Dear family and friends:

As we decorate, sing carols, and give gifts in celebration of Jesus’ birth, we want to look upon the nostalgia and warmth of the season with fresh eyes. The coming of Jesus is central to all of history—and the entire Bible.

When the Apostles said it was Jesus about Whom Moses and the Prophets wrote, they meant exactly that. Mentioned in Eden, insinuated in God’s promise to Abram, and in Abraham’s offer of Isaac, His coming was mysteriously concealed in Jacob’s blessing, poetically painted in the “cleft of the rock,” woven throughout the Tabernacle, anticipated in the blood sacrifice, and positionally portrayed by the High Priest.

He is the Cities of Refuge, the Star out of Jacob. Psalms give us glimpses at His anointing, future rule and crucifixion, and then tell us the sheep’s proper attitude toward the Good Shepherd. In Proverbs, He is Wisdom; He is the Son of God.

In Ecclesiastes, He is the remembered Creator, while in Song of Solomon, His banner over me is love.

Breathtakingly, He is, in the Prophets, virgin-born Immanuel, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, the Branch, Servant, Elect, the First and the Last, Savior and Redeemer…the tender plant, the Root from dry ground…the Lamb prepared for slaughter. He is the LORD our Righteousness, Messiah the Prince, the Stone cut out without hands, the Son of Man. From Bethlehem the everlasting Ruler comes forth unto the LORD; the Desire of all Nations, who made the glory of the humble 2nd Temple greater than that of the first. He was the Just King having salvation, arriving on a colt. He is the longed-for firstborn, pierced, wounded in His hands, and coming again, the Sun of Righteousness, risen, with healing in His wings.

The Divine Person born in Bethlehem is our Creator, Redeemer, Apostle and High Priest, Author and Perfector of our faith, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. He is Bread, Light, Door, Shepherd, Resurrection, Way, Truth, and Vine. He is the WORD. The Peace and good will toward men proclaimed by the angels is wrapped up in Jesus, for He is our peace, having broken down the partition between us and God here on earth, and having preceded us into the heavenly Holy-of-Holies where now He intercedes for us forever and is the anchor of our soul.

What a tender thought—that the Incarnation was necessary because the Creator wanted to become a man, in order to fulfill all righteousness as a man under the Law, and provide a body for sacrifice: We have so much to praise Him for!

The old Christmas Carols we sing are positively loaded with these great truths! Let’s use the opportunity provided by the season—and by the movie at theaters now, to share with them the true identity of our Savior!

We invite you to use our new site:
The Nativity
We cherish God’s gift of your friendship—
and pray He makes this Christmas season a time of overflowing joy in your life!

Merry Christmas!