The Christmas Story

I am a part of a group called central (well i used to be until i went away to school). It is the college group at my home church: Graceland Baptist Church. Tonight we talked about the Christmas story. However, it was not the normal, "Mary and Joseph traveled from afar for a census; There was no room in the Inn; Jesus was born in a manger; Wise men and shepherds came to visit," story. We broke up into four groups and discussed four aspects of the story, based in Luke, to find a common thread. The four aspects were Zachariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the birth of Jesus.

Zachariah and Elizabeth. Zachariah was a priest and Elizabeth was his wife. The were told by an angel of the Lord that they would give birth to the one who would lead the way for Jesus. Now Zachariah did not believe; consequently the Angel made him mute until the Baby was birthed. He did not believe because Elizabeth and he were advanced in years, and she was beyond the point of giving birth. nonetheless she gave birth to the one that would lead the way for the Messiah.

Mary and Joseph. Mary was a virgin(she had never had sex). She was young and engaged to Joseph. An angel of the Lord appeared to her to tell her she was going to give birth to Jesus. Firstly, this is amazing because she had the opportunity to caring God inside of her. Secondly, this is amazing because she had never had sex. this is not, however, what Joseph thought. To avoid embarrassment he was going to divorce her quietly. An angel of the Lord came to Joseph telling him not do this because his soon to be wife was carrying God and that she had done nothing wrong. So, they stayed together and she gave birth to Jesus.

The Shepherds. They were out with their flocks and a whole host of Angels came to them telling them that Jesus was born and to go check it out. They dropped what they were doing and ran to see this messiah.

The Birth of Jesus. Well...it was just that. He was born

now this sound like what described earlier, and thus far it is. But there is more to these things than just this, so much more. Before i go any further i will go ahead and tell you the common thread because it is extremely important. All of these people were common, just like you and me. They were no better or worse than anyone else. They were not royalty. The were common.

It is this fact that makes them amazing. I was noticing as we were discussing this that the people involved in his birth directly reflected his ministry. Jesus' target was the common people not the royalty. Another thing i noticed was that the shepherds reflect the disciples. When the Angels came to the shepherds, the shepherds left their sheep to go see Jesus. When Jesus called the disciples, he called them to leave their lives behind to follow him.

Jesus, while in heaven, was directly face to face with the father. They were perfectly satisfied, they need nothing else. But, Jesus turned away. He turned away to come down to earth. He loves us so much that he left his father and their total satisfaction so that we could one day be with him and his father for eternity.

That is the story of Christmas and it seems that it is so often left out of the story. Yes, God sent his son in the form of a babe. We forget Why he did this. It is that Why that makes Christmas so amazing.

My First Post

I have been back home now for two days after a short to Chicago. My first semester in college is finished and it is wonderful to be back home. My friends and I have hung out a bit and being with them again is absolutely amazing. It is however, not without its problems. First, i feel as if, once i returned, i have done nothing but been running around from one thing to the next with no time for my thoughts or reflection on my life. Secondly, there is this girl, not at college, but here, at home. She is amazing but I am in college in Texas and I tried the whole long distance thing once, and well, it didn't work. I fear that because of this i have destroyed even my friendship with her.

Change. Everyone I know here has changed, they are all different, some for the worse and some for the better. Many of the people who i have thought were good people have taken a turn for the horrible. My old high school is getting better and worse. Better, because they have new, and good, teachers. They have many new ad nice things to help with the education, things that i never had while i was there. Worse, because of the students there. Student wise, i believe our school is becoming less Christian all the time. Many of them have no respect for anyone, or anything. I have heard from several people that about every other week the men's, or should i say boy's, restroom is closed because someone is drawing male genitals all over the stalls. Every other week this happens. I love being home with them but it is so weird.

College. wow, college is wonderful. The friends i have made are absolutely amazing. The classes i have taken, the things i do, it is all amazing. It is truly and excellent time. I feel, that of everyone i am close to from my graduating class, that I of all people have not changed. Not only do I feel this, but I have been told this on several occasions. I am not sure whether or not it is a good thing. I see all, or most, of my friends have changed. They do things they never did before, they like things they never did before. I do and like the same things. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?

Well this is my first post on here and i think that pretty much sums up my life as of right now, i will keep you posted though.