In Luke Chapter 2 we read the Birth story once again.  The scripture tells us that God himself came to us on earth in person.  Not a spirit, not just an idea or a trend, but the actual Emmanuel, God with us, coming in the flesh and living with us to teach and to save. We see these incredible truths: First Emmanuel: It is this God that came and that very fact as encountered in the scriptures, not only in the Christmas story but throughout the Bible, should evoke in you and me the wonder of all the glory that we’ll ever need to celebrate, not only Christmas, but to have joy unspeakable, full of glory every day of our lives.

The second amazing truth is that God became man.  Now, God made many appearances to man in the Bible, but up until this point God never came as one of us, as Luke 1:31 states: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”   The angel made it very clear that Mary would give birth in the natural human way to a human baby.  Fully God.  Fully human.  He was sinless although tempted just as we were, but remained pure.  He fulfilled the scriptures by going to the cross for our salvation.  If you don’t know Jesus Christ as saviour and Lord, if you haven’t believed in Him and accepted what He did for us on the cross, then you are still there, bowed at the manger scene, looking at the animals, looking at the little baby…. hoping the stars come out…..  We need salvation.  That’s why Jesus came.  That’s why we have Christmas.  This was GOD Himself, come down to earth to be born.  To save.