This Sunday we began this three-sermon series with a look at Isaiah 7:14, a familiar prophecy fulfilled through Jesus' birth as recorded by Matthew in chapter 1 verses 22 and 23. The small nation of Judah was struggling under ungodly leadership and put their hope in the foreign nation of Assyria, the very ones who would defeat their Jewish brothers and sisters and take them into captivity in less than 15 years. The prophet Isaiah offered to show King Ahaz a sign from God that he was their best hope and sole trustworthy support, a sign Ahaz refused out of hypocritical false piety. Isaiah gave the sign anyway, a sign we can cling to today, that regardless of circumstances, if we repent and put our faith in God he will never leave us nor forsake us. The incarnation of Jesus and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit continually prove that indeed, God is with us!

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