CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION - PART 3
Jr. Tree of Life
12/20/2020
Christmas Celebration Part 3
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
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15
God’s trying to get our attention this Christmas like never before! He totally understands how hard it’s been to go through covid-19. Our Heavenly Father wants every one of us to realize that we need Him to help us every single day of our lives. He wants every person to see that they need a Savior who gives us eternal life as a free gift.
“They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”
Acts 16:31a.
Guess what, we don’t have to shop for this gift or try to be really good. It’s totally free for everyone. All we have to do is to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of our sins.
If you have never done this before, you simply have to tell God the
Father that you are believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior. That’s all there is to it! It’s so easy!
The Godhead, (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) which is called the Trinity, got together and all of them had a part in giving us a Savior which is way better than any other gift you will find under the Christmas tree.
God the Father planned everything, God the Son volunteered to remain God and He came down to earth and was given a human body so He could pay for our sins. God the Holy Spirit made it possible for a virgin named Mary to get pregnant and give birth to Jesus.
Soon after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus left the stable and moved into small house located in Bethlehem. Jesus started growing from a new born baby to a toddler.
In a faraway place called Persia, there were a group of wise men called the Magi, who spent a lot of time looking at the stars. They also read scriptures in the Bible so they knew that one day the King of the Jews would be born who was Jesus our Savior.
Day after day they gazed at the sky until one day they noticed a new brightly shining star that seemed to be pointing the way showing them where Jesus was. The wise men didn’t know how long the journey would take them, but they decided that they would follow the star in order to meet and worship King Jesus.
God the Son created the whole world and in His human body would die on the cross to pay for the sins of every person who ever lived. Remember Jesus is both 100% God and 100% a man and was and is perfectly righteous; meaning He never sinned like we do.
The wise men mounted their camels and traveled at night so they could follow the star, while resting during the day. On and on they traveled while guided by the star until they reached Jerusalem. Some people think there were three wise men, because they carried three gifts with them, but there were probably more than three.
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2
Matthew 2:3-23
When the Magi got to Jerusalem, they started asking around about where King Jesus was. Evil King Herod, found out about this and was very upset and jealous! He gathered the chief priests and the scribes to see if they knew where this king of the Jews was supposed to be born. They searched the scriptures and told him that Jesus could be found in Bethlehem.
Next Herod contacted the Magi and asked them when they first noticed the star. He sent them to Bethlehem and told them to let him know when they found Jesus so he could worship him too. He was a big fat liar though. He never planned to worship Jesus at all. He planned to kill him.
The wise men went to Bethlehem and the star went ahead of them and stood still right above the little house that Jesus lived in. A lot of people think that the Magi went to the stable where Jesus was born, but they didn’t do that. By the time they got to Bethlehem, Jesus was a toddler.
When they saw the child with Mary, they fell to the ground and worshipped Him and gave him very special gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh which were the type of gifts given to kings.
When they were done worshipping Jesus, the wise men fell asleep; God warned them in a dream not to return to wicked king Herod, so they left for their country by another way.
After they left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, “Get up! Take the child to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
As soon as Joseph heard the warning, he rushed Mary and Jesus out of the house and whisked them away to Egypt. When King Herod found out that magi were gone, he was furious! He made sure that every little boy aged two and younger were killed! What a horrible man!
God still had a plan for Jesus though and as soon as King Herod died Jesus and His family left Egypt and went to live in Nazareth. Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Please try and remember Christmas is Jesus’ birthday this year.