Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Story - The First Christmas

The First Christmas




Many years ago...

The angel, Gabriel was sent from God, to visit
a young maiden, whose name was Mary. And
the angel appeared to her, saying,


"Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women."

the Annunciation

Mary did not understand these words, and wondered
what the angel meant. And the angel said to her,

"Fear not, Mary,
for thou hast found favour with God.
And behold, thou shalt give birth to a son,
and shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest;
and of His kingdom there shall be no end."
And in those days, a law was decreed, whereby
all the world was to be taxed, and everyone
had to return to their own city to be counted.
Mary was soon going to have a baby, but she
had to go with her husband, Joseph, to be taxed
in their city, called Bethlehem. It was a very
long journey.

Mary and Joseph

Mary and Joseph were very tired; but when
they arrived, they found that there was no
room for them at the inn. The innkeeper
could see that Mary was pregnant, and took
pity, and offered his stable to them. Mary
and Joseph had no other choice, so they
graciously accepted the innkeeper's offer,
and made their bed amidst all the animals
in the stable.

And so it happened in the stable that night,
exactly as the angel had said: Mary gave birth
to her firstborn son, and named Him *Jesus*.
She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and
laid Him in a manger.

manger in light

And in that same country, there were shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night. And the angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord
shone all around them; and they were very
frightened. And the angel said to them,
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David,
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men."

angels angels

And when the angels were gone from them into
heaven, the shepherds said to one another:
"Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing
which the Lord hath made known to us." And
they came quickly, and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby Jesus lying in a manger.

Jesus in manger

And when the shepherds saw it, they told everyone
they met, what the angel had told them concerning
this. And everyone that heard it wondered at those
things which the shepherds had said. Then the
shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising
God for all the things that they had heard and seen.

Peace on Earth stable scene

2 comments:

kevin said...

Nyc dear
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kevin said...

Nyc dear
http://www.times2fun.blogspot.com
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