Matthew 3:13-17: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus relied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well-pleased.’”

John the Baptizer knew who Jesus was and therefore, refused to baptize him. He knew that Baptism was for repentant sinners and that Jesus was the sinless Son of God and thus, was in no need of Baptism. John changed his tune, though, after Jesus explained his necessity for being baptized.

Jesus was a man on a mission. He willingly came to earth, taking on human flesh, for the sole purpose of saving the world from sin. His mission was to serve the world as its Prophet, Priest, and King. To do that, he would have to take the place of man, both in life and in death.

God the Father is both a holy and just God. His demands for human perfection in obedience to his laws must be met, as well as his demands for the full payment of all sins. As the God-made-man, Jesus was able to carry out both of these demands.

Mankind had received the Ten Commandments from God and was under divine obligation to render perfect obedience. Since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, this was no longer possible no matter how hard one tried. Jesus, therefore, came to the rescue. As the perfect son of God, he was not sinful from birth nor did he ever sin in thought, word or deed. Jesus rendered perfect obedience to God’s law in our place, as our substitute. God the Father accepted Jesus’ substitutionary work and, as a result, declared the whole world righteous in his sight.

As man’s substitute, though, Jesus was obligated to take his place in every way. God had decide to give the sinful human race a taste of his grace through the act of baptism. Mark recorded that in the first chapter of his Gospel, the fourth verse: “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Baptism was a way then, for sinners to receive the forgiveness of their sins. Sinners knew the need for baptism and so, repenting of their sinners, were baptized.

As man’s total substitute therefore, Jesus willingly placed himself before John to be baptized. This was “to fulfil all righteousness,” Jesus told John. When John heard Jesus’ reasoning for being baptized, we are told that “he consented.” Jesus received the act of baptism in our place.

Did Jesus need to be baptized? Not for himself, as he was the sinless son of God. But as our substitute, he did need to be baptized. His baptism reveals that He is walking the path of the sinner. His baptism demonstrates that he was willing to do what it takes to make things right with God. He came to do the things the way they were supposed to be done.  Jesus was wiling to live his entire life doing things not for his own sake or because he needed to do them, but for the sake of us.

It is for that reason that Jesus is loved by his father and by all Christians. It is for that reason that you and I have peace with God, the full and free forgiveness of all our sins, eternal life, and salvation. While Jesus did not need to be baptized for himself, be glad that he did as it fulfilled all righteousness before God for you and me.

Let us hear what the Bible has to say on the subject first:

Luke 2: 4-16 (Selected)  “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem…He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there…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 shepherds living out in the fields nearby…An angel of the Lord appeared to them…and…said…’Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to 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’…So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”

So, who was at that first manger scene? Why Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, and some shepherds, of course. Then why do so many of the manger scenes include the three wise men? Let us hear again from the Bible to see if we can get an answer to this question.

Matthew 2:1-11 (Selected) ” After Jesus was born in Bethlehem…Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’…Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem…they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was…Upon coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.”

Notice the absence of the manger and the presence of a house in Matthew’s account. The census that had brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem was now over. The massive influx of pilgrims to Bethlehem had returned to their respective towns and homes. Mary and Joseph, however, had decided to stay and were now living in a house. It is to this house that the wise men from the east come and find the Christchild. Their arrival occurs about two years after the birth of Jesus, as we learn from Matthew 2:16 “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.”

Since the wise men were not at the stable in Bethlehem, they did not see the baby Jesus lying in the manger. Why, then, are they included in some of the manger scenes? They are in the manger scene because that is exactly where they belong!

The wise men from the east belong in the manger scene for one very good reason. Jesus had come into the world to be the Savior of ALL! He was not just the Savior of the Jews. The wise men from the east were not Jews, but they had read enough of the Bible to be aware of the signs of a coming Savior. They believed those signs and as a result, undertook a long and arduous journey so that they could find and worship their Savior.

Jesus is the Savior of the Jews and of the Gentiles. He was the Savior of those Gentile wise men from the east and He is your Savior and mine as well. So when you see another manger scene, check to see if the wise men are in it. According to God’s plan of salvation, they belong there. And so do you! The manger scene is exactly where you belong because Jesus is your Savior, too. The presence of the wise men in the manger scene is a powerful reminder that Jesus is the Savior of ALL!

This time Aretha’s male escort turned out to be an abusive and mean drunk. He starting yelling at Aretha in front of everyone and eventually even slapped her across the face. A guest reported the incident to the manager on duty, who in turn, informed the club Bouncer, Jefferson Monroe.

Talk about an incredible “Hulk!” Jefferson Monroe was a large, broad-shouldered, muscular man in his mid-twenties. His six foot four-inch frame quite easily carried his 250 pounds. The fact that he regularly pumped iron was definitely visible as his tightly fit, short-sleeved collarless shirt displayed his bulging arm and neck muscles.

Jefferson Monroe approached Aretha’s table, and in a very polite and calm way explained to her male companion that his behavior was unacceptable and that he would have to leave the club immediately. Infuriated by the intrusion into his personal life, the man took a swing at Jefferson, who instantly grabbed the man’s arm, swung it behind his back, and, yanking him up out of the chair, escorted him out the club.

When Jefferson returned to Aretha’s table just moments later, he found her crying. In an effort to calm her down, he told her that he would be getting off of work in a few minutes and would be happy to give her a ride home, now that she was without any transportation. Drying her eyes with her napkin, Aretha graciously accepted Jefferson’s offer.

One year later, exactly to the day, after a whirlwind romance, Aretha Williams became Mrs. Jefferson Monroe.  While Jefferson never officially adopted the other five children, he was a very good father to all of them. He was strict disciplinarian and expected everyone to obey the rules. Rules were consistently enforced and appropriate consequences were doled out when necessary.

Darnel, especially, chaffed under his new stepdad’s rules. He referred to them as the “Monroe Doctrines,” having heard about them in his Social Studies class. Before Jefferson had appeared on the scene, all of Aretha’s children had run wild. Neither Aretha nor her mother had ever properly disciplined the children. Both women screamed and yelled at the children, constantly threatening them, but never following through with any kind of punishment. Now that Jefferson was around, though, there were rules and chores and punishments.

Due to the fact that Darnel grew up in a house without rules and void of a male role model, he was totally disrespectful, and therefore, always getting into trouble, especially in school. In fact, it seemed that he spent most of the school day in the time-out corner of his classroom or worse, down in the Principal’s office. Darnel’s constant disobedience at school finally came to a head around the time of the Thanksgiving Holiday break during his fifth-grade year. As a result, Jefferson announced that a change of scenery and a fresh start might be the best thing for Darnel.  By January first Jefferson had not only secured a new job as the custodian of the school in Bill’s Lake, but also had purchased a mobile home just blocks from his work. Thus it was that Jefferson Monroe,  his wife, Aretha, and her five children, came to reside in the town of Bill’s Lake.

Darnel’s mother, Aretha, had grown up in the “Projects” down in the Cities and carried all of the baggage that comes with such a life. She had never graduated due to the fact that she was ready to give birth to her second child just a week before the end of her fourth year in high school. Since Aretha did not have enough credits to graduate with her class, she dropped out of school, using her two children as a convenient reason to bring her educational career to a dismal end.

Aretha had gotten pregnant the first time in January of her freshman year. She had been studying all about human reproduction in her Health Class and a good-looking senior had volunteered to show her how it really worked. Thrilled to be with this older student, Aretha never really stopped to contemplate what might result from her participation in a physical demonstration of human reproduction. The result was her first son, Darnel, born October 7th during her sophomore year. 

Having learned very little about birth control from her Health Class, Aretha was pregnant again when she started her fourth year of high school. Darnel was only two and 1/2 when his sister, Shaquita, was born. With two children, no husband, and no high school diploma, Aretha’s life seemed in pretty sad shape. She did not, however,  allow all of these things to serve as barriers to her social life. Aretha still found time to get dates with one no-good boyfriend after another, enjoying endless nights of dreamy, steamy sleepovers. As a result, it wasn’t long before she was pregnant for a third time. Jamaal came home to live with his five-year old brother Darnel and his three-year old sister Shaquita. And a short two years later, Jaleesa was added to Aretha’s brood.

Without much thought for the welfare of her five small children, as soon as  she could squeeze herself back into her pre-pregnancy clothes, Aretha made no bones about the fact that she was once again available. It was at this time that she met a man who would change her life forever. His name was Jefferson Monroe.

The Service was divided into several parts with each one calling for a time of reflection on specific events that had occurred in the past. The first thing the worshipers were asked to remember was the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord. This was not hard to do when you you listen to Luke 2:7,10-11: “And she gave brith 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. But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t 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 born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” It also was not hard to do when you sing words like: “The Word becomes incarnate And yet remains on high, And cherubim sing anthems To shepherds from the sky,” (Chrsitian Worship #36).

A second thing the worshipers were asked to remember was the many times that Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of God. Once again an easy task when listening to an account of His many miracles as recorded in Mattthew 15:30: “Great crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at His feet; and He healed them.” Also not hard to remember that Jesus is God when singing words like: “The People that in Darkness Sat”: The people that in darkness sat A glorious light have seen; The light has shone on them who long In shades of death have been, In shades of death have been,” (CW #90).

The next thing that was to be brought to mind was the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. A fact so easily remembered by listening to John 19:30: ” When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” And a fact so easily remembered when singing words like: “Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, See Him dying on the tree! ‘Tis the christ. by man rerjected’ Yes, my soul, ’tis he, ’tis he. ‘Tis the long-expected Prophet, David’s Son, yet David’s Lord; Proofs I see sufficient of it: ‘Tis the true and faithful Word,” (CW #127).

Fourthly, the worshipers were asked to reflect on Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. How easy to do when you hear the words of the angel, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen, just as He said. Come and see the play where He lay,” (Matthew 28:5-6). Easy as well to remember when singing words such as: “Like the golden sun ascending, Breaking through the gloom of night, On the earth its glory spending, So that darkness taks to flight, Thus my Jesus from the grave And death’s dismal, dreadful cave Rose triumphant Easter morning At the early purple dawning,” (CW #147).

This remembrance was followed by the fact of Jesus’ glorious ascension into heaven. To aid minds in bringing this event into clearer focus the words of Acts 1:9 were read: “After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.” Another aid to memory retention was the singing of these words: “The holy apostolic band Upon the Mount of Olives stand, Alleluia! Alleluia! And with His folowers they see Their Lord ascend in majesty. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alelluia! Alleluia!” (CW #171).

While those present at St. Paul Lutheran Church New Year’s Eve were asked to remember many more things, time allows for only one more to be printed here. Remembering all of the major aspects of Jesus’ earthly life and mission are an indispensable part of the Christian faith. Which faith would not be in existence without the work of “another comforter,” namely, the Holy Spirit, who arrived in earnestness on Pentecost; fifty days fater Jesus’ ascension. The Holy Spirit’s work cannot be forgotten when we remember these words of St. Paul: “The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned, ” (I Cor. 2:14) and “…no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit,” (I Cor. 12:3).

Let us, therefore,  treasure all these memories and regularly ponder upon them in our hearts in the new year and every year to come.

Mary and Joseph were no strangers to God and His promises. Nor were they strangers to angelic announcements concerning the birth of the Christchild. Over time, however, Jesus’ parents forgot that their perfect son was acting perfectly normal in their sight. One episode in Jesus’ young life will suffice to support this claim.

Many are familiar with the following Biblical account: “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom…. After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard HIm was amazed at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have anxiously searching for you.’ ‘Why were you searching for me? He asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what He was saying to them,” (Luke 2:41,42,46-50).

This is an interesting story in the life of the boy Jesus. In this account we do not find Jesus in the temple learning “how to be God” or discovering that he possessed some special “God-given knowledge.” Rather we see Him for who He really is – the God-made man actively involved in His mission of saving the world from sin.

In this story we see the PERFECT Jesus at work. We see Jesus not only as the perfect student but as the perfect teacher as well. Jesus’ questions of and answers to the religious teachers of His day demonstrated His perfect understanding of the Scriptures along with perfect knowledge of His earthly mission. At the tender age of 12, Jesus already was exhibiting the fact that He was the PERFECT God-man and our PERFECT substitute.

While we learn a lot about obedience to the First, Third, and Fourth Commandments from this account in Jesus’ life, we dare not miss the rest of the lesson we are to learn from this. Jesus was not in the temple “showing off” His perfect knowledge, but rather was there to show the world He was its PERFECT substitute. His being born, His growing up, His gaining favor with both God and man, His obedience to all the commandments was for our sakes. Here we find Jesus demonstrating and sharing our humanity. Jesus did all this to make us holy, to free us from the slavery of sin and the power of the devil. Jesus clothed Himself with humanity and experienced humanity so that at the cross He could serve as the PERFECT substitute, offering Himself as the full and complete sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus’ perfect obedience to God and man, coupled with His innocent death on the cross, satisfied God’s demands of holiness and justness and thereby, won for us God’s favor.

As we continue to spend time in God’s Word privately, participate in Worship Services, attend Bible classes with others, we will be less likely to forget that Jesus Christ, the babe born in Bethlehem, is PERFECTLY human and divine and thus, is our PERFECT substitute; our PERFECT Savior.

A portion of the Gospel reading for Christmas Day at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church says it all: “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us,” (John 1:14). The refrain from the hymn that was sung just before the sermon captures the essence of the day: “Hail the ever blessed morn; hail redemption’s happy dawn; sing through all Jerusalem, ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem!’”(Christian Worship #58).

On December 25th we celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior. The celebration of his birth in time fills our hearts with peace and joy. If it is only His birth that we celebrate this time of year, though, we are missing the full scope of Christmas.

While scores of people saw the God-made-man, Jesus, living and working on this earth, they really didn’t see Him. St. John explains: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through HIm, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him,” (John 1:10-11). This fact was proven time and again as Jesus was rejected by both the crowds and the religious authorities of His day. It was proved the day those same religious authorities pressured the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, to give the order to have Jesus crucified.

For the most part, then, Jesus and His work of redemption went unrecognized and unreceived. This was to be expected since the world is dead in its trespasses and sins. Those who are spiritually dead cannot recognize their Savior, Jesus Christ. This is continually proven by the way that we have lowered the bar on sin to the point where almost nothing is viewed as a transgression against God’s law anymore.

Despite all this, Jesus still speaks of the concept of “rebirth”: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God,” (John 1:12-13). If Jesus is not and cannot be recognized and received by sinful people, how can it be said that some “received Him”?

Recognition and reception of Jesus come about only by the will of God. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit,” (John 3:6). It is God’s decision and His work to take us into His family and kingdom. It is God, in Christ, who gives us the right to be called His children. It is through God’s Word that we are reborn, for it is there that we hear that God and man have been reconciled through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is there we hear that in Christ we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of all our sins. In essence, then, this is what Jesus was born to do- born to give us “second birth.”

What a joyful reminder that Christmas day is not just a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but a day also to celebrate our rebirth through the Holy Spirit. What a precious thing to know, through the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit, that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,” (John 3:16).

When it comes to the opening of presents at Christmas, most everyone has a tradition that they follow. In my family when I was growing up, we always opened our presents on Christmas Eve. after attending a special Worship Service. I followed that same tradition with my children. While this was not a popular tradition, the opening of presents could not be rushed. One just had to be patient.

Trips to visit relatives at Christmastime always was another exercise in being patient. This year was no exception. My wife and I arrived at O’Hare Airport in Chicago at 10 am on December 24th only to find out that our American Airlines flight to Dallas had been cancelled. With minimal effort, though, the people at the ticket counter got us an 11:15 am flight to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and after a short lay-over, a connecting flight from there to Dallas. We were actually leaving Chicago one hour ahead of our original flight schedule and so, at least on the surface, all seemed somewhat under control.  Control of our situation as it turned out,  however, was something that we really never had.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is not a very big place as can be witnessed by its airport. The airport had a total of six gates and one ground crew to work them all. Since we arrived just moments after an earlier flight, we had to park on the tarmac and wait our turn. Twenty minutes later our plane pulled ahead to a jetway and we were able to disembark, only to hear the announcement that Dallas was experiencing some very bad weather and as a result, our connecting flight would be delayed. No problem, we thought, now we have plenty of time for lunch.

Lunch ending up being at the only bar/restaurant in the terminal. An eatery that holds thirty patrons comfortable, was now being over run by 150 starving, stranded passengers from three different flights. Four hours later we were most happy to board our connecting flight to Dallas.

After a very short two-hour flight to Dallas, we thought that the worst was surely behind us. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is quite large, with several terminals, but is in no way equipped for the icy/snow storm that had befallen it that Christmas Eve. With just five de-icing machines available to handle all of the outbound flights, planes that had landed had to be parked on the tarmac for there was no room for them at the terminal. After waiting for 45 minutes, our pilot was able to secure a shuttle bus that would take us to an open gateway, not our scheduled one, and let us get inside the terminal. Our rather long and frustrating journey was over at last, or so we thought.

Twenty minutes after arriving at the curbside outside the terminal, our son stopped by to take us to his house which was less than 25 miles away. Dallas roads were so slick with ice that night that it took us one hour and 15 minutes to drive that short distance. The journey from our home in Wisconsin to our son’s home in Dallas, Texas on Christmas Eve. had ended up taking 13 hours, of which only a mere two and 1/2 hours were spent in the air. Talk about an exercise in patience!

While we were not able to follow our usual tradition of attending a Worship Service on Christmas Eve. followed by the opening our presents, gifts  were eventually exchanged and a Merry Christmas was had by all.

While Handel’s “Messiah” is made up of three parts, Advent or Christmas performances often make use only of Part One and end with the “Hallelujah” (Chorus), which is really the conclusion for the second part,  as the final chorus. The task of Part One is to set forth the prophesy and realization of God’s plan to save mankind from sin and hell by the coming of the Messiah.

Part One begins with a promise of comfort and hope for God’s people based on the prophecy recorded in Isaiah 40:1-5, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins. A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, and the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.”

Additional passages pointed to signs that would announce the arrival of the promised Messiah, such as the one in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel,” and the one in Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

In the midst of all this comfort and hope, however, is the harsh reminder of sin coupled with unbelief and its consequences. The prophet Malachi asks the all-important question – “But who can endure the day of his coming?” (Malachi 3:2). While the Messiah-Savior has done everything to save the world from sin, those who still count on their own works to get into heaven will be sadly mistaken. Those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal, all-sufficient savior from sin will not be garnered into everlasting life but rather, will perish everlastingly.

On the heels of that reminder, though, the good news of God’s love shines through once more with passages that speak of the actually birth of the Messiah. On the night of the Messiah’s birth, an angel of the Lord brought the following message to a group of shepherds tending their flocks just outside the town of Bethlehem: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for al the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).

This Messiah would live perfectly and die innocently as full payment for the sins of the world. His resurrection from the dead would be the proof that God the father had accepted the Messiah’s work. The Messiah’s resurrection is the highpoint of the Christian faith. That is why believers in Christ have no trouble echoing the words of Job: “I know that  my redeemer lives.” (Job 19:25).

Fortified with messages of comfort and hope, the believer is in a position to join the chorus that praises God for the sending of His Son as the promised Messiah who in all reality is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” (Revelation 19:16). What better way to end a Service than to hear the “Hallelujah Chorus” wherein we are reminded once again that “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of God and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever,” (Rev. 11:15). What a treat to know that God is in control and faith in His Son brings balance to one’s life.

The Sunday School Service was entitled “I Believe,” and was patterned after the explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles Creed. There we are reminded of three very important biblical facts as they are related to the Savior of all mankind.

First, we are told that the Savior is Jesus Christ and that he is “true, God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin.” For proof, the Bible says, “He (Jesus) is the true God and eternal life, (I John 5:20) and “the virgin (Mary) will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call him Immanuel, Isaiah 7:14).

Along with all other Christians, I believe that when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of the Virgin Mary, as revealed in the second Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, verses 4-7: “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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged 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.”

Secondly, we are told that this Savior, Jesus Christ, “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature,” and that He has “purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil.” For proof, the Bible says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” (I Timothy 1:15) and “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, ” (John 3:16).

With Christians everywhere, I also believe that the child whose birth the angels announced to the shepherds just outside of Bethlehem is Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, as is recorded in Luke 2:10-11: “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 born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Finally, we are told that this Jesus Christ, who is my Lord, “has redeemed me that I might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.” For proof on how to serve our Savior we simply follow the example of those shepherds who we are told, “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 they had been told about this child, ” (Luke 2:16-17). 

During the Sunday School Childrens’ Service many of my favorite songs and carols were sung, such as: “Oh,Come, Little Children,” “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Away In A Manger,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night, Holy Night,” and “Joy to the World.”

Normally, nothing could top such a wonderful Service such as this. But then, in the afternoon, it was my distinct pleasure to hear a rendition of Handel’s “Messiah” sung. What a marvelous performance and another beautiful presentation of the message of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus.

You want some balance in your life? Attend one or more Worship Services this holiday season, listen to and read the Bible, listen to and sing a variety of Christmas songs, and remember in faith the greatest gift of all – Jesus Christ, your Savior and Lord.