~The Nativity~
The
Ture Meaning
Of
Christmas!
Luke
1:26-38
In
the sixth month, God sent the
angel
Gabriel to Nazareth,
a
town in
Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph,
a
descendant of David. The
virgins' name
was
Mary. The angel went to her
and
said, "greetings, you who are
highly favored!
The
Lord is with you."
Mary
was greatly troubled at
his
words and wondered what kind
of
greeting this might be. But
the
angel said to her,
"Do
not be afraid, Mary,
you
have found favor with God.
You
will be with child and give
birth
to a son, and you are to
give
him the name Jesus.
He
will be great and will be
called the son of the Most High.
The
Lord God will give
him
the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over
the
house of Jacob forever;
his
kingdom will never end."
"How
will this be,
"
Mary asked the angel,
"since I am a virgin?"
The
angel answered, "The Holy
Spirit will come upon you,
and
the power of the Most High
will
overshadow you. So the
holy
one to be born will be
called the Son of God.
Even
Elizabeth your relative
is
going to have a child in her
old
age, and she who was
said
to be barren is in her
sixth
month. For nothing
is
impossible with God."
"I am
the Lord's servant,
"
Mary answered. "May it be
to me
as you have said.
"
Then the angel left her.
Luke
2: 1-20
In
those days Caesar Augustus
issued a decree that a census should
be
taken of the entire Roman
world. (This was the first census
that
took place while Quirinius
was
governor of Syria.) And
everyone went to his own town
to
register.
So
Joseph also went up from the
town
of Nazareth in Galilee to
Judea, to Bethlehem the town
of
David. He went there to register
with
Mary, who was pledged to
be
married to him and was
expecting a child. While they
were
there, the time came for
the
baby to be born, and she
gave
birth to her firstborn,
a
son. She wrapped him in
cloths and placed him in a manger,
because there was no room
for
them in the inn.
And
there were shepards living
out
in the fields nearby, keeping
watch
over their flocks at night.
An
angel of the Lord appeared
to
them, and the glory of the
Lord
shone around them, and
they
were terrified. But the angel
said
to them, "Do not be afraid.
I
bring you good news of great
joy
that will be for all the
people. Today in the town of
David
a Savior has been bornto
you;
he is Christ the Lord.
This
will be a sign to you: You
will
find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly host appeared with
the
angel, praising God
and
saying, Glory to God in
the
highest, and on earth peace
to
men on whom his favor rests."
When
the angels had left them
and
gone to 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."
So
they hurried off and found
Mary
and Joseph, and the
baby,
who was lying in
the
manger. When they had seen
him,
they spread the word
concerning what had been told
them
about this child, and all
who
heard it were amazed at
what
the shepherds said to them.
But
Mary treasured up all these
things and pondered them
in
her heart. The shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising
God
for all the things they had
heard
and seen, which were
just
as they had been told.
Let
us all remember the families
that
lost loved one on 911in
our
prayers. May you have love,
peace
and joy this Christmas
and
all through the year!
Created by: Maureen
