Isaiah 9:6
About 800 years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah wrote these words about his birth. Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6:
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And later in that same Old Testament book, Isaiah told us why God was sending His Son to Earth…..Isaiah chapter 53, verses3-4-&5
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5)
That first Christmas day…..God gave us His only begotten Son and He came as a little boy and was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger in the City of David. Our God came to dwell with us to experience firsthand all the stuff that we go through as human beings. And when Jesus was grown and ready to begin His ministry the beloved apostle John wrote these words that John the Baptist spoke:
He said: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Not only did Jesus come to experience our sufferings first hand….He came to die on a cross for our sins … to reconcile the World to Himself (2 Corn. 5:19)… “For He {for God} made Him {made Jesus} who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corn. 5:21)
What a blessed assurance the world has knowing that God loves us enough to send His only begotten Son to earth to die for our sins and because Believers have accepted that free Gift of salvation that God has offered us through His Son…we are promised a place in Heaven for all of eternity with a loving God and a loving Savior. A Savior the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah called…. Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace
The baby Jesus in a manger … that’s what Christmas is all about! There is no two ways about it. Jesus is the Reason for the season!
And I think that is why Christians love to come together with family and friends during Christmas… but it’s also a time when everyone, old and young, believers and non-believers get excited about opening presents under a tree…..and I think we give presents to express our love to others, but I think that Christians exchange gifts to let Jesus shine through us … like Jesus let God shine through Him! And like Jesus … all Christians have been called to share that light of Hope with the world. The bible says: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) … I think we all need to take that light of Hope and Love down every highway, and we need to let our little light shine down every street, and every country road. And, we need to shout the Good News from our homes, and from our schools and from our business. And, we need to proclaim it in every valley and from every mountain top. My prayer is that all of you will join with all of us today as we proclaim through word and song, the birth of Jesus Christ ... The Miracle of Christmas ….. Amen.