A prayer to our Prince of Peace, written by Lisa A Pillow, read by Alyssa Forsberg.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots a branch will bear fruit.

The spirit of the Lord will rest on him.

The spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of the

knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11, 1 through 2.

This passage talks about stumps and shoots. We have several big oak trees in our yard and when one of them started endangering the house, we had it cut all the way down to a stump.

A few months later, new green shoots with glossy green leaves began growing right out of

that stump. That's the picture that the Prophet Isaiah uses. 700 years before Jesus was ever born

Isaiah prophesied that a Messiah would come from the Rue of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of King David,

an ancestor of both Mary and Joseph.

While nearly all of King David's royal line would be wiped out,

God promised a Messiah would come from the stump of Jesse. Out of what looked like a dead royal line, when a pagan

Roman government rather than a Hebrew king ruled over Israel, God brought about that

new chute, the Messiah, Jesus.

Jesus didn't rule like King David with an earthly palace or majestic throne or royal robes conquering

enemy nations through a mighty army.

Instead, Jesus came in poverty and humility

to reveal a heavenly kingdom and to conquer the curse of sin

through his own death.

Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord

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