Stories
Trading Places
Feeling Better?
Praying Hard
REAL Power
Impossible!
Born Twice
God Speaks
I Didn't Do It!
The First Easter
Jesus Loves You
What's a Berean?

Trading Places

Ever wished you lived somewhere else?  I guess we all have at one time or another.  But where we live doesn't matter nearly as much as something else:  who we are.  And in this story, you'll find out who you are.

"Do you know where Jesus was born? He was born in a stable."

"Did you know that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem and that was the first Christmas?"

"When Mary & Joseph went to Bethlehem, they had a baby.  This was a special baby because He was God's Son.  He grew up to do miracles.  He helped everybody and He loved everybody."

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. 

He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 

He took with him Mary, his fiancé, who was obviously pregnant by this time. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.  (Luke 2:1-7, NLT)

The kids are right - Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a stable.  And that's the reason we celebrate Christmas.  

In some churches, a church service is called a "Mass."  And the "Christ Mass" is a special church service to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  That's where we get our word "Christmas," a day we set aside to honor the birth of Jesus Christ.

One of the things I like about this story is that it shows that God loves us no matter what it might look like around us.  Jesus was born in a stable, which is a place where animals are kept.  He had to sleep in a manger, which is the box where you put the food for animals.  

God loved Jesus, his only Son, and He told Jesus this many times.  

For instance, when Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' " (Matthew 3:17, NIV). 

Wouldn't you think if God loved Jesus so much, He would have given Him a better place to be born? at least a nice clean bed to sleep in?

But instead, Jesus came into the world just like many of the rest of us.  Not in a palace, but in a very ordinary place.  

So don't think that if you don't live in a palace that God doesn't love you as much as He loves other people.    God loves you no matter what it might look like where you live.  

Where you live doesn't make you special to God.  You're special to Him because He created you.  He made you different than anyone else around you, and different than anyone else who has ever been born.  Your eyes are different, your hair is different, even your fingerprints are different.

The Bible says that God knew each one of us before we're even born.  

God knew YOU before you were born, too, and has a purpose for YOUR life!

If you don't feel very special, or wonder if God really loves you, remember where Jesus was born.  And then remember that He loves you very much, too.

P.S. You can still visit Bethlehem today in the country of Israel.  Although the stable where he was born has been gone for a long time (it would be 2,000 years old!), a church was built on the spot where they believe Jesus was born. 

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