CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION - PART 1

Jr. Tree of Life
12/01/2020

Christmas Celebration
Part 1


Eternity Past, Age of Gentiles, Age of Israel, Hypostatic Union, Church Age, Tribulation, Millennium, Eternal future

Before you begin this Bible study, If you have never believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, John 3:16 tells us: “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ Simply have faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and you will have eternal life and be saved. If you have believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior; then 1 John 1:9 tells us; “If you confess your sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Simply privately tell God the Father your sins to be filled with God the Holy Spirit and He will teach you Bible truth. (Rebound)

Promise Memory Verse
“ For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

The Bible is the most truthful, amazing, one of a kind book in the entire world and will never be old fashioned or completely destroyed. Many human authors wrote the 66 books in the Bible and they were all inspired by God. In other words, He told them what to write.
It not only mentions things God did in the past, but it tells of things that will happen in the future as well. That’s why it’s alive and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
Isaiah and Micah were both prophets during the Age of Israel. As prophets, God gave them information about what would happen in the future. These future events were called prophecies.
In The Bible, Isaiah 7:14 describes the young virgin named Mary and even mentions the name of her son 700 years before it came true.
Another Scripture in the bible, Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and 700 years later it came true.

Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-6

Let’s go back over 2000 years in time and take a peek at what was happening in the city of Nazareth. Mary and Joseph were planning to get married. Before that happened God sent an angel by the name of Gabriel to have a chat with Mary.
Mary must have been in total shock because seeing an angel wasn’t an everyday event. Immediately, the angel Gabriel tried to get her to relax by telling her that she had nothing to be afraid of and in fact, she had found favor with God.
He went on to surprise her by telling her that God the Holy Spirit would give her a son by the name of Jesus. How exciting for her, she was going to give birth to the Son of God! Mary was thinking how unbelievable it all sounded, but we know from our memory verse above that nothing is impossible for God.
When Joseph heard about this, he was surprised and didn’t think it was possible for her to be pregnant by God the Holy Spirit. He wanted to quietly end his relationship with Mary, but an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and helped him to understand the whole situation. Can you imagine how amazed he must have been? He thought of himself as no one special, He was just a simple carpenter.
Luke 2:1-7

One day, Caesar Augustus announced that everyone in the Roman Empire needed to be counted, this is called a census. Instead of emailing them a form to fill out, everyone had to travel back to their home towns.
Both Joseph and Mary had a 90 mile journey from Nazareth to his hometown of Bethlehem. This wouldn’t have been very easy for Mary and Joseph to get there like it would have been for us.
Joseph and Mary probably had to walk or possibly ride a donkey on dirt paths and up hilly trails. It must have been terrifying for them to travel because bears, lions and wild pigs liked to hide in the woods and come out and attack people. They had to constantly be on alert for crooks who wanted to steal from them or hurt them as well.
There weren’t any fast food places along the way like McDonalds, Taco Bell or Subway to eat at like we have. They most likely ate dried bread and drank water from wineskins because plastic water bottles hadn’t been invented yet. The trip would have taken us about an hour and a half, while it probably took them around 4-6 days to complete.
Once they arrived in Bethlehem, it was super crowed. Joseph knocked on different doors, but everyone told him there wasn’t any room. Finally someone let them stay in a stable where the animals slept. I’ll bet the hay they laid down on sure was itchy!
Finally the day came for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be born. Mary wasn’t rushed to a hospital; instead she had baby Jesus right there in that stinky stable with filthy dirty floors and smelly animals.
Oh no, where would He sleep? What would He wear? They wrapped baby Jesus up in cloth strips and laid the Little Lord Jesus in a manger which wasn’t nice like a baby crib is today. In fact, it was something that animals ate out of. Now a new dispensation (time in history) would start, we call it the Hypostatic Union. God gave us the greatest gift of all, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us praise our Savior by singing Away in a Manger.
Away in a Manger

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle 'til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.