The Christmas Story

Part 1

Christmas began even before Time it’s self for;

¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²  He was with God in the beginning. ³  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

 

For God knew mankind would need to be rescued from itself. So before God said a single word of creation the decision was made that Jesus would come.

²  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵  God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶  And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷  So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸  God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. ⁹  And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰  God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the Second day.
²⁶  Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
²⁷  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” ²⁹  Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.  

But just as God had known from the beginning mankind lost its way.

 

⁵  The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶  The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

 

But there is nothing to fear for God had a plan to rescue us formed before the very first day.

²³  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

¹  In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ³  And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ³  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
⁵  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁹  The true light that gives light to everyone came into the world. ¹⁰  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ¹⁴  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Part 2

The time had come for God Himself, Jesus, to step into the world to save us. Mary and Joseph had no idea the importance of the Baby they cared for in the manger in the dark. Near Bethlehem that night;

there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks. ⁹  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.¹¹  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” ¹⁵  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 

 

part 3

A group of Magi, astrologers, who pursue wisdom and magic, who lived in Persia, saw a star over Israel. Perhaps they remembered Balaam’s prophecy found in Numbers 24:17; “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Or maybe God granted them the knowledge of a Kingly Birth. So they set out on a 40-day journey to find a king. Mary and Joseph were in a home in Bethlehem.

¹  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
²  and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
³  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
⁴  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
⁵  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
⁶  “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
⁸  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
⁹  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
¹⁰  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
¹¹  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
¹²  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

But this is not the end of the story.

 

Part 4

The Christmas Story is not finished. Jesus’s rescue of us all continued as He grew, as He taught and healed crowds of people. Jesus gathered people around Him called disciples and taught them of God’s love and plan to save us. When the time was right Jesus told His disciples that He die on the cross to save us and gave the symbols we use to remember His sacrifice. Later they listened to Jesus while He hung on the cross.

 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
²⁹  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
³⁰  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

After 3 days Jesus arose from the dead and some time with His disciples helping them understand the rest of God’s plan that started before God said let there be light.

¹⁶  Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
¹⁷  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
¹⁸  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
¹⁹  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

So the Christmas story continues with them gift of grace passed from disciple to disciple, generation to generation, until some how it came to me and you. The Christmas story will continue on until there are none left to rescue, none left to receive God’s Christmas gift. Today the gift is for you. “if we confess our sin, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is God’s Christmas gift to you. And it all started when God said. “Let there be light!”