Cornerstone PLUS

And the book of emmanuel really is about a baby called emmanuel, and we'll learn about that, and what we need to do, young boys and girls, is we got help the adults. We're gonna try and help them to remember or to to catch up with what we've been doing for the last 2 weeks. So I need you to think just for a moment about 1 thing in your life that frustrates you or that irritates you or makes you angry. You think about 1 thing in your life that frustrates you or irritates you or makes you angry. Okay?

It could be something that you just find irritating, like dealing with a bank or particular telephone service provider. Okay? We won't mention any names. It could be something that really makes you angry. When you see people starving while other people have loads of money, and that makes you really angry.

It could be something that other people do. Maybe there's a bully at school, or someone who treats you badly. Maybe it makes you really angry. Maybe it's what they have done. Maybe it's what you have done.

Maybe it's a silly thing that you've done, a word that you said, or a way that you behaved. And even though you promised to do it again, you keep on doing it and get you frustrated. Just think about that for a moment. And then why don't you share that with the person person they you. Parents, I'm trying to encourage you to engage with your children on this, the service.

So why don't you find out from them what it is about this life that they find frustrating or a makes them angry in some way. And then the band are going to get up and lead us in our next song. When they start playing, you can end your discussions. Just take a moment to share that with each other. Alright.

Please sit down. The Bible Tots will be leaving now through that door over there. And as they do so, could I invite, Paul Simpson to join me up front? And then I need 3 children volunteers 3 children volunteers. Come on, Camilo, Lucas.

Who's else is coming? Isaac, you're coming. You can come stand over here. Alright? Very good.

Very good. 1 more 1 more volunteer. It won't hurt a lot. Come on. There you go.

Yay. Alright. Let me introduce you to the political scene about 800 BC. Okay? This is what we learned a few weeks ago.

We learned that there was a big bully king called Tigliff Palisa. Yeah? Big bully. Oh. And then there were 3 other little countries.

1 called Syria. Right? 1 called Israel. That's the northern kingdom of Israel. And little tiny Judah.

And the problem was that big king, big king Tiglith Pyleesi was trying to flex his muscles, and he was just conquering places all over the place. He was the big superpower. Alright. And he was threatening He was threatening these 2 surrounding nations. And so what do you think they might do?

Can you remember what they did? Can you remember? We'll have to reteach this lesson. Yeah? They they wanted to get together to fight him.

They thought if we huddle together, we can fight. And they said to King Ahas over here in Judah, they said, oy, you should join us and we'll fight against old Tige over there. And Ahas said, no, I'm not gonna do it. And god said to him, Ayaz, ask me, and I'll give you a special sign to tell you what to do. And he said, no, I'm not he says, I'm not going to ask for the sign.

I'm not gonna ask for god to guide me here. Alright? So instead, what what Judah tried to do, what what a has tried to do was he went and took some money some gold and silver from the temple and from the royal treasury. Alright? And he went behind the backs of these other 2.

And he went to old Tiggi, and he said to Tiggi, I'll give you some money and I'll be friends with you, then I'll be safe. That was a good plan. Wasn't it? Tell me, wasn't it? He thought it was a brilliant plan.

He thought it was such a brilliant plan to give Tiggler all this money. So that he wouldn't hurt him, and that's what happened. What do you think? What what do you think god thought about this? Did god think that was a good idea?

No. Let's see what God thought about. Thanks. You guys can sit down. I'll keep these.

Yes. Yes. Later. After the after the service. It's part of Hugo Lucas.

Let's go. Alright. Oops. There we go. Alright.

God was very angry with Ahas. And he said to Hey, as I am going to give you a sign now, because you've trusted in men and you've not trusted in me, I'm going to give you a sign. Comely, Vy, you want to pull on the string? See what happens? Don't pull too hard.

Pull down. And let go. Woo. He said I'm gonna give you a sign. The sign is that a baby is going to be born who's going to be called Emmanuel.

Emmanuel means God with us. Rodrigo, what's on what's on the bib of that baby? Can you see? Judgment. It's a gavel.

It's a judge's gavel. He says before the boy is very old, before he even knows right from wrong. So in a few months, I'm going to use a Syria to judge Syria and Israel. And then I'm gonna send them after you guys. You will be punished too because you have not trusted in my in god.

You've trusted in man. So that was the promise. The promise of a boy called Emmanuel. Later on in the Bible, in Matthew, we read that god was again going to give another sign of another child who was also going to be called emmanuel. Listen to what it says.

This carpenter Joseph was about to marry Mary, but discovers that she's pregnant, He's got second thoughts about getting married to her, and the angel appears and says the following, he says Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the lord had said through the prophet, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel. So there's a second ribbon here. Alright?

And I'm gonna pull that and see what happens. Nothing. There you go. Where is it? There.

A second baby will be born. Matthew spoke about a second baby who was also called Emmanuel, who was also called god with us. And what's on his bib? Isaac, can you see what's on his bib? A lifering.

Why? Because he's emmanuel who's come to save us. He's come to rescue us. He's come to rescue us from our sins. That's exactly right.

That's exactly right. And that is why we do not trust in man but we trust in god. A has thought that he was gonna politically organize things so that he would be safe. Maybe that's true of the adults as we think about that terrible word that we're always hearing about called Brexit. And the reality is that none of us are happy.

No one's happy because we are putting our trust in man and we are not trusting God. Emmanuel in the bible, in the old testament meant that god was coming near for judgment, and in the new testament meant that he was coming near to save his people. A has had to learn the hard way that it is god who sits in the highest place. Let's stand and sing a song together and then we'll reveal the other 2 scrolls. Alright.

Please do sit down. So we're back in Isaiah. And Isaiah has promised that judgment is going to come, and judgment is going to come for Syria. It's going to come for Asia. It's going to come for Israel.

It's going to come for Judah. But god promised that the judgment would not be the end. He promised that god would raise up a new king, a perfect king, a much better king. Who's going to open the scroll? Who is worthy to unroll the scroll?

I looked around and cried. Come on. Come on. Come on. Let's do this.

K. Chantley. Whoops. That was me. Ready and let go.

All done. The case may be. Wait. Thank you. Isaiah chapter 9 speaks about what this king is going to be like.

Why don't you turn up Isaiah chapter 9 quickly in your bibles? Isaiah chapter 9 verse 1 to 7 speaks about what this king is going to be like. And the first thing that we learn about this particular king and follow the pictures is that it's going to be a baby that's being born. It's what he says. He says for to us a child is born.

The next thing we learn about this particular baby is that going to be a boy. That's why we've got a bib with a little tip truck on it. Yeah? It's going to be a son. A son is going to be given.

And the government is going to be on his shoulders. He will be the ruler. So there's a crown. He will be the 1 who rules. And he will be called wonderful counselor.

There's a guy with an arrow. He's pointing us in the right direction. He's telling us which way to go. He will be a wonderful counselor. He will be called wonderful counselor.

And what else will he be? Well, he will not just be a man. He will be a mighty god. He will be a mighty god. He will also be an everlasting father.

For some of us, that's quite tricky to think about that. Perhaps we've had fathers who've not really been the fathers that they should have been. Perhaps they fathers who've gone away. Perhaps they fathers who've not treated us very well. Well, you've got to understand that when the speaks about father, it speaks about an amazing, amazing, amazing person.

It speaks about someone who will always do what is right We will always make sure that we've got what we need, and he will be an everlasting father. He's never going away. That is what god is like. He's not a god who is out there far away. He's a father, as a father would hold a child's hand So is god with us?

He is emmanuel. He is god with us. He is our everlasting father. More than that he is the prince of peace. He's not a father who's getting angry and making war He's a father who's bringing people together.

He's making peace. He's making peace with the people who've rejected him, and he's helping those people to make peace with 1 another. It says of the greatness of his government, that his rule, and his peace, there will be no end. So it's gonna last forever. He will reign on the throne of his father, David.

Okay? We've got David's throne over there. He's the promised Messiah from the Old Testament. When god said to Jay to David, he said someone from your family line will always sit on your throne He was referring to Jesus. Jesus is the 1, says that he will establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

Justice means fairness, righteousness means in a right relationship with god, always doing the right thing. So this ruler is a wonderfully fair ruler. He always divides the cake equally. Okay? In our house, we sometimes say to the kids, The person who cuts the cake has to let the other person choose.

That brings a lot more fairness into things, isn't it? It would be wonderful if we lived in a world where the cake was cut, and then people got to choose the piece. Wouldn't It would mean that someone wouldn't earn 265000000 pounds in a single year, while other people work for 90 p a day. That would be the world that we would live in, a world where there is justice and fairness. Would you like to live in a world like that?

God says that he's gonna raise up a king who will rule in that way. And right at the end of that particular passage, it says that the zeal of the lord, almighty, will accomplish all this. That is what god is going to do. And again, in Matthew chapter 4, This passage is quoted for those who are walking in darkness, for those who are frustrated, God has sent a king, and his name is Jesus. Why don't you take a moment with a person next to you, your child, if you've got them here, pick 1 of those pictures, which you think will answer the biggest frustration that you shared at the beginning of the service.

Okay? So the biggest frustration or the heartache, whatever it was that you served at the beginning of the service, which 1 of those pictures answers that problem? Could you think about that for a moment? Why don't you share it with each other? And then, Paul and Hannah are gonna come and read the Bible to us from Isaiah chapter 11.

Just 30 seconds. Can I ask a question? What makes a good king? What makes a good ruler? Just think about that for a moment.

What does a ruler need to provide for his people? Any answers? Come on. Shut them out. Justice.

Yeah. Fairness. Make sure that everything's fair. Right. What else?

Protection. Absolutely. Make sure that the people are safe. What else? Food that they've got everything that they need.

Yes. What else? A role model. Yeah. They've got to be an example.

Yeah. Yeah. They shouldn't say 1 thing and do another. Yeah. Me another scroll.

Who's going to do this? Isaac, you want to yank on this? No? I thought this would be far more exciting, actually, but anyway. I'll do it myself, shall I?

That's why. There you go. What does the perfect king provide? A king provide protection. He provides protection.

Provides everything that people need. He makes sure that everybody's got what they need in order to live. He's a king who is fair. You make sure that there is justice for all. And what do you think this might be?

Sorry? Paying. Yes. It's a king who acknowledges that he is not the main ruler, but that god is the main ruler, that god is the 1 who sits in the highest place. And he makes sure that his people are able to worship god.

Those are the 4 things we should be looking for from our rulers. People who will make sure that we are safe. People that will make sure that everybody has what they need. People who will always be fair, people who will, a king who will enable us to worship god. And so as that reading was done by Paul and Hannah, that is really the last part of this whole book of E manual in I, Isaiah chapter 11.

For EHA is, it was gonna mean judgment. God was gonna cut him down like a tree. But what happens when a tree gets left in the ground? Do you know what happens? Yeah?

It starts to grow back again. Yes. I've got a tree in the back of our garden that is constantly growing back. Yeah? I cuts it down and it grows back, and the problem is that it grows even more.

Also, more and more shoots come up. Yes. So, god was saying that actually in this passage, he's saying a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, okay, from the stump of judgment. God is going to bring a little shoot up, and that shoot is gonna be his new leader. And will you notice what he says there?

It says the spirit of the lord will rest on him. That's Jesus, isn't it? As he comes up out of the waters of baptism, what happens? Well, the spirit descends on him like a dove. God opens up the heavens and gives his spirit to his son that his son might give the spirit.

He will give him a spirit of wisdom, knowing what is the right thing to do at any time. Wisdom far greater than Solomon's wisdom. A spirit of counsel and of might, a spirit of knowledge in the fear of the lord. And he will delight in the fear of the lord. He won't be like some of the kings of Israel that have gone before, who will not fear the lord and honor the lord and obey the lord.

He will always do what god wants him to do. Even as he's praying in gethsemane, he says, lord, I know what's coming. I know that the cross is coming. If it's possible, can you let this cup of your wrath pass from me, but not my will, but your will? He always does the right thing.

And he will not judge by what he sees, People judge by what we see, don't we? We look at a person, we make a judgment, we judge the book by its cover. You see that often in Britain's got talent, don't you? Have you seen those where a guy comes out and they're all sniggering because because of the way he looks? And then he opens his mouth and he sings like a bird and they're all shocked.

They've judged from what they can see. Neither will he judge by what he hears, the gossip, the rumors, the slander. Because god is able to judge the heart, He's able to look on the heart. He knows the motives. He knows why we have done everything that we have done.

And it says that he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. He's a god who will punish those who are wicked. There is a day when people will be punished. He's not a god like some people want in the world who's like a grandfather, Some people think that god's like an old grandfather. Do we all know what grandfathers are like?

Grandfathers allow children to do what those children would never be able to do in their parents' home. So we're due to go to South Africa this evening to go and visit my parents, and I know what's gonna happen. The children will get thoroughly, thoroughly spoiled. I'm convinced that if my son had to set fire to my father's house, he would stand back and say, look how evenly the house is burning down. They get away with murder.

And sometimes people think that that's what god is like. That god is just gonna at the end of the world say, oh, you know, as long as everybody had fun, Don't worry about those little sins. We'll sweep them under the carpet. 6000000 through the gas chambers. It's okay.

We sweep them under the carpet. Every assault, every bad word, we'll just sweep it under the carpet. My friends, god is not like that. I can't serve a god like that. The god of the bible is the 1 who will judge the wicked, and he will do it in the right way because he sees the heart.

He does not judge by what he sees. He does not judge by what he hears. He judges by what is in the heart. And because Jesus is this perfect king, this perfect king who will look after us, The rest of that passage is all about what heaven is going to be like. It says that heaven is going to be a place where there'll be perfect peace.

Perfect peace. There's so many wars going on. Everybody's fighting. Every weekend in the news, there's something else going on somewhere. Russia's, Russia's poking fun at someone else, or this one's irritating that 1, or people in Paris are burning the place down.

There's always fighting going on. But he says heaven will be a place where there is perfect peace. Have a look at those verses? Verse 6 and 7, the wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the goat.

The calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them. A cow the cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. That's terribly good news for the ox, don't you think? It's terribly good news for anything that a lion eats. You see, a lion does love the lamb.

He loves to eat the lamb. But there, even those that are natural enemies will be at peace with 1 another. What a wonderful picture that is? Will you see that there will be perfect safety verse 8 to 9? It says an infant will play near the cobra's den.

Could you think of a more horrible picture, an innocent naive child not knowing what's coming its way as it plays by a cobra's den? The young child will put its hand into the viper's nest, and they will neither harm them nor destroy them on my holy mountain. This wonderful king, this perfect king will keep us perfectly safe, and he will bring about perfect peace. And lastly, it says that he, there will be a perfect knowledge of god. Verse 9 b, says for the whole for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the lord.

As the waters cover the sea. Everybody will know god. Everybody will be known by god. Everything will be perfect. Don't you long to be in a world like that?

I don't know what your frustrations are. I don't know what you shared as you spoke with each other, and just keep that in your mind because we're gonna be praying about that in a minute. What are those things that have caused you anxiety? What are those things that cause you frustration? What are those things that cause you anger about this world?

I hope there's something because this world is far from perfect. What is that thing? Is it what others have done? Or is it what you have done? Just think about that 1 thing.

There's so many people in this room which means that there are so many different problems. And what I want to say to you today is can you see that Jesus is the answer to all your problems? Every single problem that we face in this world, every single frustration that we have, Jesus has the answer. He is a wonderful perfect king. His perfect kingdom cannot be seen right now, but when we die or when he comes to take us back, we will see it in all its glory, and it will be wonderful.

It will be wonderful. He's the perfect king who reigns over a perfect kingdom. But there's only 1 way to enter that kingdom, and that's by trusting in him. And if you carry on reading the book of Isaiah, you'll come to see what Ozai says about this king. He says that he's a king who will suffer and die.

He will suffer and die for the sins of his people. You will pay the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion against God. If I want to ask you this Christmas as you think about Jesus, Emmanuel, god with us, This baby come down from heaven. Have you bowed the knee to this king? Is is his perfect kingdom something that you desire, something that you want to be part of.

Today might be a good day to come to the king. To say yes, I know that you are the greatest king. That you have the greatest kingdom, and I want to be a part of that kingdom, when today would be a good day for you to make that change. Why don't you think for a moment and just discuss with a friend next to you how you think Jesus and 1 of the qualities of Jesus can help you with your greatest frustration, and then take a moment to pray on your own and reflect on where you stand in your relationship with Jesus. Is he your perfect mighty king?

Do you know for sure that should you die today that you will be in his kingdom, in his perfect kingdom where there is perfect peace, perfect protection, and perfect knowledge. Let's do that right now. Alright. So I'm gonna ask you to draw that discussions are closed and it's going to come and lead us in prayer. Thank you, Anne.

Children, I've got something for you. We've been we've been making Christmas tree decorations over the last couple of weeks, and this is a final 1 in the series. So if you've been collecting these for your Christmas tree, you can come and grab 1. I'll leave them over here, and you can take it home and decorate it. It's a sort of ballbally thing.

And it says Jesus, and it says the perfect kingdom. We've looked at the perfect promise. We've looked at the perfect king. And today, we've looked at what the perfect kingdom will be like. So if you wanna grab 1 of those on your way out, you're more than welcome to.

I'll leave them on the stage. We're going to stand and sing a wonderful song. It says I've got a home in heaven. Let's sing it with joy, and then Pete's gonna come up and do the notices.