Over the past few weeks we’ve been anchored in Isaiah 9:6, and today we focus on Jesus as our Everlasting Father—a promise spoken into a time of fear and uncertainty, pointing to a King who would protect, provide, and care for His people forever.

Unlike broken earthly leaders or even broken family relationships, Jesus shows us the compassion of a perfect Father, invites us to come to Him for rest, and adopts us into God’s family with unchanging love.

Isaiah 9:6 reveals Jesus as Mighty God, a title that points to His unmatched power and authority.

In Matthew 14, we see this might on display as Jesus walks on water and steps into the storm to be near His disciples, showing that His power is not distant but personal. Peter’s faith reminds us that we are not meant to face storms in our own strength, but to move at Jesus’ command and trust His power to sustain us.

Like God’s deliverance at the Red Sea, our stillness makes room for His greatness—because the Lord Himself fights for us.

As we begin our Christmas series, “Who is This?”, we’re exploring the question that everyone must answer: Who is Jesus, and why does it matter? Like the days before Caller ID, when you’d nervously answer the phone and wonder, “Who is this?”, we all have to answer that about Jesus. Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV) gives Jesus four unique titles—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

These names are not just poetic descriptions; they reveal who Jesus is and what we can experience through Him. Everyone is searching for help, advice, and meaning—something or someone to guide us through life’s darkness and uncertainties. Isaiah warns that looking anywhere but God will lead us only to more distress and emptiness (Isaiah 8:21–22 ESV). But Jesus breaks into our darkness as the promised light (Isaiah 9:1 ESV).

He is the Wonderful Counselor who gives soul-deep healing and guidance, as when He forgave and healed the paralytic (Mark 2:5, 11 ESV). Jesus challenges our misplaced trust, as He did with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21 ESV), offers real comfort in grief (John 11:25, 35 ESV), and brings clarity in confusion, as on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:15–32 ESV).

This season, the invitation is simple: draw close to the Wonderful Counselor. He is ready to guide, heal, and walk with all who seek Him—not just at Christmas, but every day.

The message focuses on Matthew 5:33–37 and Jesus’ teaching about oaths within the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew, writing to a largely Jewish-Christian audience, emphasizes Jesus as King and the character of His advancing kingdom.

In this section, Jesus challenges the traditional practice of swearing oaths to prove one’s honesty, teaching instead that kingdom people should be so truthful that oaths become unnecessary. He warns against swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or one’s own head because all belong to God, not to us.

Ultimately, Jesus calls His followers to integrity—letting their simple “yes” or “no” be enough—reflecting a transformed character rooted in God’s authority, holiness, and grace.

The sermon welcomed the congregation and introduced teaching from Matthew 5:27-32, where Jesus addresses lust and divorce in the Sermon on the Mount.

It was emphasized that Jesus’ message goes beyond outward actions to examine the attitude of the heart, challenging everyone to take personal responsibility for their own thoughts and desires regarding lust.

We talked about the dangers of unchecked lust, including issues like pornography, highlighting Jesus’ urgent call to remove anything that causes sin and to make a covenant with our eyes, following the example of Job (Job 31:1 ESV).

On the topic of divorce, it was explained that Jesus restores the biblical view of marriage as a sacred covenant and speaks up for those vulnerable in society, urging the church to respond to Jesus’ teachings with repentance, grace, and a genuine pursuit of purity in both thought and relationship.

Our world today is saturated with anger—fueled by social media, constant connectivity, and even daily experiences like road rage. Jesus addresses this in Matthew 5:21-23, reminding us that anger, not just outward actions like murder, places us in danger of judgment.

He teaches that even harboring ongoing anger, using insults, or pronouncing moral worthlessness against others brings spiritual consequences. Jesus calls us to recognize the seriousness of anger, pointing out that unaddressed bitterness or contempt destroys relationships and invites judgment, both now and in eternity.

Your relationship with Jesus is directly connected to how you treat others. God’s forgiveness toward us is directly linked to the forgiveness we extend to others. How we conduct ourselves in relationships matters deeply—to others and, most importantly, to God. We cannot be healthy followers of Jesus while living with unresolved contempt or bitterness in our hearts.

This message emphasizes that living out the Christian faith is much simpler than we often make it.

Drawing from Matthew 5:13-16, the sermon reminds believers that Jesus calls His followers to be salt and light—people who influence the world around them with the goodness and love that comes from God, not out of duty or fear, but as an outworking of relationship with Christ.

The Kingdom of God, unlike the kingdoms of man, gives rather than takes, allowing believers to shine and benefit the whole community, ultimately bringing glory to God rather than themselves.

Are we living out our identity as light in the world, resting in our relationship with Christ, and bringing glory to our Father in heaven?

Jesus establishes a new and unexpected standard for what it means to be "blessed" in His Kingdom—a standard completely different from what the world values. Instead of achievement and status, Jesus calls the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and the persecuted as "blessed."

We emphasized that these blessings aren’t rewards for personal virtue or commands to achieve, but declarations of good news right in the midst of people’s pain and need. Jesus invites the struggling, overlooked, and hurting into His "upside down Kingdom" where blessing is present not instead of pain, but within it.

We closed by challenging listeners to rethink what blessing means, assuring them that God’s favor isn’t measured by circumstances, but by our belonging in His unshakable Kingdom.