Each year God's people set aside four weeks to prepare for Christmas. Those four weeks are called the Advent season. This season helps us prepare for a proper Christmas celebration. It helps us to focus our minds on the true meaning of Christmas - the coming of Christ!

During this time of the year before Christmas there are all kinds of voices speaking to us to try to get our attention. There's the voice of the merchant saying, "Come and buy." There's the voice of Santa Claus saying, "Ho,ho,ho." There's the voice of Satan saying, "Eat, drink, and be merry." But there are also other voices. We might call them "voices from the past." During these Advent services we are going to listen to some of those voices. They will remind us that good feelings, nice presents, enjoyable traditions, and beautiful music are not the real heart of Christmas. The heart of Christmas is God's promise of a Savior and his fulfillment of that promise. Today, we will hear the voice of the prophets proclaiming. Next week, the voice of Mary responding, and the third week the voice of the angels rejoicing.

From out of the ancient past the voices of the prophets ring with God-inspired certainty, calling people to turn to the Lord with repentant faith, and offering God's abundant promises. Everything will surely come to pass, just as they foretold. The first prophet to speak to us today is Isaiah. He lived about 750 years before the birth of Christ. He wrote one of the longest books of the Bible. When I think of Isaiah, the first thing I think of is prophecy. He prophesied more clearly and in more ways than any other of the prophets about Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection. He foresees Christ's coming so clearly that he proclaims it as if it had just happened. Our first reading is:

Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." ¹² But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test." ¹³ Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah proclaims in prophecy that a virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. 750 years later, this prophecy was fulfilled when the angel Gabriel came to a virgin by the name of Mary and told her she'd be the mother of the Savior.

Many people, and even churches, deny the virgin birth of Jesus, saying He was the natural son of Mary and Joseph or even the son of some Roman soldier. If that's true, Christmas has lost all of its meaning. Then, the Bible is filled with mistakes and lies and can't be trusted. Then Jesus is just a mere human being and can't be our Savior. Do you want a Christmas with that message? As you prepare for Christmas, remember the prophets proclaiming, proclaiming God's promise of a Savior for you, proclaiming his miraculous birth. That's what Christmas is all about, the miracle of God coming to earth, to become like us and be our Savior. Let's join our voices to those of the prophets proclaiming and sing (v.1-2) 47, Behold a Branch is Growing.

Isaiah 9:6-7

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah comforts his people by telling them that this child who would be born of the virgin would be no ordinary child. He would have divine names. Only one person had such divine names and that is Jesus. Throughout his life on earth, Jesus showed himself to be the Wonderful Counselor, comforting people with his Word, the Mighty God, performing miracles of healing and nature, the Everlasting Father, guarding, protecting, and providing for his children, and the Prince of Peace, offering to all people, to you and me, peace with God through the forgiveness of sins. As you prepare for Christmas, remember the prophets proclaiming the promise of a Savior. The little baby whose birth we celebrate is your Wonderful Counselor, your Mighty God, your Everlasting Father, your Prince of Peace! You need Him! You need that fulfillment of Isaiah's 750 year old prophecy! Hymn 85 (1-2), O God from God, O Light from Light.

Isaiah 11:1-3

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD- ³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

Isaiah proclaims in prophecy that the Savior will come from the family of David. David's father was Jesse, who had been dead for many years. David had also been dead for many years by this time. The power and influence of David's family had been long gone, but it had been foretold long ago that the Savior would come from the family of David and be a king like David and rule like David. This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was born. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. Isaiah proclaimed that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the Savior. At his baptism, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. He was anointed with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and counsel and power and knowledge and the fear of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that the Savior would not judge by what He sees with his eyes or hears with his ears. Because He is true God, Jesus can look into hearts and minds of people and see what you are thinking and feeling.

That little baby whose birth we soon celebrate is true man and true God. He had to be true man to take our place under the law and suffer and die on the cross. He had to be true God so that his keeping the law would count for all people and so his suffering and dying on the cross would be sufficient payment for your sins. Because Jesus is true man, we can go to Him knowing He understands how frail and weak we are. Because Jesus is true God, we can go to Him confident He can and will help in every need. Let's join our voices with those of the prophets proclaiming and sing Hymn 23 (v.1-2) Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel.

Isaiah 53:5-6

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah sees the suffering and death of Jesus for the sins of the world so clearly that he speaks of it as an already accomplished fact. Jesus came to this earth to save you and me and all people from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He didn't come to just save certain people. "On Him was laid the iniquity of us all." All of your sins were placed on Jesus' back when He went to the cross to suffer for them. They are no longer yours! The cradle and the cross always go together. Let us join our voices to those of the prophets proclaiming and sing v.1&4 of Hymn 127: Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted.

Micah 5:2

² "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. He pinpoints the birthplace and speaks of the eternity of Jesus 700 years before the birth of Jesus. No wonder Micah, confident of God's grace, exclaims in 7:7 of his book, "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." Micah and the OT believers watched in hope for Christ's first coming. We watch in hope for his second coming.

Luther had this to say about the prophet Micah: "Micah is one of the fine prophets who rebukes the people severely for their idolatry and constantly refers to the coming Christ and to his kingdom. In one respect he is unique among the prophets, in that he points with certainty to Bethlehem, naming it as the town where Christ was to be born. In short, he denounces, he prophesies, he preaches. Ultimately, however, his meaning is that even though Israel and Judah have to go to pieces, Christ will come and make all things good."

Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season! It is easy to lose sight of that as we get caught up in the traditions and commercialism of Christmas. There are a lot of voices vying for your attention! Many times they get your attention! Being here today, though, helps us keep a proper focus. Being in God's Word keeps your focus where it must be for Advent. Make it the focus in your homes. Have special Advent devotions. Light your advent candles. Let the light of our coming Savior shine in your homes!

As the prophets proclaimed the good news about the Savior, let us proclaim to our friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors, the good news about Jesus. It's hard to find the real meaning of Christmas in the mall, on TV, or in the newspapers, but listening to the voices of men like Isaiah and Micah helps bring our thoughts back to what Christmas is all about, the birth of Jesus our Savior, in the little town of Bethlehem. A Savior who would give you peace with God through the forgiveness of all your sins! Let us sing verse 1&2 of Hymn 65 O Little Town of Bethlehem.

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