Christmas

He Shall Come Into the World to Redeem His People

December 21-27

Scripture: Luke 2:14

Activity Idea: Act out the Nativity or Watch “The Christ Child”

One of our favorite things to do it to act out Luke 2 as a family. Read along and dress up and act out.

If that doesn’t work for you or your family watch “The Christ Child.”

Christmas Thought 2020:

Earlier this month as a part of the Light the World campaign we were invited to watch “The Christ Child” video depiction of the Saviors birth. As I watched the video I thought of the different ways that people in the nativity story came unto Christ. And what that means to me in my journey to come unto Christ.

The Shepherds: 

The Shepherds were lucky ones in my eyes. They were able to have an angel come to them and share the “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10) they were told about the Christ child, they were told about the sign about how to find him. A heavenly host of angels appeared to them saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2: 14)

They came with “haste” to the baby in the manger (Luke 2: 16)

Once they had seen Christ they “made known abroad” (Luke 2: 17) about Him.

There are a few lessons that I have learned from the shepherds.

• Sometimes if we are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing, we will be blessed with incredible knowledge of Christ and how and where to find Him in our lives. We will be directly led to where He is. We will see of His goodness.

• I love that they received revelation from heaven about where to go find Christ and they went right away. They didn’t wait or put it off. They made haste. I hope that in my quest to come unto Christ that I will act with haste to follow him.

• The shepherds were missionaries. They shared their knowledge of the Savior with all those they came in contact with. I feel like a part of coming unto Christ is sharing about Him and His gospel with others.

The Wise Men: 

In Matthew 2 we learn about the wise men who came from east of Jerusalem. They had studied the words of the prophets and watched and waited for the sign of the Saviors birth. When they saw the sign. They packed up and traveled what appears to be years to get to him because “they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:” (Matthew 2: 11) When they finally arrived to see Christ and he wasn’t a baby anymore. He was a young child. The sacrificed much of their life to search for and find the Christ. And they brought gifts “they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and afrankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2: 11) Not only were these gifts of great monetary value they were given as an act of worshiping Him. The gold was associated with royalty, showing that they recognized Him as King of Kings. The Frankincense was a part of ceremonial worship of deity, showing that they believe that He was God’s Only Begotten Son. Myrhh was used to prepare bodies for burial may have been to show that they knew that He would die for them and suffer for their sins. 

I’m truly humbled by these wise men as I have pondered what they have taught me in coming unto Christ I think that

• If I’m going to recognize Christ I’m going to have to study and learn about Him. I can most effectively do this through the scriptures and the words of the prophets. In order for me to Come unto Christ I’m going to need to take a significant amount of time learning about Him so when the time comes for me to follow Him, I will be able to recognize the signs and know where to go and what to do. How much time of your day are you dedicating to study and learn about Christ in the scriptures? I invite you to set aside time each day to do so.

• If I’m going to be like the wise men I’m going to need to practice patience. Unlike the shepherds who were able to meet the Savior on the day of His birth. These men had to wait and work for a long time before they were able to come and see for themselves.

• I also have pondered about the gifts that they brought to the Savior. What would I bring to the baby, child, or man that would pay the price of my soul and my sins? The man who would suffer in Calvary, and die for me on the cross? What could I possibly give to the man who would rise from the dead and make it possible for me to rise again? There is no gift that could be sufficient. I have pondered on what I want to give Christ this year I’ve decided that I would try giving the gift of loving those around me and withholding judgement. I feel like doing that would help me to come unto Christ.

There are many other people in the story of the nativity who are examples of what we can do to come unto Christ. Who are they and what do they teach you?

What do you learn from the other people in the life of Christ of coming unto Christ? Like the woman who reached out to touch the hem of the garment. Mary and Martha. Peter. 

What does the spirit tell you about how to Come Unto Christ.

Don’t become discouraged if you are like the wise men and you have to do a lot of the seeking and you don’t have an angel come or a super profound spiritual experience that leads you directly to Christ. President Nelson has taught that the “Lord loves effort.” 

As we work and come unto Christ step by step we will find ourselves changing and becoming more like Him and it will be natural to want to make it known abroad about his coming. There is great peace and life satisfaction as we come unto Him.

Activity Idea from the Church: Light the World

• Sing “Away in a Manger” (Children’s Songbook, 42–43).
• Read about Christmas in the Book of Mormon! Turn to page 26 to read “Samuel and the Star.” You can also read about it in the scriptures in Helaman 13 through 3 Nephi 1.
• You can help light the world, just like the star did when Jesus was born! Use page 19 to do an activity and sing a song to remember Jesus each day this week.