The Story Of Christmas

I invite you this day to come along with me as we take a journey back in time to the holy lands of Israel. We will begin in the District of Galilee, and then the city of Nazareth, and then conclude our journey in the tiny town of Bethlehem, birthplace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope that this very special Christmas message will touch your heart, and that after hearing it you will find yourself a little richer in faith, a little stronger in spirit, and once again reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

The Bible tells us in the Book of Luke, Chapter 1, beginning with verse 26….”and in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

And the angel came unto her and said “Hail, thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind, what manner of salutation this shall be.”

Almighty God had sent down from Heaven above His angel Gabriel, to the city of Nazareth in the land of Galilee. Gabriel’s mission was to deliver a message from God to a young, virgin woman known by the name of Mary. It would be a message that would forever change our world.

The Bible tells us that Mary was espoused, meaning that she was engaged, to a man named Joseph. Mary and Joseph were planning to be married.

Now an engagement in those early times was taken much more seriously than it is in today’s world. Engagement then was a binding contract that could only be broken by a legal decree similar to a divorce.

It is very important for us to note here that Mary’s fiancée, Joseph, was a descendant of the house of David, for God had promised in His Word that the coming Messiah would be from the ancestry of David.

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING

The angel Gabriel warmly greeted Mary with these comforting words, “thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.

Now I have never been visited by an angel that I am aware of, and, perhaps, you haven’t either. However, if I were to receive such a visit I cannot imagine anything that I would like to hear more than the words “thou art highly favored by God and the Lord is with thee.”

Can you just imagine what was going through Mary’s mind at this time? The angel Gabriel, sent to her by the command of Almighty God, was visiting her. This was not an everyday occurrence.

Mary wondered why she had been chosen for such a visit and was understandably troubled by this meeting.

Fear filled Mary’s heart. And the angel Gabriel recognized Mary’s fear and said unto her, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father, David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, “How shall that be seeing how I’ve known no man?” And the angel answered and said unto her “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee, therefore, also that Holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.”

AVE MARIA

Now Mary was a very special young woman, and I suppose that when God looked down from Heaven above that He saw many young virgin women from which to choose, but He chose Mary and this was no accident, for it was all part of God’s master plan.

God was highly pleased with Mary’s life, and the angel told Mary that she had found favor in the

sight of God. Then the angel went on to tell Mary that a child would be conceived in her womb, that she would give birth to a son, and that she was to call him by the precious and wonderful name of Jesus.

This would be no ordinary child. This son would be great. He would be great as a person and great in His works. This child would be known as the Son of God. He would be given the earthly throne of His father, David.