John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”   

Christmas Day is this coming Sunday when millions of people around the world will celebrate Christmas.  How many, including you and your family, will celebrate Christmas for the real meaning and right reason?  Many people celebrate Christmas with absolutely no understanding or comprehension of what the nativity means.  Jesus’ birth is the most pivotal and important even in the history of the world.  It is the time God became flesh and dwelt among us as God incarnate.  How would you answer the question, “Why the nativity and what does it really mean?”  The nativity means one thing – the birth of Jesus Christ.  Yes, the answer is very simple but the most profound and eternal event in human and eternal history.  The answer is found in the most Christmas verse in all of God’s Word.  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  The answer is also very personal.  Why the nativity?  For you and me which makes it personal as a free gift for which we can nothing to earn but is ours just for the asking.  We usually read the account of the first nativity, Christmas, Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the books of Matthew and Luke.  However, John gives us the message of Christmas in the Gospel of John and also in I John 4:9 “The love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 

The title of our Leadership Challenge this week, “Why the Nativity,” is not mine but is taken from one of the most powerful docudramas of the birth of Christ and the whole account of his birth available today.  It is new this year from the ministry of Dr. David Jeremiah and could well become a family tradition at Christmas time.  You can order the DVD or you can watch it on the web: www.DAVIDJEREMIAH.ORG or www.WHYTHENATIVITY.ORG.  It provides a front-row seat and almost life-like presence to the Nativity as you witness the Old Testament prophets foretelling the birth of Christ and the whole story of the birth of Christ as if you were there. 

HAVE A BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!