Wonderful Counselor: The Names of Jesus
December 18, 2022 · 2:09:00 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
This Christmas-season service centers on the greatest gift God ever gave - His Son Jesus, born to save us. It opens in the spirit of Simeon, the righteous man who came to the temple at the Spirit's prompting and longed to meet the Lord, and the church prays for that same Spirit-led encounter.
Two preachers then unfold the names God gave the Christ child. From Isaiah and Matthew come Emmanuel (God with us), the Savior, and above all Wonderful - the One whose coming changes everything, who does all things well and makes everyone who receives Him a new creation. The mystery of Christmas is that God was manifested in the flesh, longing to live not in a tabernacle but in the human heart.
The second message rests on another of those names: Counselor. We constantly live by someone's advice, but its worth depends entirely on its source. Through Ahithophel, Rehoboam, and Psalm 73, the preacher shows that human counsel can either ruin or save, while God's counsel - His Word - stands forever. Christ advises us out of love, and to all who obey He promises a place at His throne.
Key Points
- The greatest gift of Christmas is the Son the Father gave us: Jesus, born for our salvation.
- Each name of Jesus reveals who He is - Emmanuel, Savior, Wonderful, Counselor.
- God's deepest desire is not a tabernacle but a home in your heart; received by faith, He makes you a new creation.
- Wonderful describes the One whose presence transforms every life; He still does all things well.
- Everyone lives by some counsel, but its value can never rise higher than the source it comes from.
- God's counsel, His Word, stands forever while human schemes collapse - so choose life and obey it.
- Christ counsels us out of love and leads the obedient to share His throne.
Devotional
Pause this season and ask what counsel is shaping your days. The voices around you - books, screens, even well-meaning friends - can guide you wisely or lead you astray, for advice is only as good as its source. But the One whose name is Wonderful Counselor speaks out of perfect love, and His Word stands forever. Open the door of your heart to Him, let Him make you new, and follow His counsel, for it leads all the way to His throne.
The greatest gift you could ever receive is the Son the Father gave - Jesus, born to save.
God never longed merely for a tent in Israel; He longs for a home in your heart.
Any counsel is only as good as its source, and God's counsel stands forever.
