The Names of God
His Name Shall Be Jesus
December 24, 2017 • Lester Zimmerman
We have been focusing on the names of God and specifically those names given to the coming Messiah. We have seen the Messiah described as the Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father and Emmanuel-God with Us. Today is the last day of Advent which brings us to the Christmas story where God reveals to Mary and Joseph what they are to name their baby. The are not to name him David, Elijah or Joseph Jr. They are to give him the name “Jesus” which means – The Lord Saves or The God who Saves. The name was descriptive of his mission of coming to earth. Names were very important in those days. People didn’t just name their children cute names. They choose names that spoke of purpose and destiny. God chose the name for his son. God said His name shall be Jesus! Every time people said his name they were calling him “The God Who Saves”. The name Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. Just as Joshua saved the people of Israel from the bondage and death of Egypt so Jesus would be like Joshua to save the world from bondage and sin. The full name given to Jesus was The Lord Jesus Christ. The title Christ referred to the promised Messiah. And Lord refers to his divinity and authority. When referring to God’s son, the name “Jesus”, becomes a name of power and authority. A name above all other names. A name that changes lives. A name that saves, delivers and sets free.
Emmanuel
December 17, 2017 • Brian Coles
So why the name Emmanuel? Of all the names, why are we talking about this one? Well I think I can answer that question using on word, it’s an awesome word. Emmanuel describes God's proximity to us. He is near to us. Understanding and believing his proximity to us changes everything. Do you believe that he is near? Do you trust that he is near? Do you talk like he is near? When you go places are you thinking, man God is with us. If God is with us, then real life, real purpose, real power, and real forgiveness are ours for the taking!
Everlasting Father
December 10, 2017 • Lester Zimmerman
In Part 1 we looked at Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Today we want to look at the description of Jesus as the Everlasting Father. This seems strange that Jesus, the Son of God, would be called father. But this is not a reference to the supreme father of the trinity. Jesus is not Father God. This is referring to the quality of the messiah in how he will relate to those who follow him. He will care for them just as his father does with the same enduring compassion and fatherly care. We see this same fatherly characteristic in Jesus in Matthew 9:36 "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus came to reveal the father’s heart to us. He said, “If you have seen me you have seen the father.” In the Hebrew mind the term father often refers to one who is an originator. We use the term “founding fathers”. George Washington is the father of our nation. Jesus is the originator. The founding father of everything. He is eternal. He always was. He created all things and all things exist by him. He is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.
Prince of Peace
December 3, 2017 • Brian Flewelling
As a customer, your real-life experiences shape how you view that company, that product. In the ancient world, a person’s name, their brand, was equivalent to their reputation. We are not going to talk about our reputation, we’re are going to talk about God’s. There are literally dozens of names given to God throughout the scripture. And it’s a wonderful study. When we study the names of God, we discover His character – who He is. Over the next four weeks, as we lean into Christmas, we’re going to focus on just four names, and those that especially lead us to this miraculous moment in history that we call http://christmas...when God becomes flesh.