Karl Sachtleben

Christmas The Incarnation Of Jesus Karl Sachtleben

Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This unfathomable doctrine-the truth that the eternal Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)-is at the very heart of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus, "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:6-7).

How did it happen that God became a human being? The coming of God into this world to be a man must figure among the greatest events in all human history. Yet in our over-Christmased culture we have trivialized the true Nativity Story in favor of images of Santa and gushings about the warmth of the true Christmas spirit. This four-week series is designed to help Christians reconnect with the real meaning of Christmas by considering the main characters of the Christmas story: Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Wise Men. Each was a disciple of Jesus - St. Mary, the first disciple, followed by each of the others who recognized this newborn as the Messiah and reordered their lives around Him as a result.