This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.

His mother,

Mary,

was engaged to be married to Joseph.

But before the marriage took place,

while she was still a virgin,

she became pregnant 

through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Joseph,

to whom she was engaged,

was a righteous man 

and did not want to disgrace her publicly,

so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this,

an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

“Joseph,

son of David,”

the angel said,

“do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 1:18-20

God sent a man,

John the Baptist,

to tell about the light

so that everyone might believe

because of his testimony.

John himself was not the light;

he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

The one who is the true light,

who gives light to everyone,

was coming into the world.

John 1:6-9

In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him.

John 1:1-3

“And you,

my little son,

will be called

the prophet of the Most High,

because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

You will tell his people how to find salvation

through forgiveness of their sins.

Because of God’s tender mercy,

the morning light from heaven

is about to break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Luke 1:76-79

Oh,

how great are God’s riches

and wisdom

and knowledge!

How impossible it is for us to understand

his decisions and his ways!

Romans 11:33

“Praise the Lord,

the God of Israel,

because he has visited and redeemed his people.

He has sent us a mighty Savior

from the royal line of his servant David,

just as he promised

through his holy prophets long ago.”

Luke 2:68-70

Oh,

how my soul praises the Lord.

How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

For the Mighty One is holy,

and he has done great things for me.

He shows mercy from generation to generation

to all who fear him.

Luke 1:46-47, 49-50

Moses was 120 years old when he died,

yet his eyesight was clear,

and he was as strong as ever.

Deuteronomy 34:7

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,”

the angel told her, 

“for you have found favor with God!

You will conceive

and give birth to a son,

and you will name him Jesus.”

“So the baby to be born will be holy,

and he will be called the Son of God.”

Mary responded,

“I am the Lord’s servant.

May everything you have said about me 

come true.”

Luke 1:30-31, 35, 38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,

a village in Galilee,

to a virgin named Mary.

She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph,

a descendant of King David.

Gabriel appeared to her and said,

“Greetings,

favored woman!

The Lord is with you!”

Luke 1:26-28