The First Christmas

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The First Christmas

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever."
Isaiah 9: 6,7

A long, long, time before Jesus was born, the Lord told a man named Isaiah that a future king was coming. The Lord told Isaiah that a virgin would conceive this child and that He would be called, "The Mighty God." God also told Isaiah that this coming king's kingdom would have NO end.

Many years after Isaiah saw the vision concerning the coming king. . . . . . . .

God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, "Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you."

But Mary was confused by what the angel said. Mary wondered, "What does this mean?"

The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, because God is pleased with you. Listen! You will become pregnant. You will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and people will call him the Son of the Most High. The Lord God, will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end." Luke 1: 26-33

Mary said to the angel, "How will this happen? I am a virgin!"

The angel said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. The baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God.

Mary said, "I am the servant girl of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!" Then the angel went away." Luke 1: 34-35 and Luke 1:38

All of this happened to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah many, many years earlier!

At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order to all people in the countries that were under Roman rule. The order said that they must list their names in a register. This was the first registration taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own towns to be registered.

So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Gaililee. He went to to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. This town was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. Jospeh registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. (Mary was now pregnant.) While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. She gave birth to her first son. there were no rooms left in the inn. So she wrapped the baby with cloths and laid him in a box where animals are fed." Luke 2: 1-7

That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people. Today your Savior was born in David's town. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding box."
Luke 2:8-12

So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph. And the shepherds saw the baby lying in a feeding box. Then they told what the angels had said about this child. Everyone was amazed when they heard what the shepherds said to them. Mary hid these things in her heart; she continued to think about them." Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything that they had seen and heard. It was just as the angel had told them." Luke 2:16-20

When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised, and he was named Jesus. This name had been given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary. Luke 2:21

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east. We came to worship him."

When King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews, he was troubled. And all the people in Jerusalem were worried too. Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ would be born. They answered, "In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. A ruler will come from you. He will be like a shepherd for my people, the Israelites." Micah 5:2

Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem. He said to them, "Go and look carefully to find the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too."

The wise men heard the king and then left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east. It went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. They went to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by a different way.

This story is a TRUE story and it REALLY happened some 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth to suffer for OUR sins so that we may live forever in heaven with Him. The prophets Isaiah and Micah both wrote about the birth of Jesus Christ a LONG time before the events actually took place. No ONE can predict the future unless God gives them the vision. God shared these events in the future with Micah and Isaiah for a reason. God wanted EVERYONE to be able to identify the savior of the world when He was born. God left NO room for error. It would be impossible for Jesus to have chosen his own birthplace wouldn't it! We should thank God for giving us so much evidence to prove that Jesus Christ is the ONE and ONLY Son of God!

Don't forget to wish Jesus a very Happy Birthday this Christmas Season!

May your holidays be blessed by Him!

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