Luke 2:1-20, shares the birth of Jesus Christ, the announcement made to the shepherds, and their leaving the sheep to go see the Messiah. Everything happened according to the will of the Lord. The sermons we preached for the first three weeks of the advent season, will be presented within this blog. Christmas is about the gift of life that is available to all who accept Jesus Christ into their lives. When we make this decision there are three things we have to keep in mind. 

First we have to put forth the effort to do as the Lord instructs us. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, as ordered by the Roman Emperor. This was the worst time for them to make this trip, because Mary was nearing the end of her pregnancy. But, I believe the Lord placed it upon their hearts to make this trip, so they had to put forth the effort to travel at the most inconvenient time for them. When they arrived at Bethlehem there were no rooms available, so they ended up in the stall, with the animals. Mary went into labor, and Jesus was born in a dark and smelly place where the animals were kept. Joseph cleans out a feeding trough, and places baby Jesus in it. The place of His birth is showing the current state of the world. Sin had turned the world into a dark and smelly place. A place where everyone is out for themselves, and the needs of others are of no importance. What is the Lord’s purpose for allowing the Son of God to be born in these conditions? 

The shepherds were in the field the night Jesus was born, and an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord brightens the dark field, and makes the announcement the Messiah has been born in Bethlehem. Then a multitude of Heavenly hosts came, and began to praise God, right before their eyes, to let them know this is Good News.  They thought we don’t deserve to be the ones to receive this good news. It doesn’t matter what we think,  we are to answer the call of God. 

These shepherds have to make the decision on what they were to do next. Why, because their job is to watch over the sheep. However, God was shaking things up for them, and letting them know doing as God instructs is the most important thing. When we step out on faith, we are letting the Lord know we are placing everything into His hands. This is exactly what these shepherds did, they stepped out on faith and the Lord watched over the sheep. When the Shepard found Jesus laying in the manger, they shared with all who would listen about what happened to them in the field. Mary treasured all these words in her heart, and she now was able to understand why they were in the stall. I know Mary started to glorify the Lord, for what has transpired. Continue to walk in your blessings!