From the Pastor

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Dear Saints,

Merry Christmas!

“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.” (Luke 2:7)

As you enjoy your Christmas season this year, take some time and meditate on the fact that Jesus was a baby in a manger, a baby at Mary’s breast, and a baby protected by His stepdad, Joseph.

We believe and confess that Jesus is both fully God and fully Man. I wonder how much time we spend thinking of Jesus as a baby. Christmas is a great season to do that very thing.

The shepherds found Jesus in the manger. The wise men found Him with Mary, probably on her lap. But Jesus, as a baby, was vulnerable!

Jesus was dependent on Mary for warmth and food and comfort.

Jesus was dependent on Joseph for protection and guidance. Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem to try and murder Jesus. Joseph led Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath and protect his wife and child.

Jesus, as all babies do, had to learn how to crawl and walk. He had to learn how to speak, even though He is the inventor of language! He had to learn how to honor His father and mother. And it was complicated. He had to honor both His real Father, God the Father, and He had to honor His stepdad, whom God the Father appointed to train Jesus up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. (Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4)

And Luke tells us that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)

This should remind us of the importance of family. God instituted family for our flourishing. Christmas is an especially good time to cherish family and give God thanks for whom He has given you.

But you cannot think of the wood of the manger without thinking of the wood of the cross. Jesus came not just to experience life, which He did in its fullness, but He came to die on a cross for the sins of the world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) And that is the true meaning of Christmas.

Let us spend time this Christmas meditating on our Lord’s birth. And let us share true Christmas cheer with the families God has given to us. Amen!

In Christ, Pastor Maggard