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The Christmas Story...Part 1

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chimney55

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The Christmas Story...Part 1
By Jack Kelley

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

To Us a Child Is Born

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. (Isaiah 7:14)
In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:1-2)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)


The Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:26-35).
Liberal commentators, and others who don’t take the Bible seriously, often try to cast doubt on the validity of Isaiah’s virgin birth prophecy, saying the clearest Hebrew word for virgin is bethulah. In Isaiah 7:14 a different word, almah, is used. It means virgin too, but can also describe any woman of marriageable age. They contend that Isaiah’s failure to use the most specific word for virgin could mean that he wasn’t really prophesying a virgin birth. As if anticipating this, Isaiah included a rebuttal. It’s simple and appears in Isaiah 8, but first some perspective.


the rest of part 1... The Christmas Story...Part 1
 

Saintscruiser

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I don't know which day was more important, the day He was born, or the day He died. Both have changed the world forever, and I'm so incredibly grateful for Him. :)


Actually, Lisa, the day He rose from the grave is when the world was changed forever. Anyone can get born. Anyone can die. No one, except Jesus was resurrected on the 3rd day. Now Lazarus was raised by Jesus on the 4th day, but he came back in a mortal body. Jesus was clothed in a resurrected body....a glorified body. What other religion gives you a Living God! Buddha is still dead, mohammed is still dead, etc, etc.I mean, how cool was it when He walked through the wall into where the disciples were! He showed them!:)
 

luceblueboy

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I agree with with saintscruiser on this one. Jesus defeated sin through his death but then he gave us hope of life through the resurrection. An amazing book on this is "Surprised by Hope" by N.T. Wright. It totally changed my life. I think a huge problem in churches is that they only focus on the crucifixion and forget about the resurrection. That's why a lot of churches get labeled as boring. Church meets on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection! We should be celebrating, not wallowing in our past sins and feeling guilty. I guess this is what got me fired from my past job as a youth pastor. I was a little too informal because I wanted to celebrate my faith, not beat myself over it, as the senior pastor would have wanted.
 
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