You know the Christmas story, don’t you?
For those who are familiar with the New Testament and the four gospels, you know that Luke gives us the most complete narrative of the Christmas story. Matthew does a fine job filling in a few more details, but if you want to know where all of those famous Christmas carols and countless Christmas card greetings come from, you’ll find most of them right here in Luke’s handy-dandy guide to Christmas 101.
Actually, in the larger scheme of things, Luke gives the Christmas story less than three chapters in his gospel writings, which cover a total of twenty-four chapters. Throw in his twenty-eight chapters of Acts and all in all, the advent story of Jesus is quite small in comparison to the larger Jesus story Luke tells. But as small as the Christmas story is in relationship to the rest of the bigger story, lucky us that we can get the facts from one who has carefully investigated the details…one unique man, Luke, a doctor, who must have known how important it was going to be for those of us who’ve never met the historical Jesus in person. So, here we go. 30 days to the incarnation. Let’s enjoy the journey with Luke’s good news message to the world. And it all begins with Christmas!
A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional
November 26th – Day One. An Introduction.
November 27th – Day Two. My Good Friend Luke. (Luke 1: 1-4)
November 28th – Day Three. When God Wants to Get Our Attention. (Luke 1: 5-12)
November 29th – Day Four. A Crisis of Belief. (Luke 1: 13-18)
November 30th – Day Five. Our Unfortunate Condition. (Luke 1: 19-25)
December 1st – Day Six. A Surprising Visit. (Luke 1: 26-27)
December 2nd – Day Seven. Beautiful Inside and Out. Who Me? (Luke 1: 28)
December 3rd – Day Eight. Thoroughly Shaken. (Luke 1: 29)
December 4th – Day Nine. A Surprise Party from God. (Luke 1: 30-31)
December 5th – Day Ten. What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? (Luke 1: 32-33)
December 6th – Day Eleven. The Immaculate Conception. (Luke 1: 34-35)
December 7th – Day Twelve. Breaking Barrenness. (Luke 1: 36)
December 8th – Day Thirteen. Nothing is Impossible with God. (Luke 1: 37)
December 9th – Day Fourteen. Yahweh: His Way or Mine? (Luke 1: 38)
December 10th – Day Fifteen. My Response Time to God. (Luke 1: 39)
December 11th-– Day Sixteen Christmas: A Holy Spirit In-Breaking. (Luke 1: 40-41)
December 12th – Day Seventeen. The First Christmas Carol. (Luke 1: 42)
December 13th – Day Eighteen. God’s Election Process. (Luke 1: 43)
December 14th – Day Nineteen. Skipping for Sheer Joy. (Luke 1: 44)
December 15th – Day Twenty. What is Faith? (Luke 1: 45)
December 16th – Day Twenty-One. Emotional Outbursts for Jesus! (Luke 1: 46-47)
December 17th – Day Twenty-Two. Cause and Effect. (Luke 1: 48-49)
December 18th – Day Twenty-Three. Our God of Great Contrast. (Luke 1: 50-51)
December 19th – Day Twenty-Four. The Three Great Reversals. (Luke 1: 52-53)
December 20th – Day Twenty-Five. Christmas: God’s Big Redemption Story Continues. (Luke 1: 54-56)
December 21st – Day Twenty-Six. Troubled Times. (Luke 2: 1-2)
December 22nd – Day Twenty-Seven. God’s Man: Joseph. (Luke 2: 3-4)
December 23rd – Day Twenty-Eight. Leaving and Cleaving. (Luke 2: 5)
December 24th – Day Twenty-Nine. A Very Inconvenient Time. (Luke 2: 6)
December 25th – Day Thirty. Christmas Day, 0 AD. (Luke 2: 7-20)
You might also want to check out our other popular Advent series:
Christmas through the Eyes of the Heart Join us for this 14-session blog series which combines the reading of the Christmas story, as found in God’s Word, with seeing, using fourteen pieces of beautiful artwork that can bring your imagination to life. Check it out here.
Joy Comes In The Morning. As you celebrate the Advent/Christmas season, enjoy one of our personal favorites, a Christmas-time short story (10 sessions) about the time when Santa Claus, a man who takes his work very seriously, decides to pack it all in and skip Christmas altogether! I guess even ole St. Nick can use a good reminder of what Christmas is all about!
Let It Be. Fiat Mihi. Over the years, this post has become our most popular blog. Step into the powerful message of Mary, the mother of Jesus, her Fiat Mihi.
Handel’s Messiah. Do you know the story behind this great Christmas-time musical masterpiece? Read about the amazing work of God as George Frederic Handel composed and presented his new composition in 1742.
God Rest Ye Merry. See how one little comma can make a whole lot of difference in what we’re actually trying to convey to others at Christmas time.
Joseph, The Stone-Crafter’s Christmas-Time Prayer. Tradition says that Joseph of Nazareth was a carpenter by trade, but most likely, the ‘earthly father’ of Jesus, and his young son, were skilled craftsmen in stone.
May you have a blessed Advent and Christmas season!
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