First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

Text: Isaiah 7:10–17
Theme: This present sign
Other Lessons: Psalm 24; Romans 1:1–7; Matthew 1:18–25

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, peace, and mercy be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
→ O Lord, give us grace to walk before You all the days of this our
pilgrimage with a good conscience and pure mind, that when You shall appear
to reward every man according to his deeds, we may rejoice and not be
ashamed before You at Your coming. Grant this for the sake of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Introduction

A. Louis IX, who ruled France in the thirteenth century, was once
reportedly asked why he signed his name “Louis of Poissy” and not “Louis
IX, King of France” (which would have been the traditional way for a king
to sign letters and documents).
1. He responded by pointing out that Poissy was the location of his
Baptism.
2. Then he is said to have explained, “I think more of the place where I
was baptized than of Reims Cathedral where I was crowned.
3. It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a
kingdom.
4. This last I shall lose at death, but the other will be my passport to an
everlasting glory.”
5. This saying was etched in stone in front of the baptismal font at the
former St. Louis Catholic Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
6. It reflects the Christian conviction that Baptism is the most important
day in the life of a follower of Jesus.
7. It identifies a Christian as a child of God who will live eternally with
Christ.
8. This identity manifests itself daily—not only in the signing of one’s
name, but also in the sacrificial and selfless life of service to others.
B. There is no question: the sign King Ahaz refused to ask, the virgin
birth, was among the greatest signs given to mankind (Isaiah 7:14).
1. But in our Baptism, God has given us the sign that everything the
virgin-born Christ accomplished by his life, death, and resurrection is
personally and eternally ours.
C. “ ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call
his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23).
1. Yes, God is present with us.
1. With a few exceptions, the people of God have often experienced life in
a way that makes them think God is absent.
A. That’s an astounding claim, given the common experience among God’s
people of his apparent absence.
1. Most of us, at some point or another, have wondered whether God is
really with us.
2. We face great difficulties, and we wonder if God cares.
3. We encounter things we can’t explain or understand, and we wonder if God
really exists.
4. We cry out to God on our knees but hear nothing in response other than
our own sighs.
5. We slog through this life, never experiencing much of a spiritual high
or low, and we begin to question if God is with us.
6. With a few exceptions, the people of God have often experienced life in
a way that makes them think God is absent.
2. Ahaz only continued a millennia-old theme of God’s people doubting his
presence.
A. You’re not alone when you wonder.
1. You’re not the first to question God’s presence.
2. It’s safe to say that very few have never questioned God’s presence.
3. In fact, those who question God’s presence are actually only continuing
a several thousand year old theme of God’s people doubting his presence.
B. Before the fall into sin, God walked and talked with his human
creatures.
1. His presence was obvious.
2. Adam and Eve did not doubt that he was there.
3. They doubted his reliability, all thanks to the serpent.
4. But that’s a different problem altogether.
5. His presence was obvious.
C. After the fall, however, God’s people have often doubted his presence
among them.
1. The episode with the golden calf is a good case in point.
2. In , God told Moses to meet him on top of Mount Sinai so that he could
give him his Law.
3. Moses was going to be gone for a while.
4. In the meantime, the people got antsy.
5. They began to question God’s presence.
6. By the time we get to Exodus 32, they’ve concluded that God does not
exist.
A. Or at least, that he is no longer with them.
1. Never mind the ten plagues that God brought on Egypt to deliver them.
2. Never mind the parting of the Red Sea by which God rescued them.
3. Never mind the manna and quail that God provided in the wilderness so
that the people wouldn’t starve.
4. “What have you done for me lately?” the people asked.
5. When God did not respond, they decided he was no longer there.
D. That’s what happened in our reading today from Isaiah 7.
1. King Ahaz doubted God was with him.
2. He had a reason to doubt:
A. foreign armies were mounting around him.
3. But God had promised to be with his people forever.
A. God had promised to protect and preserve them.
4. But Ahaz and the people of God looked around at the present
circumstances and were not convinced.
E. That’s when Isaiah entered the scene.
1. God sent Isaiah to give a message to Ahaz.
2. His message was simple:
A. God is with you, Ahaz, whether you believe it or not.
B. He promised he would be with you.
C. Believe him. If you have doubts, simply ask him for a sign—anything you
want—and he will show you that he is with you.
3. Can you imagine that?
A. An invitation from God to ask him for a sign?
4. But Ahaz wouldn’t do it.
A. Why not? Because he didn’t want to trouble the Lord with such a request
B. No, it was because he had already lost his faith.
C. He had already put his faith in a “golden calf”:
1. this time it was an alliance with a foreign army.
3. Despite his and our doubts, Isaiah spoke God’s Word that promised his
presence.
A. That’s when Isaiah spoke those words that Matthew would quote seven
hundred years later.
1. You don’t trust God enough to ask for a sign?
A. “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (verse 14).
B. God Promises to Be Graciously Present in His Creation through Jesus.
4. God’s presence in Christ is a hidden presence.
A. Isaiah’s response to Ahaz’s lack of faith was to promise a peculiar sign
of God’s presence.
1. He promised a child who would be born to a maiden.
2. This is hardly the kind of sign that one would expect from the Almighty.
3. But this would be no ordinary child.
4. He was to be called Immanuel:
A. “God with us.”
B. Moreover, God would be with his people to save them from their sins.
B. Immanuel is Jesus. Jesus is Immanuel.
1. The child who was also the eternal Son of God.
2. He is God’s sign.
3. He is God’s proof.
4. He is God’s guarantee that he is with us.
5. That is what makes Christmas such a big deal.
6. That’s why we’ve been getting ready to celebrate Christmas since the day
after Thanksgiving.
7. On December 25, we celebrate the fact that God is with us:
A. that he is with us to save us.
C. But God’s people of every age question whether God is with us or not.
1. We have our own golden calf episodes.
2. God doesn’t behave in ways that we think he should, and our faith slides
into disbelief.
3. We don’t see God solving our problems or healing our diseases or fixing
our families or answering our questions when we want, and we are tempted to
conclude that he is not with us.
4. God’s presence in Christ is still often hidden from us.
D. That’s why God gives us another sign.
1. That sign is Baptism.
2. The Lutheran Confessions speak of Baptism (and the Lord’s Supper) as
signs of God’s gracious disposition toward us.
3. The Augsburg Confession describes the sacraments as:
A. “signs and testimonies of God’s will toward us” that “awaken and confirm
faith” in us (Augsburg Confession 13, paragraphs 1–2).
4. The Apology draws on the Early Church when it says:
A. “It has been well said by Augustine that a Sacrament is a visible Word,
because the rite is received by the eyes and is, as it were, a picture of
the Word, illustrating the same thing as the Word” (Ap to the Augsburg
Confession 13. paragraph 5).
E. When we think of Baptism as a sign of God’s grace toward us as we ought
to, we begin to see the importance Baptism has for every day of our lives.
1. Just as Louis IX thought so long ago.
5. God’s presence in the world today is made known through his people as
they love and serve one another.
A. Baptism is not only a sign of God’s gracious will toward us.
1. It is also a sign to the world.
2. Baptism signals to outsiders what we are as Christians (Augsburg
Confession 13, paragraph 1), but it is our baptismal living that makes
them stop to notice.
3. As Paul writes in Romans 6, our Baptism means newness of life.
4. This life manifests itself in sacrificial service to others:
A. both to fellow believers in the Church
B. and to those in need outside the Church.
5. When the everyday lives of God’s people are shaped by their Baptism into
Christ, the watching world sees the hidden presence of God.
6. God’s presence in the world today is made known through his people as
they love and serve one another.

Conclusion

A. It’s exactly one week until Christmas, and we all have an awful lot yet
to do to get ready for it.
1. As you hurry through all that remaining business, remember that in
Christ, God is present with us.
2. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.
3. And just as important, he is God with you.
4. You know that because of your Baptism.
5. You were baptized into Christ.
B. Running, scurrying, hurrying on this errand and that, to this mall and
that store, as you welcome guests and make your social rounds, remember
your Baptism:
1. in the way you treat clerks and other shoppers,
2. in the way you treat visiting loved ones who may be hard to love,
3. in the way you think about the gifts you select for others.
4. Remember your Baptism as a sign that the babe in the manger is not only
the Savior of the world.
5. He is also your Savior from your sin, and now he is your strength for
faithful living in his name. Amen.
C. Let us pray:
→ LSB 361:4 O Little Town of Bethlehem
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel!
Text: Public domain
D. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

Text: Isaiah 35:1–10

Theme: Vengeance and Joy
Other Lessons: Psalm 146; James 5:7–11; Matthew 11:2–15

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
1. O Lord, help us not to put our trust in people, but in You alone.
Forgive us for mistreating others and for looking down on people different
from ourselves. Thank You for keeping all of Your promises through Christ.
Amen.
Introduction

A. It says something that national parks and other recreation areas require
backpackers to get a wilderness permit before setting out.
1. When you head into the wilderness, you’re not only going off the grid,
but you’re leaving behind the safety—to say nothing of the conveniences—of
subdivision and suburbia or city or small town.
2. For example, it also says quite a lot when this is the last sign you
read as you leave the trailhead:
A. “Most recent mountain lion sighting . . . yesterday.”
B. And the sign proceeds to give you instructions like, “Hold small
children on your shoulders to protect them and to look as tall and menacing
as possible” and
C. “Carry stones to throw if you see a lion.”
B. The wilderness is a dangerous place.
1. Especially if you run out of water or darkness falls or you simply get
lost.
2. Even a seasoned hiker can suddenly feel helpless.
3. Suddenly your self-reliance evaporates and you realize you need someone
to bail you out, to rescue you.
4. Our text today uses “wilderness” as:
A. a metaphor,
B. an illustration, for many things you and I experience that are anything
but illustrations, metaphors, picture language
C. things we live with that are very, very real.
D. Tragic things.
E. Painful things.
F. Dangerous things.
G. But the point of the text is that in a very real way, Christ’s coming
delivers us from all those things.
H. As the prophet Isaiah puts it, God Will Come with Vengeance to Bring
Life to the Wilderness.
I. Life in the wilderness is dangerous.
A. Wilderness well illustrates what truly is the difficult reality of life
in a fallen world.
1. Isaiah pictures burning sand, a haunt of jackals, lions, and ravenous
beasts.
2. God’s Old Testament people had experienced these challenges very
literally as they traveled through the wilderness.
A. Commentary on verses 1–2:
1. “Wilderness” (midbar) calls to mind many things for the people of God in
the Old Testament.
A. It is a place of danger (Exodus 14:3) populated by deadly animals
(Deuteronomy 8:15),
B. where water is scarce (Exodus 15:22) and crops do not grow.
C. It is easy to get lost in the wilderness (Psalm 107:4–5).
D. But the wilderness is also where God’s people learn to trust
(Deuteronomy 8:1–3).
2. In the wilderness:
A. God carried them (Deuteronomy 1:31),
B. fed them (Exodus 16:1–36),
C. and gave them water (Exodus 17:1–7; Numbers 20:1–11).
3. In the wilderness, God seeks people, guards and cares for them, and
lifts them up (Deuteronomy 32:10–14).
B. This dangerous and desolate place (the wilderness) will be glad and
rejoice.
1. Notice that here Isaiah does not say the people of God will rejoice in
the wilderness, but that the wilderness itself will rejoice.
2. All creation will praise its Creator.
3. These verses reminds us that God is “the author of all joy,” for only
God could make desert places rejoice (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah:
Chapters 1–39 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986], 622).

C. Our own “wildernesses” of different kinds we also know very literally.
1. Some are our personal guilt or shame.
2. But many dangers we encounter simply because the whole world is sinful.
3. Some of these are physical (cancer, aches and pains)
4. others are relational, (son against mother, father against daughter,
etc.)
5. still others are mental or emotional (depression, anxiety, dementia,
Alzheimer’s)
6. These are all serious dangers that come with traveling through this
wilderness, our sinful world.
7. You know what your own struggles are, what your wilderness feels like.
8. Or perhaps it’s difficult even for you to name them yourself.
9. In any case, our sufferings in this fallen world, in this wilderness,
are real, and we need deliverance, we long for rescue.
II. God promises to come into the wilderness with life-restoring vengeance.
A. Christ’s coming will make all things right again.
1. Visualize what Isaiah wants us to see
2. Verses 1–2, 5–7
(1) The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall
rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
(2) it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The
glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.
(5) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
unstopped;
(6) then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute
sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the
desert;
(7) the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs
of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall
become reeds and rushes.
3. The wilderness itself will flow and flower.
A. The sufferers of personal “wildernesses” will rejoice in health and
vitality.
4. These promises were fulfilled in part during Jesus’ life and ministry.
A. Jesus points this out to John’s messengers in today’s Gospel (Matthew
11:4–5) when he says:
(4) And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
(5) the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed
and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news
preached to them.
5. But they will be fully realized when Jesus returns in glory on the Last
Day.
A. At that time, he will restore all of creation—including life, health,
and joy to each of us.
B. The heart of Isaiah’s promise, however, is this: “Those who have an
anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you’ ” (verse
4).
1. Notice, first, God will come with vengeance.
A. He will exercise vengeance on his enemies:
1. sin,
2. death,
3. and the devil (and those who remain in league with them).
4. For them, the promise of vengeance is obviously not good news.
2. But we are no longer God’s enemies!
A. Christ Jesus coming and going to the cross has reconciled us to God.
B. We have been baptized into his death.
C. We believe in Jesus—which is why you came to worship this week!
D. God’s vengeance against his enemies is good news for God’s people
because it means relief and rescue.
3. Because Christ’s death has reconciled us to God, he is with us in all
our wildernesses.
A. Physical pains–God is with you.
B. Relational problems–God is with you.
C. Emotional issues–God is with you.
D. Mental distress–God is with you.
C. It may seem a little odd to think of God’s vengeance as we prepare to
celebrate Christmas. After all, the image of a babe in the manger hardly
elicits fear or trembling. But this baby is no ordinary baby.
1. Not only would he reign over sin, death, and the devil in his life and
ministry.
2. Even more, he would reign over these enemies in his resurrection from
the dead and in his session at the right hand of the Father.
3. For now, his reign is hidden to us
Hebrews 2:8
(8) putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting
everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At
present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
4. But when he returns, his reign will be visible for all to see as he
restores his beloved creation for the rejoicing of his redeemed people.
III. Our celebration of Christmas invites us to rejoice in advance of
Jesus’ return.
A. Isaiah frames our text with this invitation to rejoice in the coming of
the Messiah.
1. He begins with the wilderness itself rejoicing (verses 1–2) and ends
with the people of God gathering together in “everlasting joy” (verse 10).
2. This is much more than the shallow and super­ficial feelings that
characterize many Christmas music playlists.
3. Instead, Christian joy is the natural response of the people of God who
are beginning to enjoy the fruits of a creation that will be restored to
paradise.
B. Picture how different this coming joy will be from the world in which we
live now!
1. Unlike today, there will be no more “sighing” and no more “sorrow”
(verse 10).
2. There will be:
A. no more weak hands or feeble knees (verse 3),
B. no more blindness, deafness, lameness, or muteness (verses 5–6).
C. no more thirst and no ravenous beasts to devour us (verses 7, 9).
3. Instead, the people of God will gather in the city of God in joy and
gladness forever.
C. At its best, Christmas provides a hint, a glimpse of this joyful
condition, but these are always only partial and temporary.
1. We can (and we should) give thanks for these moments of rejoicing,
especially during this holy season.
2. But these glimpses are ultimately only a dim pre­view of the fullness of
rejoicing that will arrive and remain with the return of Jesus.
IV. Together as a congregation, and individually in our respective
vocations, we proclaim this promise to encourage those who remain weak and
feeble.
A. Verse 4
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you’ “.
1. Yes, Isaiah says to us, “Say it!”
2. Those who are:
A. anxious,
B. weak,
C. suffering
D. tell them that in Christ, God has come and will come again in vengeance
. . . to bring life to their wildernesses, to save them!
B. All Christians of every station are called to proclaim God’s saving
promises.
1. Luther called this the “mutual conversation and consolation of brethren”
(Smalcald Article, Article III, paragraph IV).
2. This takes place outside of worship, in our daily lives, as ordinary
Christians speak the promises of Christ to one another.
3. These promises encourage the people of God.
A. The joy of those whose rejoicing has begun is contagious.
Conclusion

A. Imagine for a moment what it looks like to share this joy with others.
B. It’s a delight to share joyful news with others.
1. Every couple who’s shared the news of a healthy birth can relate.
2. Every teenager who’s just overperformed on a final exam here at the end
of the semester and raised their grade to an A knows the feeling. Every
recent graduate who got the job and the honor of calling their parents to
tell them their investment paid off has experienced the thrill.
C. But of all those who get to share good news, it may be the surgeon who
is most privileged.
1. Imagine this situation:
A. The wife of a fifty-three-year-old man waits on pins and needles for the
emergency heart surgery to end.
B. The last time she saw her husband of twenty-eight years was as he lay on
the floor of their dining room after collapsing without warning.
C. The surgery lasts much longer than she expected.
D. Finally, after what seems to be eternity, she looks up to see the
surgeon walking toward her.
E. He invites her into a private room.
F. She searches his face for clues and braces for the worst.
G. Removing his mask, he tells her that the surgery was a success and they
were able to save her husband’s life.
H. They expect a full recovery.
I. She collapses into his arms with joy and thanksgiving and relief.
D. It was the bleak and depressing outlook that makes the good news so
joyful.
1. The surgeon shares in the woman’s joy by sharing with her the good news
of life . . . just as God gives us opportunity:
2. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those
who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come
with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you’ ”
(Isaiah 35:3–4).
E. All of us have the honor and privilege of speaking joyful words of hope
to those who struggle in their own personal wilderness:
1. Christ will come with vengeance to make right that wilderness.
2. He will come and save you. Amen.
F. Let us pray:
Take our trembling hands, Lord Jesus, and lead us to the comforts of Zion.
Amen.
G. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
H. In the Name of the Father…Amen.