Prince of Peace
Ed Young
Isaiah 9:1-7
A man went swimming at dusk in a very large lake. He was about a hundred yards from shore, leisurely paddling along, sometimes relaxing and swimming on his back, when, without warning, an evening fog just swept across the area and before he knew it, he had lost any point of orientation. He couldn't see which way to swim to shore. He would panic and swim viciously in one direction about 50 yards, and then he would do 180 degrees and swim 50 yards in the other direction. He looked up and tried to see some light, but the sun was so diffused in the fog that he couldn't tell anything about direction. He panicked. His heart was beating rapidly and he had to stop and very purposefully relax. And he began to say, ''What will I do?'' He could see nothing on the shore. He could hear nothing. And he was totally turned around out in the middle of this lake. And then, he said, he saw a clear light and he heard a voice and he knew that was, indeed, the shore. And he swam rapidly and made his way to safety through that dense fog.
Now all of you this morning look so cool and crisp and Christmasy today. A lot of red and green. I almost think it would be unorthodox for a man to wear a tie that did not have some red in it today. But there are a few like that. But I look over this crowd and it's Christmas! You see it and you feel it and we look smug and secure and safe. But yet I know, as many of you know, that right here there are men and women and young people that if you were to stand and bear your witness in this hour, you would have to say, ''I'm like that man in the middle of that lake. I really don't have a sense of direction. I really don't have a purpose in life. I'm in fog. I'm depressed. I've lost my point of orientation. Significance and meaning is really not a part of my life.'' And you would have to stand, this Christmas Eve and say, ''That's where I am.'' And on top of that, you would say, ''God doesn't seem to be any wh ...
Ed Young
Isaiah 9:1-7
A man went swimming at dusk in a very large lake. He was about a hundred yards from shore, leisurely paddling along, sometimes relaxing and swimming on his back, when, without warning, an evening fog just swept across the area and before he knew it, he had lost any point of orientation. He couldn't see which way to swim to shore. He would panic and swim viciously in one direction about 50 yards, and then he would do 180 degrees and swim 50 yards in the other direction. He looked up and tried to see some light, but the sun was so diffused in the fog that he couldn't tell anything about direction. He panicked. His heart was beating rapidly and he had to stop and very purposefully relax. And he began to say, ''What will I do?'' He could see nothing on the shore. He could hear nothing. And he was totally turned around out in the middle of this lake. And then, he said, he saw a clear light and he heard a voice and he knew that was, indeed, the shore. And he swam rapidly and made his way to safety through that dense fog.
Now all of you this morning look so cool and crisp and Christmasy today. A lot of red and green. I almost think it would be unorthodox for a man to wear a tie that did not have some red in it today. But there are a few like that. But I look over this crowd and it's Christmas! You see it and you feel it and we look smug and secure and safe. But yet I know, as many of you know, that right here there are men and women and young people that if you were to stand and bear your witness in this hour, you would have to say, ''I'm like that man in the middle of that lake. I really don't have a sense of direction. I really don't have a purpose in life. I'm in fog. I'm depressed. I've lost my point of orientation. Significance and meaning is really not a part of my life.'' And you would have to stand, this Christmas Eve and say, ''That's where I am.'' And on top of that, you would say, ''God doesn't seem to be any wh ...
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