Wonderful Counselor + This Sunday At Immanuel
Good morning Immanuel. No one else has ever spoken like Jesus. Let’s be sure to hang on to his words today.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
The four-fold description of Jesus brings home just how unfathomably good he is. Wonderful counselor. When we hear the word counselor, we tend to think of a comfortable couch and a listening ear. But this verse is literally talking about Jesus’ counsel—his direction, commands, and instructions for us. And the counsel of this man will properly be called wonderful. His wisdom and teaching will be breathtaking. We see this in the gospel accounts, and people consistently stand amazed at the teaching of Jesus. No one else has ever spoken like him. His words come with other-worldly authority. He so obviously knows what he’s talking about. As we read his words, we sense they are more deeply reading us. And the more we follow him, the more we realize how good his direction is for us. In Psalm 19:8, we’re told, “the commands of the Lord are radiant.” We wouldn’t say that of anyone else. When our boss dumps a ton of work on our desks, we don’t marvel at its wonderfulness. But we do with Jesus. The commands of the Lord are radiant because the Lord himself is radiant. We see more and more of that the longer we walk in his ways. So we mustn’t think of some particularly confounding command of Jesus, “I won’t obey that because I don’t like it.” We should think, “I must obey that so that I’ll like it.” He is our wonderful counselor. Let’s be sure to hang on to his words today.
January 13, 2023 - This Sunday At Immanuel
Sunday Morning
SERMON - Pastor TJ will continue our sermon series in Ephesians!
Seminars
9 am: Studying the Bible Together led by Tom Cox in the Staff Lounge (ongoing)
9 am: First Word Seminar led by Russell Moore in the Cafe
9 am: Student Seminar led by Vince Greenwald in the gymnasium (ongoing for grades 5-12)
10:45 am: Next Steps 2, led by Tom Cox in the Staff Lounge (ongoing)
College Lunch immediately following the 10:45 am service in the Staff Lounge.
No Discover Luncheon in January. Discover Luncheon resumes in February. Please make sure to RSVP for the next one on February 12.
Engage
WOMEN’S RETREAT - There’s still time to register for the Immanuel Women’s retreat! The retreat is from March 3rd to 4th at Deer Run Camps & Retreats. The cost is $85 per person. You can learn more and register here.
ONLINE PRAYER MEETINGS - Every week, Jenn Ross, an Immanuel Discipleship Group leader, facilitates two online prayer meetings that everyone is welcome to join. The Zoom meeting times and links are below:
Every Thursday afternoon from 12:00-12:45 pm
Every Sunday morning from 7:30-8:00 am
RESOURCE - Our Student Ministry Director, Vince Greenwald, wrote an excellent article for The Gospel Coalition about walking in the light in youth ministry. Read it here!
On the horizon
BAPTISMS AND DEDICATIONS - Mark your calendar for Sunday, January 29, 2023, for Baptisms and dedications at Immanuel!
If you are interested in talking to a pastor about baptism, fill out our baptism form here.
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