Merry Christmas

Thanks God for sending Christ for me.

John 1:14 (NIV)¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Thank-you for Mary and Joseph who were obedient and trusting of your uncomfortable will for them...

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "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.
²¹ 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."
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
²³ "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Luke 3:23 (NIV)
²³ ...He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,... 

Thank you for honoring the lowly to elevate the Son of God!

Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
¹⁰ 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.
¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Thank-you for saving me!

John 3:16-17 (NIV)
¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

You can count the cost and ask Christ to rule in your heart today, too!

Luke 14:28-33 (NIV)
²⁸ "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
²⁹ For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
³⁰ saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
³¹ "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

  Romans 10:9 (NIV) 

⁹ That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Do it this morning - Surrender to Jesus Christ, the ONLY Savior of the world.