December 28, 2025 – Advent 2025 – A Son is Given

A Son is Given

Isaiah 9:2-7 – New International Version (NIV)

² The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
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 greatness 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.

Who has a “light” dawned on (verse 2)?

What has God “increased” (verse 3)?

What has God “shattered” (verse 4)?

Whose boots and garments “will be destined for burning” (verse 5)?

Where will “the government” be (verse 6)?

How will the establishing and upholding of His kingdom “with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” be accomplished (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

Luke 2:4-7 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Where did Joseph go (verse 4)?

Why did he go (verse 4)?

Who went with him (verse 5)?

Why did she go with him (verse 5)?

What “time came” while they were there (verse 6)?

Why was the baby placed “in a manger” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 9:2-7 outline about the future burdens of the baby born in Luke 2:4-7?

Titus 2:11-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Who does God’s grace offer “salvation” to (verse 11)?

What does God’s grace teach us to “say “No” to” (verse 12)?

How does God’s grace teach us to live “in this present age” (verse 12)?

What is the “blessed hope” we wait for (verse 13)?

What did Jesus “redeem us” from (verse 14)?

Who did Jesus “purify for himself” (verse 14)?

What are these people “eager to do” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Titus 2:11-14 help us understand about the kingdom in Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, why was Jesus, described in Titus 2:11-14 as “our great God and Savior”, born and laid in a manger “because there was no guest room available” in Luke 2:4-7?

Revelation 1:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

What did John see when he turned (verse 12)?

Who was wearing the “robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest” (verse 13)?

How were His eyes described (verse 14)?

What was His voice like (verse 15)?

Where were the “seven stars” (verse 16)?

How did John react (verse 17)?

What keys did “the Living One” hold (verse 18)?

What is John to write (verse 19)?

Who are the seven stars (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, how might Revelation 1:12-20 be considered a fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, how is the baby in Luke 2:4-7 the “First and Last” of Revelation 1:12-20?

In your opinion, how does seeing Jesus through the eyes of John in Revelation 1:12-20 make the “grace of God” of Titus 2:11-14 even more astounding?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Luke, Titus and help us understand about the gift of Jesus given to us?

In your opinion, how do we share that gift?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 24, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – A Son is Given

A Son is Given

Isaiah 9:2-7 - New International Version (NIV)

² The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
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 greatness 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.

 

Who has “seen a great light” (verse 2)?

What has God increased (verse 3)?

What has God shattered (verse 4)?

What is the destiny of “every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood” (verse 5)?

Who is a child born for (verse 6)?

What will be on the Son’s shoulders (verse 6)?

What will the Son be called (verse 6)?

When will “the greatness of his government and peace” end (verse 7)?

What will accomplish this (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

Matthew 1:18-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Whose birth are we reading about (verse 18)?

When was Mary “found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (verse 18)?

What kind of man was Joseph (verse 19)?

How did Joseph respond to Mary’s pregnancy (verse 19)?

How did the angel identify Joseph (verse 20)?

What was Joseph not to be afraid to do (verse 20)?

Who will Mary’s son save “from their sins” (verse 21)?

Who would “give birth to a son” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, how does the prophecy from Isaiah 9:2-7 add context to the birth that is recorded in Matthew 1:18-23?

Romans 1:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe himself (verse 1)?

How was the gospel promised (verse 2)?

Who was “his Son” in His earthly life (verse 3)?

How was He appointed “Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 4)?

What did Paul receive that enabled him to “call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake” (verse 5)?

Who are the Gentiles Paul is writing to called to belong to (verse 6)?

Where does Paul pray for the blessings of grace and peace to come from (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, how are the titles given to the “Son” in Isaiah 9:2-7 affirmed by the accomplishment that Paul claims for Him in Romans 1:1-7?

In your opinion, how do Matthew 1:18-23 and Romans 1:1-7 reveal Jesus as “God with us”?

Revelation 12:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.

What was the great sign that “appeared in heaven” (verse 1)?

Why did the woman cry “out in pain” (verse 2)?

What other sign “appeared in heaven” (verse 3)?

Why did the dragon stand in front of the woman (verse 4)?

Who did the woman give birth to (verse 5)?

What happened in heaven (verse 7)?

Who was “hurled to the earth” (verse 9)?

What does the “loud voice in heaven” say has come (verse 10)?

Who does “the loud voice in heaven” say has been hurled down (verse 10)?

How did “our brothers and sisters” triumph (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 12:1-11 reveal about the “great light” that people walking in darkness were promised in Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, how does the miraculous birth recorded in Matthew 1:18-23 take on timeless importance when you consider what is revealed by Revelation 12:1-11?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 12:1-11 help us understand why Paul can say “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” in Romans 1:1-7? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Romans, and Revelation reveal about the Son of David who is also the Son of God?

In your opinion, how do we live triumphantly in the Son today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)