Born Champion： Isaiah's Prophecy of the King

In one paragraph

Week two of the Hope Is Here series brought the congregation through Isaiah chapter nine, asking what that ancient prophecy looks like when you read it before you know who fulfills it. Brian also paused at the top of the service to name the terrorist attack at a Hanukkah candle lighting in Sydney, Australia, and to call Tribe fam to pray for the local Jewish community here in Jackson. Before...

Read together

1. Isaiah 9:1-7 read aloud in full as the central Old Testament prophecy about the coming Messiah, with congregation member Janet reading the passage
2. Matthew 2:1-11 read to show Jesus fulfilling the Isaiah 9 prophecy, covering the wise men following the star to Bethlehem and presenting gifts
3. Luke 2 (Simeon passage) quoted at the opening of the service, describing Simeon being led by the Spirit to see the baby Jesus in the temple
4. Luke 2 (Anna the prophetess) mentioned briefly alongside Simeon as one who recognized Jesus at the temple

What was said

• Take a couple of the Christmas Eve invite cards from the door and hand-deliver them to someone you know this week.
• Show up to the Chabad menorah lighting on Town Square this Saturday at 6PM to stand with the Jewish community in your own town.
• Ask the Lord this week one question Brian put to the whole room: was I obedient today?
• If you have never had a real conversation with an observant Jew about what they believe concerning the coming Messiah, ask Brian to connect you with someone who can.
• Slow down with a Christmas carol this week and let the theology in the words actually land rather than just singing through them.

Talk about it

1. Brian prayed that God would 'calibrate our hearts to the return of the king' and described a hope that goes beyond death to Jesus ruling and reigning and restoring all things. What does that kind of forward-looking hope actually look like in your daily life, and is it something you find yourself holding onto?
2. Brian called out the terrorist attack at the Hanukkah candle lighting and asked Tribe fam to take responsibility for 'the shalom peace in this town.' What does that responsibility look like practically for you, and have you ever felt it personally toward the Jewish community here in Jackson?
3. Brian read Isaiah 9:1-5 first and asked the group to sit with those verses before moving to verse 6. When you read about a warrior breaking the oppressor's rod and then the text says 'for a child is born to us,' what does that contrast do to you? Does it feel like an answer or a disappointment, and why?
4. Brian said Jesus was 'born with the intrinsic qualities that enable him to develop these attributes,' meaning the fullness was present in him as a baby even before his body and language caught up. How does that idea change the way you read the nativity, and does it change the way you sing something like Silent Night?
5. The last line on Brian's notes, which Gretchen read aloud, asked: 'Have you come under the governing rule of Jesus, born champion?' Brian connected that to the idea that God's governance sits outside human political categories. Where do you find it hardest to let Jesus be the actual governing authority in your life rather than defaulting to a political framework or your own judgment?