Morgan Teruel: Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Morgan. And during this Advent season, we invite you to pause and reflect with us. Advent is a season of anticipation, a time to remember the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brings as he became God with us. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, let's take a moment to step away from the busyness and center our minds on the one who gives every good and perfect gift.
Wherever you are, whether at home, out for a walk, or in the midst of a hectic day, let these words speak to your soul. May you be refreshed and filled with the unshakable hope, lasting peace, overflowing joy, and boundless love that only Christ can offer. Let's take this time together to listen and reflect.
Danielle Crowley: Bring yourself back to the time and place this word came to the people of Judah. In a time of a radical unpredictability, a time when widespread oppression was the norm, a time when your life was under the reign and rule of those with ruthless power, A time when what was encouraged and often demanded seemed to assault the very core of your humanity. A time when chaos was the way of life. Now imagine how refreshing a word of peace would sound, like a cup of cool water after a laboriously scorching hot day. Imagine also how it might be met with skepticism from those who have been jaded because their sense of peace was lost, only being seen through the paradigm of chaos, those who have come to a place of resignation where this is just how things are.
Enter Isaiah's message of a peace found only in the forthcoming messiah. The heir to David's throne will be called the prince of peace. Allow your imagination to envelop you as you listen to today's passage, Isaiah 11:1 through 10. Out of the stump of David's family will grow shoot. Yes.
A new branch bearing fruit from the old root, And the spirit of the lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day, the wolf and the lamb will live together. The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and the little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near, the bear, the cub, and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes. A little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.
For as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day, the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. As you hear these words, what is stirred in your imagination? Can you imagine how difficult it would be to accept this?
How does that resonate with you? What perspective of Jesus as a prince of peace does this passage give you? How does the reality of the power of Jesus bring peace to you today?