New Hope Christian Fellowship

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 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. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

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.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year from New Hope Christain Fellowship!!

My daughter pushed for a Christmas tree since Thanksgiving. She hounded, prodded, questioned and reasoned with us on why we needed a tree sooner rather than later. Finally, when the day came to go tree shopping, she was the most excited little girl I had ever seen. Choosing a tree was exciting for her. Bringing it home and decorating it made her weekend.

After we put the finishing touches on our Christmas tree, I pulled out the nativity set my mom gave me when I first got married. I’ve had it for 9 ½ years and usually I display it high on a shelf for all to see. This year, I decided to do something different. Being inspired by some college friends of mine who place their nativity sets under the tree, I did the same.

“Mommy, what are you doing?” my daughter questioned me while I was placing the stable under the tree.

“I’m putting the nativity set under the tree.” I told her while I opened the box of figurines.

“Oooh, can I help?” she asked and grabbed the baby Jesus.

I let her help me arrange the figures under the tree. We talked about the wise men and the gifts they brought baby Jesus when they came to see him. We talked about his mother, Mary, and Joseph, his earthly father. We even talked about the shepherds and animals that were there that night.

“Mommy, why are you putting this under the tree?” she asked after we were done setting up. I thought about it for a moment.

Why did I put it under the tree this year and not high up on a shelf? Under the tree is usually reserved for the presents. Under the tree is a place for shaking the beautifully wrapped packages and trying to guess what we got. Under the tree is truly a place of honor in most homes. Did the baby Jesus, his mom, dad, the wise men, shepherds, and all the animals in the stable belong under the tree?

Yes, it was just a nativity set being placed under the tree, but the story it tells is one of a father giving the ultimate gift to his children. It should be placed under the tree for all to see and remember how much God loved us to give us a gift this valuable. This gift deserves a place of honor in our homes and in our hearts.

“Because, he is God’s gift to the world,” I told her.

I could see her little 5 year old mind processing that information. She nodded her head in acceptance of my answer and went to find an angel to watch over Baby Jesus while he sat under the tree.

Luke 2:10-14 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Merry Christmas, everyone!