The Real Christmas Story
We are one week away from Christmas. I hope you are making plans to participate in a Christmas Eve service at your favorite church.
The Christmas story is one that is very significant. Even though it is a story that takes us back two thousand years or so, it is always fresh and new. Every time we read the real Christmas story, we are caused to reflect on and remember the might and majesty of our God as He brought forth an earthshaking miracle on that first Christmas morning.
For many people the story of Christmas begins on Christmas Eve as Mary and Joseph were in the inn and she prepared to deliver the baby Jesus. But the real Christmas story actually began long before that. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:23 that this entire plan was according to the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.
By that we understand that with forethought and precision, the Heavenly Father carried out a plan whereby Jesus would come to earth in the form of a little baby, be born of a virgin, mature into a full-grown man, and become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The Father’s plan culminated with Jesus being born in Bethlehem.
The plan included a visit by the angel Gabriel nine months earlier. To Mary’s surprise, while preparing for her wedding day, this heralding angel appeared to her. Here is the way Luke recorded those amazing moments.
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus.
Wow! Can we even begin to imagine the excitement in Gabriel’s voice as he shared this news and the emotions Mary felt flooding over her as she heard that she was chosen to bear the humanity of our Lord. Nine months later, Mary did give birth to Jesus in the little town of Bethlehem.
The Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Phillips Brooks after his visit to the city of Bethlehem in 1865. He wrote the words in 1868 for the children in the Sunday School of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has become one of the most beloved carols of Christmas.
If you have not decided where to attend Christmas Eve service, I invite you to Sugar Creek Baptist Church next Saturday evening at 7:00. Merry Christmas!
