Living Nativity

Our story begins at the very beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Out of nothing, God made everything. He formed our world and all the universe. He separated the seas from the dry land and covered the earth with luscious vegetation. He filled it with every imaginable kind of creature. And then the Lord God created a man and a woman in His own image and placed them both in the paradise of the Garden of Eden. But the first man and woman disobeyed and rebelled against Him. By their sin, they severed the close relationship they had with God. God was forced to expel them from the pure environment of the Garden. They had rejected God and led the human race into sin. But even as God cast them out, He promised that one day a Savior would come not only for them, but for the whole human race.

Through the centuries God spoke through His prophets to remind the people that the Savior was coming. Isaiah, writing in 700 BC, proclaimed that the Savior would be God Himself and be miraculously born to a virgin. "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 Emmanuel, 'God with us'." The prophet Micah predicted the specific town in which He would be born. "But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Each of the hundreds of prophecies heightened the world's expectation for this coming Savior who God promised would one day come.

As the time neared for the promised Savior to come, God sent an angel to a young virgin girl named Mary. "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 angel of the Lord also appeared to Joseph, Mary's fiance: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping a lonely watch over their sheep. Suddenly, the night was interrupted by a brilliant light and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God...
BETHLEHEM

And so it came to pass, that in the humble stable, in the presence of donkeys and sheep, that Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world as a tiny baby. There he lay...God clothed in human flesh, the Savior, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. And they called his name Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins.

Months after Jesus' birth, King Herod's palace in Jerusalem was honored by the presence of princes from the East.

These princes, or "wise men," expressed their desire to see and worship the Child. A star had miraculously led them from their own homeland of Persia or India. When they found Jesus, these mighty princes, honored and feared by men, bowed before Him and worshiped Him.

To be continued...