1. . THE BEGINNING OF IT ALL
1.1 THE WORD OF LIFE
1In 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 shinning in the dark, and darkness has never put it out. 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 hi 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 the complete gifts. Of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us. Because of all that the So is, we have been given one blessing after another. 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.
2. HEAVEN MEETS
2.1 GOOD NEWS
2This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2.2 AN ANGEL VISITS MARY
3God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “ you are truly blessed! The Lord’ is with you.” Mary was confused by the angel’s word and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, “ Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, and his kingdom will never end.” Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!” the angle answered, “the Holy Spirit will came down to you, and God’s power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!” Mary said, “ I am the Lord’s servant! Let is happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
2.3 JOSEPH HAS A DREM
4An 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.”
5Joseph 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.
2.4 JESUS IS BORN
6About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders the names of all the people to be the names of all the people to be listed in record books. 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 traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was on room for them in the inn.
7That 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 angles had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay. When 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.
2.5 NO ORDINARY CHILD
9Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord. At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. God’s Spirit came to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God. “Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace, because you have kept your promise to me. With my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people, and foreign nations will also see this.” Jesus parents were surprised at what Simeon had said. The he blessed them and told Mary, “THIS CHILD WILL BE LIKE A WARNING SIGN. MANY PEOPLE WILL REJECT HIM, and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a danger. But al this will show what people are really thinking.”
2.6 WISE MEN COME TO VISIT JESUS
9When Jesus was born, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have came to worship him.” When King Herod heard about this, he was worried. Herod brought together the Law of Moses and asked them, “ Where will the Messiah be born?” they told him, ‘He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.” Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let e know. I want to go and worship him too.” Over the where the child was. The were thrilled and excited to see the star. When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.
2.7 THE ESCAPE AND SAFE RETURN
After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.” That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod died.” After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. The angel said, “ Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead.” Joseph got up and left with them for Israel, and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth.”
2.8 THE YOUNG TEACHER
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for Passover. And when Jesus was twelve year old, they all went there as usual for the celebration. After Passover his parents left, but they did not know that Jesus had stayed on in the city. They thought he was traveling with some other people, and they went a whole day before they started looking for him. When they could not find him with their relatives and friends, they went back to Jerusalem and started looking for him there. Three days later they found Jesus sitting in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was surprised at how much he knew and at the answers he gave. When his parents found him, they were amazed. His mother said, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried, and we have been searching for you!” Jesus answered, “ Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?” but they did not understand what he meant. Jesus went back to Nazareth with his parents and obeyed them. His mother kept on thinking about all that had happened. JESUS BECAME WISE, AND HE GREW STRONG. GOD WAS PLEASED WITH HIM AND SO WERE THE PEOPLE.
