Thursday, November 28, 2013

ABC'S OF CHRISTMAS





A
IS FOR ABIDE

Jesus the Savior came to abide
To live in a world of sin.
God had a plan for this small child.
Our soul’s he came to win.



Who gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Titus 2:14





B
IS FOR BABY

He was born as a baby in Bethlehem town
In conditions so lowly it would cause us to frown,
This baby Jesus, the King of all kings
On the day of his birth the angels did sing.



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.
LUKE 2: 13-14







C
IS FOR CLOTH

A manger, sheep and cattle around,
A baby in swaddling clothes was found,
No spot or blemish could be seen in this lamb,
The infant Redeemer, The Savior, I AM.




And, lo, the angel of the Lord
came upon them, and the glory of the
Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto 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 Saviour,
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.
LUKE 2: 9-14





D
IS FOR DELIVERER

In Zechariah chapter nine and verse nine
The prophet foretold of the one so divine.
Born of a virgin to live among men,
The deliverer would come to save us from sin.



Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
he is just, and having salvation; lowly,
and riding upon an ass,
and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
ZECHARIAH 9:9

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
ROMANS 11:26









E
IS FOR ETERNAL

The Eternal God, the Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace is He.
He gave up his eternal glory
To redeem lost souls like me.



For thy Maker is thine husband;
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and thy Redeemer the
Holy One of Israel;
The God of the whole
earth shall he be called.
ISAIAH 54: 5






F
IS FOR FAITHFUL

He is faithful, true and holy
He is Lord, the one and only.
From out of the seed of Abraham
Was born the pure and holy Lamb.



And the angel of the LORD called unto
Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn,
saith the LORD, for because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
GENESIS 22:15-17









G
IS FOR GIFTS

The wise men brought their riches to Christ,
Three of the gifts of greatest price.
Symbols of His life and of His death,
 Mary just pondered this under her breath.



When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother,
and fell down, and worshipped him:
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
MATTHEW 2:10-11









H
IS FOR HEROD

Herod was king in the days of Christ’s birth,
The King of all Kings had threatened his turf.
He said, “I too shall worship this child,”
But deception in his heart was running wild.



And being warned of God in a dream
that they should not return to Herod,
 they departed into their own
country another way.
And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth
 to Joseph in a dream, saying,
Arise, and take the young
child and his mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee
word: for Herod will seek the
young child to destroy him.
MATTHEW 2:12-13








I
IS FOR INCARNATE

He was sent from the Father to show his love,
God incarnate from heaven above,
Fully God and fully man
He came to fulfill His eternal plan



And, behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne
of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.
LUKE 1:31-35







J
IS FOR JOY

At his birth the angels burst forth with joy.
They couldn't wait, this news to employ,
“He is come, He has come, born is our King!
He is Christ the Savior!” The angels did sing.



For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.
LUKE 2:11






K
IS FOR KING

Jesus was born King of the Jews.
The word was spread, "Good News! Good News!"
"A child is born and he will be King"
But he came to die, a world to redeem.



Saying, Where is he that is born
King of the Jews?
for we have seen his
star in the east,
and are come to worship him.
MATTHEW 2:2



L
IS FOR LINEAGE

Born of David's lineage, Jesus came forth,
The royal line was now set on course.
The genealogy was in line with the throne,
Our royal priest had come to atone.



So all the generations from
Abraham to David are
fourteen generations;
and from David until the
carrying away into Babylon
 are fourteen generations;
and from the carrying away
into Babylon unto Christ are
fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise:
When as his mother Mary
was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together,
she was found with child
of the Holy Ghost.
MATTHEW 1:17-18



M
IS FOR MOON

Christ the one, hung the moon in its place
Tonight he was born to the human race.
Mary looked down, fingers tiny, so small.
How could my baby be the Savior of all?



And the angel answered
and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy
thing which shall be
born of thee shall be
called the Son of God.
LUKE 1:35






N
IS FOR NEWS

As the shepherds were watching the sheep lying down,
“Good News! Good News!” was spread all around.
The angels proclaimed it; the birth of the King.
“Let's go to Bethlehem and see this great thing.”



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.
And it came to pass, as the angels
were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste,
and found Mary, and Joseph,
and the babe lying in a manger.
LUKE 2:13-16









O
IS FOR OBEDIENCE

He showed obedience in all that was said and done.
He was Mary's child, but God's only Son.
With his voice the universe was put into place,
And obediently he came to the human race.



Then said I, Lo, I come
(in the volume of the book
it is written of me,)
to do thy will, O God.
HEBREWS 10:7





P
IS FOR PROMISE

The promised King of Israel,
The Lord of righteousness,
He will be called, "Emmanuel,"
And reign in holiness.



Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his
name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is,
God with us.
Matthew 1:23



Q
IS FOR QUESTION

The women questioned in the days of old,
"Will I give birth to this King foretold?
The prophets said that he would come.
Will I get to be the blessed one?”



Therefore the Lord himself
 shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
ISAIAH 7:14






R
IS FOR REJOICES

Mary knew the child was a boy.
John the Baptist; even leaped for joy.
Rejoicing in the children that were to come,
They praised the Lord for what he had done.



And it came to pass, that,
when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice,
and said, Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me,
that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
For, lo, as soon as the voice
of thy salutation sounded in mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed:
for there shall be a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord.
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
LUKE 1:41-47








S
IS FOR SALUTATION

Mary, astonished, but the moment savored,
“What manner of salutation can this be?”
“Hail thou, that art highly favored,
The Lord will come and dwell within thee.”



And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him,
she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner
of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive
 in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JESUS.
LUKE 1:28-31








T
IS FOR TRAVELED

Joseph and Mary traveled a great way,
Following the decree Caesar proclaimed.
"Return to your homeland to be counted this day”
The Census would mark each person by name.



And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree
from Caesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea,
unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house
and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room
for them in the inn.
LUKE 2:1-7



U
 IS FOR UNAWARE

In Judah among the hills was found,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, an unaware town
Emmanuel was born on this holy ground,
The ruler of Israel, from heaven came down.



But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth
unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting.
MICAH 5:2




V
IS FOR VISABLE

The star was visible way up in the sky,
It was seen by the wisemen afar.
“Find him and bring me the news,” Herod cried,
"I will come worship the King where you are."



Then Herod, when he had privily
called the wise men, enquired of them
diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem,
and said, Go and search diligently
for the young child;
and when ye have found him,
bring me word again,
that I may come and worship him also.
And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth
to Joseph in a dream, saying,
Arise, and take the young child and his mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
MATTHEW 2: 7-9 & 13




W
IS FOR WISDOM

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature
And in favor with God and man.
Proclaimed to be the only Mediator,
Redemption through Christ, God's plan.





And he went down with them,
and came to Nazareth,
and was subject unto them:
but his mother kept all these
sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature,
and in favour with God and man.
LUKE 2:52




X
IS FOR EXTREMELY

The trip to Bethlehem was eXtremely hard,
As they traveled the rugged land.
With willing hearts, this couple did their part,
To fulfill the Father's plan.



And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea,
unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house
and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his
espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that
she should be delivered.
LUKE 2:3-6




Y
IS FOR YEARNING

Simeon was yearning for the Messiah's proclamation,
He would not see death until it was revealed.
His eyes now fixed upon the Lord's salvation;
The light to the Gentiles, and the glory Israel.



And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon;
and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost,
that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord's Christ
And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.
LUKE 2:25-32



Z
IS FOR ZEAL

A Son is given, a child is born,
The increase of his reign and peace; no end.
The zeal of the Lord of host will perform,
The Wonderful Counselor, our God did send.



Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it,
and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth
even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts
will perform this.
ISAIAH 9:7