Celebrate Christmas by remembering the birth of Jesus. The excerpt below comes from our illustrated God's Love: A Bible Storybook.
Jesus Is Born in Bethlehem
Luke 1:26–36; 2:1–7
Target Truth: Jesus, the Messiah, was sent by God the Father.
The sun had set behind the hills of Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph were staying in the only room they could find—a stable full of animals. The couple had traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem because the Roman king had commanded that everyone visit his hometown to pay taxes. Not only was Bethlehem the hometown of Joseph, but it was also the hometown of King David.
Joseph, a carpenter who usually spent his days making tables and plows, looked over at Mary, who was holding a newborn baby boy in her arms. Mary wrapped her son in long strips of cheap cloth. It wasn’t much, but it would keep Him warm. She gently placed the sleeping infant into a crib she had made from a manger that the cows weren’t using. She had been waiting for the baby ever since the angel appeared to her with surprising news.
He had said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will have a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David, and He will rule over His kingdom forever.”
Now those words had come true; God had given Mary the baby Jesus. As she held her newborn son, Mary remembered God’s great promises to send Someone who would save God’s people from their sins. This little one was the promised Messiah.
