The Naming of the King (Isaiah 9:6)

My full name is James Stuart Turner Rennie. It's quite a moniker to attach to a little baby! The Stuart part is from my Dad’s Scottish roots. The Turner part is from my mother’s English family roots.  The James part is my Dad’s first name so I was named after him. James is a biblical name. He was the Lord’s brother. James comes from the name Jacob in the Old Testament. So many Bible names have a good meaning, but James or Jacob does not. It means deceiver or trickster, and as you may remember, that is what Jacob was. He tricked his father to give him the inheritance and then he tricked his brother to sell his birthright. My name reminds me of that old nature in me that can lie and cheat and steal just like Jacob.  But I am so thankful that I got another part to my name: Rennie. Rennie comes from the French, Rene, and it means born again. So, you see my name is the story of my life. James the sinner is also Rennie, the one born again. That’s me, a sinner born again.  Today we will look at yet another prophetic reference to the birth of Christ in the book of Isaiah, and it is about four amazing names of our Saviour.