November 25th

Daily Readings

Genesis 3:15

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Matthew 1:20

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”

Galatians 4:4

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf.

Matthew 2:1

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.

Luke 2:4-6

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

(Readings taken from Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com New Living Translation)

Unto us a Child is Born

An unexpected thing happened yesterday.

Sitting in the middle of my favourite café with my unbelieving friend, surrounded by hungry customers, and noisy blenders, we opened the first three chapters of Genesis. Back to the very beginning. It may seem like a strange place to direct a conversation about Jesus: who he was and what he came to do. And yet – it was perfectly simple.

Sin entered the world.

Through the selfish, ungrateful choices of Adam and Eve, archetypes of humanity, sin arrived.

Eve, convinced by the deception of her enemy, chose sin.

And in that wretched moment, she, and we, and all people were separated from God.

Her offspring, and my offspring each living in hostility.

But the audacious and extravagant love of our Father, the same Father who dressed Adam and Eve’s naked bodies in animal hides to minimize their shame, enacts a plan. A plan that redeemed not just women – but all of humanity. What once was broken by selfishness and ingratitude is exchanged for grace in the act of childbirth.

He whispered His plan into the hearts of women and men who boldly prophecied of the coming Saviour for hundreds of years.

A plan to restore.

Repair.

Redeem.

We start Advent in anticipation of a tiny babe.

A babe who is prophesied to break our curse for eternity.