Pastor John Granchie.

“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,” Isaiah 9:6.

When Isaiah wrote this prediction of the coming of the “Wonderful Counselor”, he was telling Israel to remember their Messiah was indeed coming to establish His Kingdom. The book of Isaiah was written nearly 800 years before Christ. Isaiah calls the Messiah the “Wonderful Counselor” and is telling us about the character of this coming King. The word wonderful in this verse literally means“incomprehensible.” The Messiah will cause us to be “full of wonder.” Jesus our Lord is wonderful in a way that is boggling to the mind.

God the Son became a man can be mind boggling and hard to comprehend. But that’s exactly what happened and is what we celebrate at Christmas. The birth of our Lord reminds us that we need a Savior. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our sin. He did not deserve to die, but He willingly took our place and experienced death for us. The birth, death and resurrection all go hand and hand.

We are also reminded as we celebrate the birth of our Lord, that He is coming back again. The Old Testament does prophesy the second coming of Christ, sometimes referred to as the second advent of the Messiah. Many Old Testament prophecies foretell the ultimate triumph of Christ, which will occur at the second advent. 

During this month, please remember all of this in your heart and celebrate the great meaning of what we like to call “The reason for the Season.” Remember, “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.”

Merry Christmas.

John Granchie is the pastor of Peace United Church of Christ in Gladbrook.