Highlight The flight of Joseph and Mary to Egypt fulfills the Old Testament prophecy from Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” No doubt religious scholars had wondered how the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but ‘come out’ of Egypt. Here we see God’s long-laid redemptive plans finally unfolding. What a harrowing beginning to Jesus’ story on Earth.  Read More

Welcome Welcome to Week 4 of the 2023 Christmas with Compassion Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here. In this plan, we will take the time to study a few of the Old Testament messianic prophecies, journey through the Christmas story found in the Gospels, and the spiritual description of Jesus’ birth found in Revelation.  Read More

Highlight Here we see God reveal Himself not just through supernatural, but natural means. These wise men are also called Magi or ‘royal astrologers’. They’re men of science and of faith who, in their studies of the constellations, notice an anomaly. A star out of place that behaves unlike any they’ve seen before. They start to put the puzzle pieces together in the ancient texts and it leads them to Jerusalem where they inadvertently launch a conflict between the political and religious leaders of the day and Jesus that will follow him the rest of his life and eventually lead to his crucifixion. Again, beginning a chain of events that will continue to fulfill every prophecy in the Scriptures.  Read More

Highlight We’re starting to catch a theme here. God comes to us in the most vulnerable form and chooses to exalt the humble by revealing Himself to the most vulnerable of His people first. Social outcasts, teenagers, the poor, the elderly, widows. Here we meet Simeon and Anna, both gifted by God with the presence and discernment of the Holy Spirit before He’s sent as a helper to all who believe in Jesus. They already believe. They’ve been waiting and watching for God to fulfill the ancient prophecies.  Read More

Highlight The fact that the shepherds are with their flocks in the field overnight gives us a clue about the timing of Jesus’ birth. The season for pasturing in open fields would have been after passover in April through early autumn. The shepherds would likely have been staying for days or weeks in the fields in huts or tents to protect their flocks from predators. At night they would have made a plan to take turns keeping watch. It wasn’t an easy job. Remember that King David was once a shepherd and recounts his time in the fields fighting lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Shepherds would have been sturdy, rugged, brave men. Yet no encounter with fearsome beasts could have prepared them for what they would see that night.  Read More

Highlight Here we see the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah continue to be fulfilled (Micah 5:2). Without any intentional maneuvering of Joseph and Mary a governmental decree moves them from their hometown of Nazareth to Bethlehem, the town of David from whose line they descend. Perhaps they were already putting the pieces together and a trip to Bethlehem seemed like a logical next step, but surely they weren’t expecting the stable…or the manger.  Read More