Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:26-56 The prophets of the Old Testament spoke of the coming “Day of the Lord” which would be wonderful and horrible, great and dreadful. On the good side, God’s people would be delivered from their slavery in Babylon, Assyria and even in Israel. On the bad side God would execute his judgment on the people who were worshiping false gods and who had wandered from his ways. Ultimately the prophecy points to the birth and death of the Messiah and His triumphant second coming all as the same day of the Lord. On this day of the Lord, God punished Jesus for the sins of the people and through Jesus delivered them from their sins. This week we will focus on how this prophecy speaks to the people of that time and the people of our time. Now and later- what did the prophecy mean for them at the time and what does it mean to us today.
Exploring God’s Word Birth of Jesus Foretold Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2 & Luke 1:26-56
Read from your Bible. Ask students to find it in a Bible too. Those that can read can follow along. Choose the passages you would like to read aloud.
“The Lord Himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And He will be called Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) (NIrV)
God promises us Jesus (Hold up a piece of paper with the letter “P” on it.) Does anyone know what letter this is? It is the letter P. Today we are talking about a word that starts with this letter. The word is PROMISE. Do you know what a promise is? A promise is when someone tells you they will do something or give something to you. Sometimes people do not keep their promises. Today we are reading about God’s promise. God ALWAYS keeps His promises.
Let’s see what God promised us.
Did you know that long ago God promised to send His Son to earth? He gave the first hint when Adam and Eve were punished for disobeying Him in the Garden of Eden. So people waited for thousands of years for this promise to come true. During those years, God’s people were part of the making of an amazing nation, Israel. God chose them to be His very own. They saw great victories and were given a land of their own. But they also saw years of captivity in foreign lands and desert wanderings because of their disobedience.
Many never saw God complete His promise, but we read in the book of Isaiah that people find the will to live because God keeps His promises. (Isaiah 38:16)
(Look up Isaiah 53.) God is telling the people that His Son will come. We know that God kept His promise. Jesus was born! We can read about it in Luke 2. (Turn to the chapter so they can see where it is in the Bible.) We can always trust God because He always does what He promises.
Again in Micah 5:2, God gives another promise. God tells His people that Jesus would be born and even tells the people what town. God’s promise does come true. Jesus is born in a small town called Bethlehem just like Micah 5:2 says! It took a long time for the promise to come true, but it did! We can know that God will always do what He says!
God kept His promise.
Have you ever tried to do something that was really too hard for you to do? Did you ask for help?
Sometimes life is hard. Have you ever thought of giving up? We learned in our story that people find the will to live, to keep going, because God keeps His promises.
God’s promise of sending Jesus means wonderful things for us. God loved you so much that He sent His one and only Son. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Theme Verse: Isaiah 25:1
“You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” (Isaiah 25:1)
“The Lord Himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And He will be called Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) (NIrV)
Lutheran Link Advent What is Advent? The word "advent" is from the Latin word for "coming," and as such, describes the "coming" of our Lord Jesus Christ into the flesh.
Advent specifically focuses on Christ's "coming," but Christ's coming manifests itself among us in three ways--past, present, and future. The readings which highlight Christ's coming in the past focus on the Old Testament prophecies of his incarnation at Bethlehem. The readings which highlight Christ's coming in the future focus on his "second coming" on the Last Day at the end of time. And the readings which highlight Christ's coming in the present focus on his ministry among us through Word and Sacrament today.
Do It! Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel." Christ’s birth and life were announced long before Mary was even born. In fact, prophets told many details about His birth hundreds of years before. (From 6,000 to 450 years BC) Over 300 prophecies were made, so the Israelites would expect and recognize Jesus when He came. If someone told you 300 facts about someone you never met, do you think you would recognize him?
The prophecies said that the Messiah would:
Be born of a woman (Gen 3:15)
Be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
Be the son of God (Psalm 2:7)
Be descended from Abraham (Gen. 22:18), Isaac (Gen. 21:12), Jacob (Num. 24:17), tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), house of David (Jer. 23:5)
Be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
Be Presented with gifts (Psalm 72:10)
Be threatened by Herod (Jer. 31:15)
Be God and man (Isaiah 7:14)
Be a Prophet (Deut. 18:18) a Priest (Psalm 110:4) a Judge (Isaiah 33:22), and a King (Psalm 2:6)
Be preceded by a messenger (Malachi 3:1)
Teach first in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1)
Perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5,6)
And that's just the beginning of His life! Could any two men meet all those descriptions perfectly? No - only Jesus.
Some people recognized Him when He came. The wise men that brought presents knew He was the Messiah: the shepherds that visited, Simeon and Anna at the temple in Jerusalem, His mother and father, and John’s parents. Even Herod knew He had been born and tried to kill Him.
God told us He was coming because he had a plan. He was going to save man from his sins. Why? Because He loves us. John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” So God sent His son for you and me as well as for people who were alive then.
Tell It!
Color over each “X” in the puzzle to show a very important message!
