Newsletter

As most of you know by now, because I tell you every time Christmas comes around, Luke 2:11 is one of my favorite verses regardless of the season. This year I would like to share with you the verses that come before that verse. Luke 2:8-10 says, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
I once heard a preacher ask the question, after reading those verses, “Why do you think the first people to hear about Christ birth were a bunch of lowly shepherds?” Well, the Bible does not answer that question for us. Although the Bible is silent in regard to that question, I told the preacher after class that, in my opinion, it was because Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. When John the Baptist saw Christ coming to be baptized in John 1:29 he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” Jesus is often referred to as the Lamb throughout scripture, so what better people to be the first to hear about His birth than shepherds who take care of lambs.

Take some time this season to thank God for providing a worthy sacrifice for your sins. (Rev. 5:12) For without the sacrifice of that spotless Lamb, none of us could stand in the face of a Holy God.