LUKE 2
The Birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1.18-25)

About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books.  These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed.  So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.   Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son.  She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep.  All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them.  The shepherds were frightened.  But the angel said, "Don't be afraid!  I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy.  This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you.  He is Christ the Lord.  You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay." 
Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:
"Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God."

After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about."  They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him.  Everyone listened and was surprised.  But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him.  Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.

MATTHEW 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus
(Luke 2.1-7)

This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David's family.  But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God's Holy Spirit.  Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone.  So he decided to quietly call off the wedding.  While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream.  The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her.  Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."  So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."

After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord's angel had told him to do.  But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus.

JOHN 1
The Word of Life

In the beginning was the one who is called the Word.  The Word was with God and was truly God.  From the very beginning the Word was with God.  And with this Word, God created all things.  Nothing was made without the Word.  Everything that was created received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone.

The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.  God sent a man named John, who came to tell about the light and to lead all people to have faith.  John wasn't that light.  He came only to tell about the light.  The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the world.  The Word was in the world, 
but no one knew him, though God had made the world with his Word.

He came into his own world, but his own nation did not welcome him.  Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him.  So he gave them the right to be the children of God.  They were not God's children by nature or because of any human desires.  God himself was the one who made them his children.  The Word became 
a human being and lived here with us.  We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.  From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.

John spoke about him and shouted, "This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born."

Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.  The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth.  No one has ever seen God.  The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.

TITUS 3:4-7

God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is.  He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. 

God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He gave us new birth and a fresh beginning.  God sent Jesus Christ our Savior to give us his Spirit.

Jesus treated us much better than we deserve.  He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life.