Why We Celebrate Christmas
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
—Matthew 1:23
It really is an amazing thing to think about the mystery of the Incarnation—that mysterious moment when God became a man.
Jesus Christ—God the Son—was born in a manger. He went from the throne of heaven to a feeding trough. He went from the presence of angels to a cave filled with animals. He who is larger than the universe became an embryo. He who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young virgin.
Some people have a hard time believing in the Virgin Birth. If you believe the Bible, you need to believe in the Virgin Birth. The Bible teaches that God Almighty was supernaturally conceived in the womb of a virgin (see Matthew 1:23).
This makes sense if you think about it. If God had chosen to, He could have sent Jesus to this earth as a fully grown, yet sinless human being. A shaft of light could have come out from heaven with Jesus descending to the ground as an adult man.
But if Jesus came to us in that way, who could have related to Him as a person, as a part of the human race? God also could have had Jesus come into the world through two ordinary human beings—but still with a divine nature. But then most of us would have doubted His divinity. That's why the Incarnation makes sense.
The event of the Incarnation is the reason for the Christmas season. Christmas is the opportunity to worship God, to bow down and pay homage to Him for humbling Himself and appearing in human form (see Philippians 2:6-9). That stands as the true mystery of the Incarnation—and the reason we celebrate Christmas.
Today, on the A New Beginning radio broadcast, I shared a reason why you should support Harvest: because you believe Matthew 28:19. That is the Great Commission, where the Lord told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. It also includes making disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things that the Lord has commanded. That is exactly what Harvest Ministries does every day.
As 2010 comes to a close and you consider your year-end giving plans, can I invite you to include Harvest in those plans? The last few days of the year are a critical time, as we seek to finish the year in the black financially—with all of our ministry expenses from this year met. Your year-end gift, no matter the size, will help to meet this last challenge of 2010.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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SPECIAL OFFER
Take the message of Christmas to the world!
Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship by Chris Tomlin contains some of the greatest Christmas music you will experience. You will hear many of the favorite hymns Christmas like, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Joy to the World," "O, Holy Night," along with some original compositions that Chris has put together, making this one of the best Christmas projects ever.
You can have your own copy of Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship in appreciation for your gift to Harvest Ministries this month.