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God With Us At Christmas | Christmas Stories | Week 4

December 21, 2025 • Life Community Church

We trace Isaiah’s promise of Emmanuel through Matthew’s Gospel and show how Jesus’ four names answer fear, division, and doubt during the Christmas season. Presence, not performance, sits at the center: grace given, peace established, and hope made concrete in a person.

• Isaiah’s prophecy to a nation in darkness
• Emmanuel as the promise of presence
• Grace as a gift received not earned
• Government on his shoulders as true authority
• Wonderful Counselor as wisdom beyond human limits
• Mighty God as power restrained and victorious
• Everlasting Father as faithful, unfailing care
• Prince of Peace as authority that calms and confronts
• Invitation to respond in prayer and trust

There’s people right over here on the floor. Maybe the person next to you, maybe you just need to say, hey, listen. I need someone to pray with me.

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SPEAKER_00: 0:02

Hello, this is Jamie Bridges, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. All of our services are inspired and built straight from the Bible. Let's get into this week's message recorded at Life Community Church.

SPEAKER_01: 0:15

Jesus, we love you. Thank you so much for this day. God, I thank you for every person in this room. You have a plan, you have a purpose. God, we want to submit to that. Would you show us truth today in Jesus' name? Amen. Amen. Amen. So we're going to be in the book of Isaiah, Matthew chapter 1. Um, obviously, as we approach Christmas, one of the things that we really want to walk through is 700 years before Christ comes, there's a prophet named Isaiah, and Isaiah is declaring some things over the nation, Israel, that is a struggle. It's a struggle because they're spiritually and they're in darkness. Uh politically, it's chaos. Uh people are divided, and he begins speaking things. And I know there are a lot of parents in this room, and I don't know what it was like when your baby came out and like you saw your child for the first time. I know some people have experienced that for the first time this year, maybe first time this year for a grandchild. Like the anticipation of what this baby would look like, right? The anticipation of what personality this baby would have. You know, who would they take after? What will their first words, like all these things. And Isaiah is speaking to a nation again that is just in turmoil. And Isaiah begins to declare that there is a Messiah coming, a Savior, someone who would come and rule and reign. And the things that he's saying, I mean, if I stood up in front of you and I just started declaring some things, hey, 700 years from now, in the future, one day, things are gonna happen. He didn't put a timeline on it. He just, if I just started declaring, like this town, this city, this community, who will be, and and I may not see that, but what Isaiah is doing is Isaiah is pointing them to the God of the Bible, the Jewish God, the God that that ruled and reigned. And he's saying there is gonna be a savior that's born. And that was incredible, right? Saying a savior, it gave people hope. But then the things that he's saying is supernatural. Because he doesn't say some lady is gonna have a baby. He says there's gonna be a woman and she's gonna be a virgin. And virgin in that time meant unmarried, pure, still what it means now, but there was a purity about her that she would give birth. That's that's supernatural, you guys. What Isaiah is saying is supernatural and quite crazy. A lot of people thought Isaiah was crazy. Like for what he's saying, what he's declaring, what he's saying about this Messiah. Again, they're looking for a Messiah, they're looking for a king because they're in trouble. I don't know what you're like when you're in trouble. Every single one of us responds to trouble differently. Some, you got a lawyer on speed dial. No, no shame here. Like, I'm not sure throwing anything your way. Some of you, you got your dad. Some of you are like, I'm not going to dad, I'm going to mom. Right? Mom's a little easier. Like with mom for me, I got questions. Is my mom or dad in here?

SPEAKER_00: 3:21

Are they in here?

SPEAKER_01: 3:23

No? Okay, so I can talk. All right. So with mom, just I gotta check those things out. With mom, it was questions. Like, what are you doing that for? Why with dad, it was just yes or no. Right? There's no questions. So it's like, I'm gonna go to dad. At least if I get a no, I can maybe go to mom and get that reversed with the questions, you know what I mean? But he might say yes, no questions asked. You know what I mean? Usually for me, it was buying something, shoes, something like that, how to negotiate with dad. I remember all those. The best shoes, if I did X, Y, and Z. Anyway, it's a long story. What is what's like this is what's happening in culture. They were expecting a savior, they were in trouble, they needed hope. And Isaiah declares there's going to be a childborn. This is what happens in 7.14. A virgin will conceive, he'll give birth to a son, and you're gonna call him Emmanuel. What's he saying? Emmanuel is God with us. Like there is gonna be a king that comes, a Messiah that comes, and he's gonna be God that is with us. Okay, Matthew later says this in Matthew 21, or 122, says, All this took place to what? Fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. They will call him Emmanuel, which is God with us. Chapter 28, verse 20, and teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded, Jesus said. And surely I am with you always to the very ends of the earth. So he's saying up front, here's the type of God that is going to come. This God is one that is going to be with you. This God will walk alongside you. This is what separates every religion from Christianity, is that God is not a respecter of persons, which means you don't have to be born in a certain country, you don't have to have a certain last name, you don't have to be this, this, or this. God comes and he says, Listen, I love you no matter who you are. I love you no matter what you've done. The gospel is open to anyone and everyone. That's what separates. Okay, this is the gospel. Is what is what God. Paul killed it, is what God, the disciples killed. It's it's the gospel that they died for because they wanted it to be known that there is hope. And this is the hope. His name is Jesus. He wants a relationship. This is not about tradition, this is not about uh saying this many Hail Marys or that many Hail Marys or this kind of confession. It's about a relationship with Jesus because he walks alongside of us. I've just offended most of my Catholic friends. I apologize. Just kidding. No, I do not. That's not what it's about. Stop making it about something that's not about. Okay, it's about a relationship. And that is what Isaiah is talking about. Isaiah is saying there is one that is coming, and he's gonna be fully human, he's gonna be mighty, he's gonna be fully divine. Jesus doesn't grow into divinity, he arrives as God in the flesh. This is what he's talking about. Why? Because he says, a child has been born among us. God is near. This is what he wants us to understand. God comes near. Every story that we've we've heard of people sharing their stories, their God stories, their marriage stories, how they've come to know Jesus, all these things. What is the result or the the same thing about all of them? God came near to those people. God comes near to us. If you feel far from God, he hasn't moved. You've distanced yourself. He has not, he's not distanced himself. He comes near. This is what he's talking about. A child is born. Understand what this is. He said, a son is given. God gives what we could never earn. This is this is our understanding that grace, God instills grace inside of us. It empowers us, it transforms us to what? Never be the same again. That is the power of grace. It is not anything that we could do on our own. None of us in this room. Number one, we don't deserve salvation because of our sin. We we can't do anything to earn it. It is a gift. A word you're gonna hear a lot over the next couple days. Why did you get me this gift? You didn't give me a gift. You didn't spend enough money on this gift. I don't have any more gifts. Like all of those words you're gonna hear, right? At some point, whatever your example is, he's wanting us to understand this is a gift. This is not something earned, it is something received. That is what God does at Christmas time. It is it is not what I can give to God, it's what God gave to us. Isaiah 9.6 is echoing John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave. Why? Because it's about what God gave to us. It is a gift that he gives to us. We did not earn it. Then he says, the government shall be upon his shoulders. Let me read Isaiah 9.6. For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He says, the government shall be upon what does this mean? It means God is in control. That's what that means. That means kings fall, kingdoms fail. His will not. Jesus carries authority that never goes away. When the world feels chaotic, this is the truth of Jesus' coming. He reigns even when circumstances say otherwise. Okay? God is in control. Jesus didn't arrive accidentally, he didn't arrive unexpectedly, he arrived exactly as was promised. And this reminds us. This is what reminds us of what Isaiah said. He keeps his promises, he enters our broken world, and God chooses humility before he chooses glory. These are the names. Let's go into this. You sang about it, you'll sing about it again. I promise you. These are the names. Wonderful counselor. Listen, if you're in this room right now, God is speaking to you. He is a wonderful counselor. He is one that wants to share with you insight, wisdom, and knowledge. Wonderful is a word that we get. Actually, it's a Hebrew word, and you know what the Hebrew word is? Pele. Greatest soccer player that's ever lived. It means extraordinary, miraculous. It's the Hebrew word for wonderful. Miraculous. Wonderful. Beyond comprehension. What is this? This is not just advice. This is advice beyond human explanation, human limitation. This is advice that will blow your mind. This is wisdom that goes way beyond what a human can give you. This is the wonderful counselor. It's not just a counselor, it's a counselor that instills wisdom that will blow human limitations out of the water. When we come to Jesus, we're not consulting a pastor, a coach. What we are doing is we're encountering holy wisdom that does not come from human understanding. That's what wonderful counselor means. Wonderful means that counselor means one who guides, one who does not condemn. In the ancient world, a counselor was a trusted guide, a wise king's advisor, one who helped or discerned the right path forward. Jesus fulfills this perfectly. Always coming where you are. We can pretend around other people. We cannot pretend with Jesus. He knows exactly where you are. He sees behind the fake smile, the Instagram highlights, he sees behind every single one. He knows the real you. This is the most important part of the gospel that you need to hear. He knows everything about you and still chooses you. Who else can you say that about? Who else? Because we're good hiders, you guys. We're good at secrets, we're good at showing the right version of ourselves. This is the reason Hebrews says we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. We have to see Jesus' counsel is so important because he understands heartache, he understands rejection, he understands grief, he understands temptation, that he sympathizes with what we're going through. There are gonna be people that feel bad for you when you lose, there are gonna be people that celebrate when you lose. There are gonna be people that are so jealous they cannot stand the fact that you win. I tell people all the time if people can't celebrate you when you win, they'll never have compassion on you when you lose. In Isaiah 9 is written to a people in darkness, but before Jesus is called mighty God, Prince of Peace, or everlasting Father, he's called wonderful counselor. Why? Because peace begins with the truth. Freedom begins with clarity, healing begins with listening to his voice. We often want Jesus to change our situation, where Jesus wants to just change our perspective. You want truth? Listen to the wise counselor. You want freedom? Listen to what the wonderful counselor is saying. But listen to me. You will never see wonderful counselor, you'll never see mighty God if you don't see him as wonderful counselor. If it's just words and not taken to heart, I'll never see it as the second one. Why is wonderful counselor first? Because if I don't understand truth, I'll never submit or surrender to the truth that is Jesus, which he is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through the Son. If I never hear and believe that, I never get to believe him as mighty God. It starts with wonderful counselor. Why? Because everybody has opinions, and there's a lot of voices that you can listen to. And I'm just telling you today, there's only one voice that you need to listen to. Kids, like I love your parents, they're gonna mess you up. Not intentionally, but you need to listen to Jesus more than any other voice. Don't put me on the Colombians for that. I do enough on my own. Put this up there though. Freddy's is I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Second thing is he says, is mighty God. He's saying, listen, he's not just wonderful counselor, he's not just a good teacher, he's God in the flesh. He was from the beginning. This is not merely inspired God, but inspired by God, he's not empowered by God. This child is God. It's not something he grew into. Christmas is not about God sending help. Christmas is about God showing up. He's God in the flesh. Mighty God is a name that was intended for one person, Yahweh. You look throughout scriptures. In fact, you look at Isaiah chapter 10, and he talks about Yahweh or mighty God in the next chapter. Isaiah is talking, it is a name reserved for one alone, and it's Yahweh. He's mighty God. Like, listen, we need to, we need to see this because the manger does not diminish his power, it reveals his humility. How Jesus came was so unlike how anybody thought. Most people thought he was going to be this military leader. He was going to come and he was going to rock the enemies and he's going to destroy them all. Zap them, which is what we sometimes think God's going to do with our enemies. If you could just zap them, that'd be great. Like, do whatever you want. We even say things like, you know, Lord, vengeance isn't mine, it's the Lord's. And because you live inside of me, use me. Use me, Lord, to bring vengeance to those people. Man, we could twist some scripture, can't we? I just did it for you. And this is how he came. He came, no army, no palace, no kingdom like that. He came differently than how everybody thought. Okay? And so when we start talking about mighty God, we we have to read Philippians. When Paul's writing to Philippians church, he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. We see that when God could have zapped Judas, he washed his feet. Which tells me this is not so much how we love the disciples that are lovable, it's how do we love the Judases of our life? How do we serve the Judases that are in our life? Who are Judases? People that have betrayed us, people that turned their backs on us, people that walked away from us, and yet in the middle of Jesus knowing all of this, the Bible says He grabbed a towel. Not to hit him, but to wash his feet along with everybody else. Why? This was a different mindset than how he how people thought this was gonna go. Because Jesus, He He came in humility, and His humility said, Listen, guys, amongst you, this has to be different. You came, you thought I came to be served. I'm telling you, I came to serve others, and to what? To give my life as a ransom. Even when he's on the cross, what are people saying about him? He could call down angels from heaven, and he could come off this cross right now, and he could have. We agree with that. He could have done that, but power restrained is greater than power displayed. Power restraint is greater than power displayed, mighty enough to conquer what we could not, strong enough to conquer sin, to conquer shame, to conquer fear, to conquer death. The cross looks like weakness, but it is the battlefield where mighty God wins. Hear me. The greatest act of divine power was not resurrection alone, it was obedience unto death. That's what Jesus did. Mighty God declares, I am stronger than addiction, I am stronger than generational curses, I am stronger than grief, I am stronger than doubt. What does that look like? That looks like men and women in this room who you're you're the first person that has followed Jesus. You're the first person in your family. You look back at generations of your life, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, your great-great-grandparents, and none of them follow Jesus, and now you're following Jesus, and because you're following Jesus, what does the next year's look like? Tim, Christina, that's your story. You're following Jesus. What is the next year? What does it look like for your daughter and her kids and then her kids' kids? 27 years. Right now, today. Happy anniversary. But it's a story, right? And it's a story of what God has done, showing that God is the one that's mighty to save. He's stronger than whatever it is that was in your past. Because your past explains you, it does not define you. God is the one that defines. He is so mighty that he defines who you are and he calls you son and daughter. Your flesh says, I'm a slave to sin. God says, I don't see it that way. I see you as a son and a daughter. And because you see yourself, because I see you as a son and daughter, if you see yourself as a son and daughter, You understand that he's the one that is mighty to save. I did not save anybody. I didn't save you. I didn't save my kids. I don't have the power to do that. I don't have the power to heal. I don't have the power to set free. I don't have the power to make my marriage right. To be a good husband, to be a good father, to be a good friend. On my own, I cannot do that. He is the one that is mighty. He is the one that can do it. If it's up to me, I'm gonna fail you every time. This is not what it's about. It's about despite me, watch what God can do. Despite your past, despite how you were raised, despite what people said about you, despite how people looked at you, despite all of those things, you get the opportunity not to be a better version of yourself, but to be transformed. Only a mighty God can do that. He came to transform you. Came to transform you. That's what mighty God declares. Why does this matter? Because if he's not mighty God, Christmas is just a Hallmark movie. It's just the same old story. The cross is tragic, hope is fragile, but if God is mighty God, forgiveness is possible, freedom is real, eternity is secure. Like if he's mighty God, then that's what matters. And if that's what matters, this should change everything about what's going on in this temporary life. You see, right now, God sees the bigger picture. He's just asking you to get on a stepladder and see it from a different angle, different perspective. He's also everlasting Father. Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father. This is not to bring confusion within the Trinity. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. This speaks of the fatherly care and the eternal presence that Jesus is. Jesus will never abandon, He will never neglect, He will never outgrow His love for you. Never. Isaiah is not, again, collapsing the Trinity. Isaiah is speaking as to what kind of king Jesus will be. He will be everlasting Father. If you want to see the best example of this, look at Luke chapter 15, 16 through 32. Look at the loving father that he's talking about. A loving father. And this gets difficult because when I say father to a lot of people, it sounds like a curse word. Because for some people, father meant abandonment, absence, hurt, pain. Not everybody had the best experience. So when I see, okay, wonderful counseling, jump on board, I need counseling. Okay, mighty God, I want to see some cool stuff. Everlasting father, I'm out. I can't do it. Because this is what my earthly father showed me, and so I can't do it. And so I get this sense that what he's talking about, I just can't get on board because I understand my father failed, my father aged, my father left, my father died. Like all these things can be said, but hear me. What he's talking about is that Jesus is not the reflection of your earthly father. Your first earthly father is meant to be a reflection of Jesus. Like that's how it's supposed to be. But know what he's saying here. He's saying from a standpoint of, I don't care where you've been, I don't care what you've done, I want to extend my grace to you, I want to love you in this way with the understanding that I will never leave you. Most people don't want answers, they want assurance. And God comes and says, This is the assurance. I'm an everlasting father that will never leave you. In fact, in this world, Jesus said, You're gonna have trouble. Jesus doesn't just throw shade. He says, Listen, you're gonna you're gonna have trouble. Like it's gonna be messed up. But take hard, I've overcome the world. You know why? Because that's what an everlasting father does. He understands that he's not making a promise to you that he cannot keep. Listen to me. People have broken promises to you, but God does not. God does not break his promise to you. Not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God in the middle of it. That's what it is. Peace isn't found in perfect circumstances. Peace is found in a person, and his name is Jesus. Isaiah saves the name, the Prince of Peace for last, because peace is what the Messiah ultimately brings when everything else has been set right. When everything else, the authority to establish peace. Peace does not come from good intentions, it requires authority. The word prince means ruler, leader, one with power to enforce order. Jesus does not negotiate peace, peace, he establishes it. John said, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives. I'm not giving you something that's temporary. I'm what I what I'm giving to you goes beyond what you can understand. This is the reason Paul told the Philippine Church, the peace of God, which what surpasses all understanding. Another translation says goes against all human recollection, meaning I can't comprehend the peace that God gives me. Like there's a there's several people, you guys, that are that are battling cancer like it's real, what's happening to people, like it's a real thing. And it's it's wild how we can see these perspectives. And there's a particular woman that came the day she found out. She instantly came here, happened to be here. It's kind of crazy how it all lined up, and we're here, and it's the moment, she's the worst day of her life. I've been told I have cancer. And I was sitting with this woman last week, and as we're sitting, now months from when she was given that diagnosis, she says this. Have so much peace. Cancer hasn't changed. In fact, I would argue it's probably gotten worse. But her perspective has changed. It is not that I grasp what is happening here on earth, but that I understand who has the authority to establish the peace. She can give me comfort and peace, but it is temporary. Because there's gonna be moments that I fail her and she fails me. There are moments for me. There might be a moment for her. And he wants us to understand vertical peace with God produces horizontal peace with others. I can't assume that if I am at odds with God, then I'm going to treat other people right. If I'm at peace with God, it changes how I treat other people. He's saying, listen, the peace that he gives is so that we understand that amongst the chaos of life and the things that are happening, and no matter when a doctor looks at you and says, the worst news, or a medic, or someone who says you died, like there is a peace that God gives that goes beyond my circumstance, my comprehension, how I thought it was gonna be. And he says, He is Prince of Peace. He will calm anxious hearts, he will steady shaken faith, he will anchor us when life is loud and doesn't make sense. This is a peace also that divides before it unites. We don't like to hear this part. We don't like to hear it because this might surprise you. Jesus's peace often disrupts before it heals. Why? Because it confronts sin. Like Jesus' peace confronts the things that we need to change. And guys, that that is a division. That is a division against what I want and what God wants. And so he says, I'm not just sending peace, I'm sending you my word as a counselor, I'm showing you that I'm mighty safe, I'm showing you that I'm a God that will love you no matter what I confront. Because I see him as everlasting Father. When he confronts sin, I receive it differently because I know he's a God that doesn't condemn. There's a big difference in that. He confronts, he not only confronts, he reveals truth when I've believed lies. I believed a lie, and because I believed a lie, there's this division that's happening. What is this? This is the fight against flesh, this is the fight against my will, my control, how I thought it should go. And I'm telling you, as long as I live in that place, there can be no peace. There can be no peace. If I can't see him as wonderful counselor, I'll never see the peace of that pastor's own understanding. If I can't understand that he is mighty to save, so when the father says, Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief, what is he saying? He's saying, God, I want to believe that you are the one that is mighty to save, mighty to deliver. I want, if I can't believe that he's the one that I can go to, then I'm always gonna try to fix it myself. And I'm gonna always try to fix it myself. I'm gonna kill myself, I'm gonna burn myself out, I'm going to bring chaos and not peace. If I don't believe he's a loving, everlasting Father, then I'll never come to him. I'll never be drawn to him. I always think he's mad at me, I always think I'm grounded, I always think that he's distancing himself, I will not see him as one that runs to me. I will not see him as one that even though I've wasted everything away, I will not see him as the one that runs to me. And if I do not see him as the one that runs to me, I cannot experience peace. So if there's chaos in your marriage, if there's chaos in your relationships, if you have zero peace, I'm telling you, it's because you're not believing that he's wonderful counselor, you're not believing that he's mighty God, you're not believing that he's everlasting fathers, and therefore you cannot have peace that passes understanding. It is impossible until you believe those things. And here's the best part: he doesn't just ask us to believe them, he asks us to receive them. It is a gift that God gives and says, It's yours. It's yours. It's an invitation. It's not condemnation, it's an invitation to a relationship that will radically change your life. Listen, there's one of three choices at Christmas. One of three. So it's not decoration for me, but I like some of the traditions. You might say, listen. I love the decoration. Give me some more elf, give me some more home alone, give me some more Grinch, give me some more all the things. I love it, I love it, I love it. More pumpkin spies, eggnog lattes. I just revealed to you an acid confession. Like you can say all those things, but if he's not king, you're missing out on the greatest peace. You're missing out on what God says, not just about you, but to you, and what he wants to be this season. This season. Would you stand with me right now? Listen, these guys are gonna sing this song, and you may not know it. Here's what I'm asking for three and a half minutes, four minutes. I'm asking you to declare this because here's what I know. I know there's some of you in this room. You're anxious, you're hurting. You might say 2025 was hell. You're like, I I don't know how. I don't know how I'm gonna finish this thing strong. It's been the worst year of my life. I know we've had some crazy deaths, some crazy diagnoses, and there's some of you in this room like 2025 was incredible. Man, new relationships, new job, lots of championship. Like, you can say a lot of things. Right? I threw that in there. You can say 2025 was incredible. It doesn't change the fact that the invitation of Jesus is to follow the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father. And the one that gives the stream, you need someone to pray with you. There's people right over here on the floor. Maybe the person next to you, maybe you just need to say, hey, listen. I need someone to pray with me. When that is available to you today, my challenge to you is not to stay the same way you came in and leave differently today. And maybe today you just need to walk out the gift that God has given you, which is salvation, a relationship. Walk that thing out today. Get to know him. Because here's what I do know he wants a relationship with you. He does. Jesus, I pray for every person in this room. The plans, the purposes that you have. I don't understand. I don't always see it clearly. But God, I serve a God that is wise. I serve a God that is loving. I don't serve a God that just says one thing and does another. I serve a God that walks alongside me. I serve a God that despite the circumstances around me, there is a peace that I cannot explain. God, that is what you offer. God, we lean into that. We lean into the relationship that only you can bring. And God, this blows every earthly relationship I could ever have. Everyone around me, myself included, we're gonna fail one another. But there is a God who will never fail you. There is a God who loves you more than anybody else. And I know that's hard to even grasp in our minds, but God loves you so much that He wants a relationship with you. God, thank you so much for the way you love us, the way you lean into us, the way you come near to us. We give you honor today in Jesus' name. Amen.