Christmas Lesson 1 The Preparation
Memory verse
Matthew 1:21
Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
Do you know what the word save means? Suppose a little girl got caught in a burning building and a fireman got her out. We would say the fireman had saved her. Suppose a boy fell through the ice and a man got him out. We would say the man saved him from drowning.
There is something that everyone in the world needs saving from. The Bible calls it sin. That means everything that is naughty or wrong in any way. We can’t tell if someone has sinned but God can because he look s at our heart. He tells us in His word that no one has lived who has not sinned except Jesus.
So no one but Jesus can save us from our sins. The word from means to put a distance between. The little girl was saved from the burning building by the fireman, the little boy was saved from the broken ice by the man. Neither of them could save themselves they would have died without help.
Many names are used in the Bible for God’s son but the name we know best is Jesus which means Saviour.
Have you ever watched the birds building their nests and getting ready for the baby birds? God made them with the knowledge of how to do this, so there would be a home and someone to look after them and feed them when they arrive.
When a new baby is born into the world, the mother and father prepare for its coming. They buy things like clothes and bedding. Can you think of other things they buy? They love the baby and care for it. This is all part of God’s plan. Do you think God prepared for the coming of His own dear Son into the world? Of course in fact He had been preparing for it for thousands of years. Today we are learning something of this careful preparation.
All the Old Testament looks ahead to the coming of Jesus. It is such an important event that all our time is dated from Jesus’ coming. All through the Old Testament we find the wonderful story of God’s preparation for the coming of His Son. In the very beginning of the Bible God made the first promise of the coming of the Saviour. Adam and Eve had sinned, and they could not walk or talk with God anymore. They had chosen their own way not God’s way and had eaten the forbidden fruit. As part of their punishment they had to leave the beautiful garden.
Because of God’s love for them and the whole of the human race yet to be born, He made them a promise. He said, “I will send you a Saviour, who will some day destroy Satan and save you from his power.” Genesis 3:15.