And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory o...

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And...

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[e] will be called holythe Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who w...

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may ...

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory o...

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall s...

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."Matthew 1:21 Today, we await the arrival of our savior. We look toward December 25th as a day of celebration and remembrance for what has already happened, but we also stand in anticipation of what will happen. God fulfilled His promise to His people through the birth of ...

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he too...

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:18-25 Joseph is hardly the most central character in the story of Christmas. His participation, his type of masculinity, is not the kind that...

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:18-19 Overall, the Bible is pretty quiet about Joseph. There are no boo...

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and li...

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us).Matthew 1:22-23 The story behind Jesus' genealogy is telling us something. These womenTamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Maryare shouting to us through their stories. They're pointing t...

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in...

And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"2 Samuel 11:2 David deliberated his actions after laying eyes on Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. Knowingly, he pursued her in a manner that seems more like abuse of authority than seduction. Despite her husband's fierce loyalty and excellence a...

Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn." Then she fell on her face,...

Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not kn...

As she was being brought out, [Tamar] sent word to her father-in-law, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." And she said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff." Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.Genesis 38:25-26 The Boo...

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.Matthew 1:17 As we light the second candle of Advent and set our hearts toward the celebration of Christ's birth, everything in the media, stores, and even many chu...

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3 On this side of history, we do not await Jesus' birth, but His return. Just as God promised long ago He would send a Savior and King, so now He has promised He...

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" Matthew 1:21-23 All of history was building up to the birth of Jesus. God had told His people over and over aga...

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer ...

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 The prophet Isaiah described the One who would be Israel's salvation. No one had ever seen a person fitting this description before, so it could hardly be believed. Y...

Adam and Eve committed high treason against the God of the universe, breaking the Shalom that existed between God and Man, which then broke the Shalom of every relationship under the stars. Several hundred years later, God's promise to Eve was still hanging in the air when Noah and his family found themselves sitting in the middle of their own R-rated story. Sinful famili...

'The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."' Genesis 3:14-15...

Advent is the season leading up to Christmas when we recall the longing and anticipation for a savior. We turn to Scripture and connect with the cry of the human heart for light to break into the darkness that fell after Adam and Eve sinned against God. And as the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, a baby born from a woman. Jesus Christ, the second person of the ...