I will praise you,
LORD,
with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name,
O Most High.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you,
O LORD,
do not abandon those who search for you.
(Leoncita Ranch, West Texas)
Once we,
too,
were foolish and disobedient.
We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures.
Our lives were full of evil and envy,
and we hated each other.
But—
When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,
he saved us,
not because of the righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy.
He washed away our sins,
giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us
through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Because of his grace he made us right in his sight
and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
So don’t be misled,
my dear brothers and sisters.
Whatever is good and perfect
is a gift coming down to us from God our Father,
who created all the lights in the heavens.
He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word.
And we,
out of all creation,
became his prized possession.
(Leoncita Ranch, West Texas)
Therefore,
God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead,
he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
But when the right time came,
God sent his Son,
born of a woman,
subject to the law.
God sent him to buy freedom for us
who were slaves to the law,
so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
And because we are his children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
prompting us to call out,
“Abba, Father.”
Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.
And since you are his child,
God has made you his heir.
After seeing him,
the shepherds told everyone what had happened
and what the angel had said to them about this child.
All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
but Mary kept all these things in her heart
and thought about them often.
The shepherds went back to their flocks,
glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
It was just as the angel had told them.
Suddenly,
the angel was joined by a vast host of others—
the armies of heaven—
praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven,
the shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem!
Let’s see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.
And there was the baby,
lying in the manger.
And because Joseph was a descendant of King David,
he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea,
David’s ancient home.
He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
He took with him Mary, his fiancée,
who was now obviously pregnant.
And while they were there,
the time came for her baby to be born.
She gave birth to her first child, a son.
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby,
guarding their flocks of sheep.
Suddenly,
an angel of the Lord appeared among them,
and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.
They were terrified,
but the angel reassured them.
“Don’t be afraid!”
he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
The Savior—
yes,
the Messiah,
the Lord—
has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David!
And you will recognize him by this sign:
You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth,
lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:4-12
The angel replied,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the baby to be born will be holy,
and he will be called the Son of God.
What’s more,
your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!
People used to say she was barren,
but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.
For the word of God will never fail.”
Mary responded,
“I am the Lord’s servant.
May everything you have said about me come true.”
And then the angel left her.
