Wednesday – History

Reading – Esther 9-10

Highlight Verse:

“He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus was born at a time when there was great sorrow in the land.

Israel was occupied by Rome.

Poverty and oppression were the norm.

To make things worse, Caesar declared a census that required people to move to their ancestral lands during the taking of the census.

In the midst of all that stress and hardship, Jesus was born.

The festival of Purim celebrates how God saved Israel from her enemies.

Jesus, would save far more than just Israel.

I just spent three Christmas Eve services explaining the gift of Jesus coming as a baby to 4- and 5-year-old kids.

For the most part they didn’t really get it.

But they understood that Jesus coming as a baby was the reason behind the biggest celebration of the year.

That’s a great reason to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Simply put, Jesus came to rescue any who would reach out to Him for rescue.

It is the best cause for celebration ever.

In what ways do you bring the real reason for the season into your Christmas celebrations?
Are there more ways you can think about to highlight the Gospel aspects of Christmas?