Pastor Nigel

CHRISTMAS TOUR.

I'm on the tour bus, driving from Atlanta to Rome, for the first of the tour dates. Flying into Atlanta last night, I rested up at an airport hotel and joined the guys on the bus this morning. We've prayed for the success of the tour, and for the focus and Holy Spirit power to get us through it for God's Kingdom purposes. I'm going to look at the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah in our devotional times, and I'll give you a summary of each devotion after we share them. For now though, here's a quick intro to Isaiah:

• He's a contemporary of Micah, Amos. Hosea-740-681 B.C.
• He speaks in the Nation of Judah- along with Micah
• There's a battle for supremacy about to occur
• Prosperity in Uzziah’s reign- but corruption and abuse of power
• Isaiah is virtually alone with message of judgement and comfort
• Isaiah is affluent, educated and influential
• His ministry lasted the reign of 4 Kings
• He's speaking against: - self-sufficiency, lack of compassion, idolatry
• The book of Isaiah divided like the Bible- first half 39 chapters, second half 27 chapters.
First half about judgement, second half about comfort and hope
• There are glorious and vivid pictures of the Messiah, more picturesque than the Gospels
• Isaiah helps us immensely with our Christology ( theology of Jesus)

TOUR DEVOTIONS.

With just a couple of weeks to go before I join the band on their Christmas tour, it's the time when I begin to seek God's guidance as to the focus for the devotions I'll be sharing with the guys. I'm tentatively thinking of looking at Signs of Jesus in the Old Testament-some of the prophecies and passages that often get read at Christmas, plus other less well used ones that all point forward to the coming of the Messiah.
Please pray for wisdom, clarity and a strong dose of the Holy Spirit!