“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”- Matt. 1:23

Thinking about Christ as Emmanuel, God with us, should be a cause for celebration everyday! And heaven knows we need it- we need Him. Christmas is about His presence, not presents. Preachers and writers are racking their brain trying to think of something new to say about Christmas, but it would be better to just tell the old old story. We can even sum it all up in a word– “Emmanuel”. While there are many details associated with the Christmas story the word “Emmanuel” gets to the very heart of it.

Christmas is about God coming as a Man, to man, to redeem man, so as to be with him in the truest sense. The result is that now sinful man can be reconciled to God and have a personal relationship with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ. There are no words to describe what a glorious thing this is. Once separated from God we are now reconciled to God who takes up residence in us. He gives us the gift of Himself. Christmas is Christ! When we think about who He is, why He came, and what He did how can we fail to celebrate. That is a reason to rejoice!

Have you received God’s gift of Christ who redeems us? You can do so by simple child like faith in the Son of God. The result is eternal life. That’s the only way to truly have a Merry Christmas! — HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”– Isa. 9:6

There are a lot of incredible things in the world and we often hear talk about the wonders of the world. But the most incredible thing of all is God’s gift of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of all the wonders He is the most wonderful– even His name is “Wonderful”. Every Christmas we see many references to this verse, but sadly it is usually without any effort to really understand what it all means. To unpack and examine every word and phrase of this verse would take hours, but it would be time well spent. I challenge you to do it. Believe me, you will never look at it the same way again.

Here are some thoughts to get you started:
I. His Virgin Birth – “..a child is born..”
II. His Vicarious Death – “.. unto us a son is given..”
III. His Victorious Reign – “..the government shall be upon his shoulder..”
IV. His Various Names 
 1. “Wonderful”  2. “Counsellor”  3. “The mighty God”  4. “The Everlasting Father”  5. “The Prince of Peace”.

This Christmas I want you to think about who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He shall do. Do that and He who is “Wonderful” will fill your hear with wonder. You will never look at Christmas the same way again. You will feel as Paul did when he said, ” Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” ( 2 Cor. 9:15). There are no words to describe God’s gift to sinful man. It is simply and seriously wonderful. — HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”- Jer. 9:23-24

So we are allowed to glory. But in what and in whom? Not in ourselves; that is forever disannulled. The Lord has purposed to pour contempt upon all human glory, that none should glory in himself, whatever he be or whatever he has. But when a man has a view of the Son of God in his beauty, in his suitability, in his heavenly grace and divine glory, then he can and may glory in the Lord. He can say, “O what a Lord there is above! How glorious is he in his excellency, in his suitability, and in his blessedness; how glorious his wisdom, his righteousness, his sanctification, and his redemption. Let my whole glory be there; let me not take to myself a single atom of it. If I am wise, let me give him the glory of being my wisdom; if righteous, let me give him the glory of being my righteousness; if I have any fruit of the Spirit, let me give him the glory of being my sanctification; if I am redeemed from death and hell, let the glory of my redemption be his.” This is doing as God would have us to do, glorying in his dear Son.

And the Lord will bring all his people to this spot sooner or later. He will give them such views of the effects of the fall, of the misery of sin, and of their own helplessness; and will give them such gracious views of his dear Son, as shall wean them from glorying in the creature and make them glory in the Lord as all their salvation and all their desire. It may be by a long course of severe discipline, but the Lord will eventually bring all his people there; for he has determined to glorify his dear Son, and when we can thus glorify him, then we have the mind of Christ, and are doing the will of God. (J. C. Philpot)

Pride does terrible things to people. It makes fools of us. We brag about who we are, what we’ve done, what we have, what we can do, and what we deserve. The truth is, we have nothing of which to boast but Jesus. Without Him we are nothing, could do nothing, and would have nothing. He alone deserves the glory! – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346