Luke 2:1-7
The Birth of Jesus
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 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. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
On Christmas Eve we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus and look forward to his return. But… why? 2,000 years later we find ourselves living lives often full of pain, struggle, stress, difficulty, and brokenness. The struggle in our lives is real and tangible, what does a man who lived so long ago have to do with it? In Jesus God shows up not in majesty and splendor, but as a baby, born to a peasant couple and laid in a dirty manger, drawing the fear and hatred of a king, the worship of outcast shepherds, and the gifts and devotions of non-Jewish foreigners. Jesus came not to demand our attention, but to give us his; to walk alongside us, show us a different way, to light our path and enable us to follow it. So we gather at Christmastime, to remember and worship the God who came to us in the most humble of circumstances, to guide us from brokenness to wholeness. Listen in as we discuss the unexpected ways Jesus shows up in our lives.
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