18–25)
[10] Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, [11] “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
[12] But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the Lord.”
[13] Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well? [14] Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. [15] By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey. [16] For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
Judgment to Come
(Micah 1:1–7)
[17] The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”
[18] On that day the Lord will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
[19] And they will all come and settle
in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks,
in all the thornbushes and watering holes.
[20] On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates —the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well. [21] On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep, [22] and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
[23] And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found. [24] Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. [25] For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.
Notes:
*Notes are slides used on Sunday morning made available for your personal notes and study.
Sermon Notes
Slide 1
Turn to Isaiah 7
Slide 2
Image of a map of the kingdoms.
Slide 3
Image of a map of the Assyrian empire.
Slide 4
Deuteronomy 6:12
"Watch yourself (be careful) lest you forget YHWH."
Slide 5
Deuteronomy 6:16
You shall not put the Lord you God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.
Slide 6
Immanuel - God With Us
Slide 7
Luke 1:26-27. 31-33
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
31Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!”
Slide 8
Matthew 1:18-23
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23“Behold, the virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son,
and they will call Him Immanuel”
(which means, “God with us”).
Slide 9
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
Slide 10
Romans 5:17
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
