Sermon Tone Analysis

Plans

You all have a merry Christmas?

I think we all do in our own ways.

One thing this season has taught me is about planning.

I really started thinking about it.

Most people:

Plan for dinner—what food everyone brings (Not everyone raisins)

Plan for travel—miles and times, routes, bathroom breaks (not everyone can anticipate the unforseen).

Plan to get together—who’s house, what time?

who all is coming?

(if two things are scheduled at the same time, there is an issue).

Me—planning the cantata.

Every year, I leave less holes in my planning, but it doesn’t always go perfectly.

In fact, most plans don’t go perfectly, do they?

I think the main reason that it’s all imperfect is that none of us see the whole picture.

If we all saw the whole picture, that person would not have forgotten the bread, or on the trip, we would have foreseen the unexpected frequent series of bathroom stops that were needed…or that huge traffic jam that delayed us.

Plans made on one end of a get together would have lined up with the plans on the other end.

I would not have forgotten to tell someone that one important thing about a song.

It’s all imperfect.

New Year Plans?

This time of year, many people make plans meant to last all year.

We call them resolutions.

The problem is that like Christmas plans, it’s rare that they go off without a hitch.

I usually make a resolution to…not make a resolution.

Tell me if you’ve ever heard this:

For unto us a child is born, for unto us a son is given.

This wasn’t written after Jesus, but maybe 700 years before the events of the New Testament, when God called the prophet Isaiah into service—revealing a great part of His plan.

I can remember the very first time that I found out that those words were from the OLD Testament.

I thought, “How cool would it be to foretell the coming Messiah with such accuracy?!?

Maybe 700 years before the New Testament, there was a prophet that God called into service that gave us an idea of a perfect plan:

Isaiah goes on:

And the Government (slide) Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

That was such a perfect plan, that I think we should meditate on these four names of Christ as we venture into our new year.

Wonderful Counselor

I love this name for Him!

When I first gave my life to Christ, I wrote out a testimony to be read in front of the church.

I came to God in a dark time of my life and gave my burdens to Him.

In that testimony, I recall that I said, “God became my counselor.”

Keep in mind that I was a brand-new Christian and didn’t know that this was a name for God, the Holy Spirit, or for Jesus.

But, I felt it so solidly that I couldn’t NOT put that in my testimony.

God is Good!

Think about it this way.

He is the source for all wisdom and understanding.

In fact, He walked on the earth as a human.

He knows what it’s like and uses His life to teach us how to live fulfilling lives.

He wants that!

We sang earlier these words, “I lift eye unto the hills, where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.”

That actually comes from Psalm 121:1-2

God is our counselor and should be throughout the entire year (not just words we hear at Christmas).

Imagine if we went to Him for help in everything that we do.

I know if you’ve been coming here for any time, you’ve heard this before.

“When we pray, we have to listen for Him.”

That is how he can counsel us.

His counsel is wonderful—but we have to be wonderful communicators with God to realize this.

Don’t give up, And don’t lose heart.

He has overcome the world, so He is reliable for any single thing.

He is a Wonderful Counselor.

Mighty God

In that same verse, we see God’s might.

He created the heavens and the earth.

With all the planning in the world, who here thinks they can do that?

I can create a world on Minecraft or something, but that doesn’t come close to the power needed to create the heavens and earth!

And this is who our help comes from if we allow Him to step into our lives.

He’s the one who can shape our plans if we align our wills to His.

But, we allow our own plans to get in the way so much that we forget this.

We as a people, as a church can forget about the overwhelming might of our God.

If we, instead, relied fully on Him and rested in God’s might, He can do powerful things through us.

He is a Mighty God.

He is also called Everlasting Father

We can search for answers everywhere, but He has been providing for us since the beginning of time.

Time has a beginning and an end, but He does not.

He is the Everlasting Father.

With that, His plan is also eternal.

Do you know the very first prophecy for Christ?

Even though Isaiah’s words were 700 years before Christ, it was in no way the first prophecy.

Not even close!

It came from God Himself!

After the serpent convinced Adam and Eve to commit the first sin of the entire world, God told the serpent:

Genesis 3:14-15

This is before He told Adam what his punishment would be and even before He told Eve what hers would be.

God promises a redeemer in the future.

Have you ever planned a tree?

We have.

The first tree we planted took some planning.

We had to plan a spot for the tree so that it would not eventually hit the power lines.

We had to plan it to be in a spot where the roots would not upset any foundation or sidewalks.

Once we got the tree in the spot, we had to place supports on it so that it grew straight rather than crooked like Roger’s Christmas tree.

Then we had to water it and do all the things it takes for a tree to grow.

In doing all this we planned to have this tree to be a successful victorious tree.

But that tree didn’t last.

I think the weather got to it, it failed to thrive, and we took it down.

Interestingly enough, we grew a second tree without as much care, and it is now the second-tallest tree in our yard after 9 years.

God also planned a tree.

We know about the trees in the Garden of Eden—one of which was the tree where the first sin took place.

I’m talking about a different tree, though.

It was a family tree.

That tree started with Adam and Eve.

It went through Abraham, Ruth and Boaz, Jesse, David, Solomon, on down to Jesus Christ.

When God told the serpent His punishment, He at the same time promises ultimate victory through the woman by her offspring.