A Government That Will Never End

In one paragraph

On the Sunday before Christmas, Brian walked Tribe fam through Isaiah 9:1-7 verse by verse, asking the congregation to consider each line not just as a Christmas card sentiment but as prophecy with past, present, and future dimensions. The conversation was interactive throughout, with people in the room taking the mic and contributing their own readings of the text. The thread running through all...

Read together

1. Isaiah 9:1-7 read aloud in full as the primary text for the sermon
2. John 7:52 quoted to show the Pharisees dismissing Jesus because he came from Galilee
3. Philippians 4:19 paraphrased as Jesus supplying all needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus

What was said

• Come to the Christmas Eve service on the Town Square at 6PM on December 24, dress warm, and sing the carols loud so your guests can enter into the spirit of the evening.
• Invite one specific person, by name, to Christmas Eve service, someone from work, the lift line, your neighborhood, or your kid's school.
• Show up early on Tuesday, keep your head up, and greet every person in that quadrant of the Town Square as if they are a guest you personally invited to your home.
• Read Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 through 7 this week through three different lenses: what has already been fulfilled, what is unfolding right now, and what is still to come.
• Take a few quiet minutes to ask yourself honestly whether there is any part of your life you have kept off-limits to Jesus, and tell him he has permission to rule there too.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the word 'adore' and said we adore Jesus because he has such an impact on our life and heart that we are compelled to respond. What does that response actually look like in your daily life, and is it different from how you respond to things that are simply beautiful or amazing?
2. Brian suggested we read prophetic passages through three different lenses: already fulfilled, currently unfolding, and yet to come. Which of those lenses do you find yourself defaulting to, and what might you be missing by not using the other two?
3. Gretchen made the connection that verse two is fulfilled every time someone gets saved, and Brian added that many people believe they are walking in the light of their own education and reason without realizing they are blind. Have you ever had a moment where you realized something you thought was light was actually darkness? What changed that for you?
4. Brian described the millennial reign as a future literal government on Earth, with Jesus ruling from Jerusalem with fairness, justice, and peace. How does sitting with that as a future physical reality, rather than only a spiritual metaphor, change the way you think about what Jesus is and what he is coming back to do?
5. At the end of the sermon Brian asked how much territory of your heart you have actually surrendered to Jesus, and whether there are areas you have kept off limits. What makes it hard to wave the white flag over those particular places, and what would it look like to open them up?