December 17, 2025
The Gathering
of God
“For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make shall remain before me, says
the Lord, so shall your offspring and your
name remain. From new moon to new
moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all
flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.”
I S A I A H 6 6 : 2 2 - 2 3
The best part about the holidays is the gathering of family and
friends. Eating and drinking together. Sharing and making memories. The older we get, the more faces there are missing from those gatherings. In between Christmas mornings, there are gatherings at bedsides and funeral homes. Death has a way of making
those living feel helpless. Grief and its effects are real. And yet, it’s
also good to remember we shouldn’t give death back the power
that Jesus has stripped from it. Jesus has defeated death and
made it his servant. It is now a vehicle God uses to gather his
people home.
The promise in Isaiah 66 is about that home after death. It’s the
promise that God will make a new heavens and a new earth for
you to dwell in. A new home free from suffering and sin. There you
will see the glory of God. This glory is a person: God made flesh in
Jesus Christ. And you will not be alone. You will join in the great
gathering of brothers and sisters from every time, tongue, and nation. The holy reunion with those you love and the family you never
knew you had. No faces will ever be missing, and the joy will never
cease as you revel in the truth that on Christmas, God declared
war on death for you, and on Easter, he declared his victory.
HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR THE PROMISE THAT YOU WILL GATHER
YOUR CHILDREN TO BE WITH YOU AND MAKE ALL OUR
GATHERINGS UNTIL THEN REMINDERS OF THAT GREAT
GATHERING TO COME. AMEN
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be
translated in whole or in part into any other language.
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Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah © 2025 1517
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