Jesus in Christmas

At church on Sunday, as it was a fifth Sunday, Neil coordinated the service and shared the message. When he does a devotion at our deacon's meetings, I tend to really appreciate them, and this message was another great one. The whole service in fact was full of really great scripture grounding. So rich in the Word of God.

Let me explain.

The service involved a stack of Christmas carols, unsurprising given the time of year, but before each carol, was read a section of the bible. We could really see where some of the references that we hear all of the time in the songs, actually came from. Really good to revisit what the bible tells us about the coming of Jesus as a baby, and what his purpose will be on earth.

Neil's message followed this theme, focusing on where Jesus is in each book of the bible. I found it so fabulous just to dwell on who Jesus is. He is so many things! There is really no way we can describe all that the Son of God is, because our vocabulary just does not suffice.

I did want to post some of the message here, and indeed, I copied it in with the intent of just selecting a few sections for you to read and thus understand what I was talking about, but I found as I read it, it was just too great. God is just too much to be contained by a fragment of something (even a fragment that is the whole message).

So I've copied it all for you in the hopes that you find it as inspiring and encouraging as I did. I hope that the message of Jesus resonates with you, oh internet people, as we come up to Christmas, so much so that you see past the baby in a manger, to the King of the world.

Jesus in Every Book

In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the woman who crushes the devil.
Exodus, he is our Passover lamb whose blood saves us
Leviticus, Jesus is our high priest who makes atonement for our sin
Numbers, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that lead to salvation.
In Deuteronomy, he is the prophet greater than Moses.

In Joshua, Jesus is the captain of our salvation.
Judges, he is our judge and lawgiver.
Ruth, he is our redeemer.
I Samuel, he breaks the bows of the mighty and raises the poor from the dust
II Samuel, he is the descendant of David who reigns forever
I Kings, he is the wisdom greater than Solomon
II Kings, he is fulfilment of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
1 Chronicles, he is the covenant that lasts 1000 generations
In II Chronicles, Jesus is rebuilder of the house of God
In Ezra, Jesus is the rebuilder of the temple of our heart.
In Nehemiah, he is the rebuilder of the broken down walls of our lives.
Esther, he is the response to our cries for help.

In Job, Jesus restores our broken relationship with God.
Psalms, he’s our shepherd.
Proverbs, he’s the Wisdom that formed the world
Ecclesiastes, he’s the Wisdom that gives us life.
Song of Solomon, he’s the lover of our souls.

In Isaiah, Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
Jeremiah, the righteous branch of Jesse
Lamentations,  he’s the comfort for those who mourn
Ezekiel, he’s the glory of God displayed among the nations
Daniel, his kingship shall never be destroyed

In Hosea, Jesus is the forgiving redeemer of an unfaithful people
Joel, the giver of the Holy Spirit.
Amos, the builder of the city of God.
Obadiah, the messenger who prepares us for battle
Jonah, the first born of the dead.
Micah, the ruler of all ages
Nahum, the one who brings good tidings and proclaims peace
Habakkuk, the saviour of God’s anointed people
Zephaniah, he has taken away judgement from us
Haggai the destroyer of earthly kingdoms
Zechariah, he takes away the guilt from God’s people
Malachi, the sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings.

In Matthew Jesus is the king of the Jews.
Mark, the servant King
Luke, the son of man.
John, the son of God.
Acts, the giver of the Holy Spirit.

In Romans Jesus is the righteousness of God.
I Corinthians, the giver of gifts
II Corinthians, the triumphant one,giving victory.
Galatians, the liberator of our souls..
Ephesians, the head of the church.
In Philippians, Jesus is our joy.
Colossians, the head of all things.
I Thessalonians, the encourager of our faith
II Thessalonians, our hope.
I Timothy, our faith.
II Timothy, our stability.
In Titus, Jesus is truth.
Philemon, our covenant friend.
Hebrews, the messenger of the new covenant.
James, the Great Physician.
I Peter, the cornerstone.
II Peter, our purity.
I John, Jesus is Light
2 John, he is Life
3 John,  he is truth
Jude, he knows us all by name.
In Revelation, Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords,

He is the first and the last, beginning and the end; He is the keeper of creation and the creator of all. He is the architect of the universe and the manager of all time

Jesus always was, he always is, he always will be, unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone. Jesus was bruised and bought healing, He was pierced and eased pain. He was persecuted and brought freedom, He was dead and brought life. He is risen and brings power; He reigns and brings peace.

He is life, love, longevity, and Law. He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and love. He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, and good. His way is right, his words eternal, His love unchanging, and he is always on our side.

He is our redeemer, He is our saviour, he is our God. He is our priest, he is our joy, he is our comfort, he is our Law and our Gospel. Jesus is all we need, now and forever.

AMEN.

Neil's message was adapted from this website.