Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text on which this morning's message is based comes from our Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 7: 10-17) read earlier.

A few weeks ago we remembered the 60th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the invasion of American soil that led to our entry into WWII. Over the next several months and years, I'm sure we will commemorate numerous other 60th Anniversary invasions of that huge war. Fifty years ago, North Korea invaded South Korea, resulting in the Korean War. A little over 10 years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait, which led to the Persian Gulf War. And now most recently, terrorists have infiltrated, invaded in a sense our own borders, killing more than 3000 people in New York and Washington, D.C. Human history is a long history of invasions and wars, one country coveting what another country has, and using military might to try to obtain it. Jesus said (Matthew 24: 6) " you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but do not be alarmed. The end is still to come."

Our Old Testament lesson is embedded in the story of invasion. More than 700 years before Jesus' birth, what we think of as Israel today was actually divided into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the South. They were in civil war. Israel to the north, also called Ephraim at this time, was siding with Syria to its north to attack and invade Judah and Jerusalem. There was disruption in the Middle East, just as today. Isaiah the prophet was instructed by God to go to the king of Judah, Ahaz, and counsel him about the will of God in these matters. King Ahaz thought he would be politically astute and make an alliance with an even stronger nation, Assyria, present day Iraq, to the northeast to protect himself from Israel.   Isaiah comes to tell him that the Lord's will is otherwise. Ahaz should simply stand fast, trust in the Lord, and Israel and Syria would not succeed. The Lord would protect his chosen city of Jerusalem and his chosen people of Judah. The Lord, through Isaiah, even instructs Ahaz to ask for a sign. The Lord knew that humans prefer to have tangible evidence of the Lord's instructions. The Lord was willing to provide such evidence to Ahaz. He needed only to ask.

But apparently faithless King Ahaz had already made up his mind. He planned to trust in the military power of evil Assyria, rather than the ultimate power of the Lord who had guided faithful men like Moses and Joshua and David to such great successes. God's protective hand had always kept his faithful people safe and strong. Ahaz could call upon the power of this Lord, right now, right here before his prophet, but Ahaz foolishly refuses, repulsing God's offer in unbelief.

The Lord decides to give Ahaz a sign anyway, even though he did not faithfully request one. A maiden, a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and they would call his name IMMANUEL, which means "God with us". God kept his word.

Israel/Ephraim and Syria were scattered by Assyria. But because of the unbelief of Ahaz and his people, Assyria also came against Judah. God used the invasion of Assyria as a way to rebuke the unbelieving king. Because Judah rebuffed God's offer of a helpful invasion, the people of Judah were soon taken into exile.

In God's great plan, however, the promised sign, Immanuel, was not just for Ahaz's time. Isaiah's prophecy was partly fulfilled around 700 years before Christ, but God had another invasion plan in mind. While we normally think of invasions as bad, costing human lives, sometimes they are ultimately good and saving. The success of the D-Day invasion in WWII ultimately brought peace and saved Europe from the evil of Hitler. We pray that the invasion that is currently taking place in Afghanistan will free those people from the oppression of the Taliban and others like them. At the time of Isaiah, God had another invasion in mind, a good and saving invasion, the ultimate invasion into human history would be fulfilled in the greatest way by THE IMMANUEL in the coming of Jesus, the true "God with us."

700 years earlier God had sought to enlist the aid of the king. But later God enlisted the aid of the most unlikely of people in this great invasion. He first approached Mary, a girl perhaps only 12-15 years old. Unlike faithless Ahaz, the Virgin Mary received God's Word, as shocking as it was to her. She offered her own body, her self for God's saving purposes. In a most holy and miraculous event, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary. She conceived without a man, without any human intervention. And through Mary, the greatest invasion of all time was about to occur. Through Mary, God was about to invade the earth in the God-man Christ Jesus.

But she was not to bear this burden of the invasion alone. Her betrothed Joseph also received God's Word.

Unlike faithless Ahaz, Joseph believed Isaiah's prophecy was coming true in his time. He too welcomed this invasion from heaven, even though it disrupted his life and wedding plans. Worldly military invasions always result in casualties, in the cases of WWII and Assyria, many casualties. But the invasion of God into this world resulted in only one casualty, Jesus himself. God with us died as God for us. His invasion led to the cross. The earthly wood of the lowly manger welcomed him into this world he invaded quietly. The earthly wood of the shame of the cross brought joy and peace between this invading God and invaded man.

But in another sense there were more casualties in this invasion of Christ. Christ's invasion was really a counter invasion. Sin and death first invaded this world when Satan successfully tempted Adam and Eve. The invasion of Jesus Christ to the world was to counter that first invasion. Although Jesus died, a casualty for us, He came back to life. The sign of his resurrection makes death and Satan and sin all casualties of war, of his gracious invasion. The healing waters of Baptism put to death the sin and sorrow in each of our lives. When we, like Mary and Joseph, hear the Word of the Lord and trust in it, then the Holy Spirit comes and invades and overshadows us, miraculously working faith in our hearts.

Our name together here at our congregation is Immanuel. 75 years ago our forerunners in the faith thought it fitting to name this assembly of believers "God with us." It is a good name, a saving name, the name that reminds us constantly of God's invasion into this world. May we continue to be worthy of that name as the Holy Spirit continues to work his invasion of JC with JC, that is the invasion of Junction City with the message of Jesus Christ. May we continue to receive God's Word to our ears and respond, not like faithless King Ahaz, but like Mary and Joseph, receiving God's good invasion through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus promised to be our Immanuel. At the end of Matthew, before Jesus returned to His Father in heaven, he directed that the message of his invasion be proclaimed around the world by his followers. He told the disciples "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age". During this Christmas week and throughout our lives we can be confident that Immanuel, Jesus is constantly with us. He says to us "I am Immanuel come among you in the birth of a child. I am Immanuel come among you to empower your ministry and mission, my invasion of this world to the very end of the age. I am Immanuel come among you to fill you with my very presence. Amen"

The peace and confidence of having Immanuel, God with us, go with you constantly. Amen.