FILO: Advent for the Church Technical ArtistSample

Today we are looking at a passage from Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 6-7.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

This is one of my favorite Christmas verses. It is filled with such hope. God is providing us with everything we need. The weight of the world will rest on his shoulders, not mine. He is mighty. He is like a father. There will be a peace that never ends. Fairness and justice will be the order of the day.

In this translation of these verses, I love that God has a “passionate commitment” to make this all happen. This is not just something God decided, and it magically happened. God is passionately committed to this plan. To provide his Son Jesus to make all this possible.

So many times at Christmas, it can be easy for us as technical artists to work hard to make our services as special as possible for the people who are attending. So much so that we are trying to force the outcomes.

If I work those extra hours to finish a task, maybe God can use our team more. If I sacrifice my schedule for the sake of the church, God will be more pleased with my efforts and do something more impressive in our services.

While God wants us to follow him and his directions each day, He wants to handle the results. We need to take the step of following, but let God take care of what happens next. Whether that is a challenging conversation with someone or someone’s decision for Christ at our Christmas services, He is passionately committed to the outcome so that we don’t have to be.

This Christmas, let’s do our part as best as we can and then place the weight of the outcome on His capable shoulders. Let’s let God do his part.

- Todd Elliott