Dear China
Friends,
THE FIRST
CHRISTMAS
“God sent the
angel Gabriel to a virgin who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was
engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was
Mary. The angel came to her and said,
‘Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and
is with you’…Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is pleased with you. Listen!
You will become pregnant. You
will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and people will call him
the Son of the most High.’”
“Mary said to
the angel, ‘How will this happen? I am a
virgin!’ The angel said to Mary, ‘The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover
you. The baby will be holy, He will be
called the Son of God….Mary said, ‘I am the servant girl of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!’” (Luke
1:26-28, 30-32a, 34,35,38).
“While Joseph
and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. She gave birth to her first son. There were no rooms left in the inn. So she wrapped the baby with cloths and laid
him in a box where the animals are fed.”
“That night,
some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around
them, and suddenly they became frightened. The angel said to them, ‘Don’t be
afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people. Today your Savior was born in David’s
town. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and
lying in a feed box.’”
“Then a very
large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel. All the angels were praising God,
saying: ‘Give glory to God in heaven,
and on earth let there be peace to the people who please God….’”
“So the
shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph. And the shepherds saw the baby lying in a
feeding box. Then they told what the
angels had said about this child.
Everyone was amazed when they heard what the shepherds said to
them.” (Luke 2:6-14,
16-18).
My daughter
Carolyn will be with me to celebrate Christmas again. Already I have seen all the Christmas light
decorations from our bus.
They really
outline the trees and houses. Some even
outline the the shepherds and the wisemen visiting the Christ child. I hope you and your family have a very Merry
Christmas!
Your
friend,
Tom
Atkinson
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