Countdown video today, “Christmas Hallelujah” by Cloverton
Luke 1: 26-38 (ESV)
In the sixth month [of pregnancy of Mary’s
relative Elizabeth] the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said,
“Greetings,O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
But she was greatly troubled at the saying,
and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear 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 him to the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel,
“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child
to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.
And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age
has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month
with her who was called barren.
For nothing is impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word.”
And the angel departed from her.
What did Mary want for Christmas?
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word.”
Luke 1:38
Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together she was found to be with child
from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph,
being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,
resolved to divorce her quietly.
But as he considered these things, behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel
of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
And he called his name Jesus.
Luke 1: 41-45 (ESV)
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold, when the sound of your greeting came
to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be
a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
What do you want for Christmas?