Community Baptist Church
December 21 2025

      • Psalm 24:3–4HCSB

      • Psalm 24:1–2HCSB

  • Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
  • Crown Him (Christmas)

      • Romans 1:1–7HCSB

  • Away In A Manger (Mueller)
  • Silent Night! Holy Night!
  • All Is Well

      • Matthew 1:18–25HCSB

  • Prior to the beginning of the 20th century Christmas was celebrated much differently. Lights were gradually introduced and gas and electricity became available. Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” was first published in 1843 and in his story he incorporated some of the Christmas practices that continue to this day - a special meal for Christmas, a day off from work, and the singing of carols. One tradition has fallen out of common use - the telling of ghost stories! In the latter decades of the 1800’s as families and friends gathered on Christmas Eve it was customary to tell well-known ghost stories. One writer collected a number of these stories and published them in 1891. The author writes,
    “Of course, as a mere matter of information it is quite unnecessary
    to mention the date at all. The experienced reader knows it was
    Christmas Eve, without my telling him. It always is Christmas Eve,
    in a ghost story,
    Christmas Eve is the ghosts' great gala night. On Christmas Eve
    they hold their annual [celebration]. On Christmas Eve everybody in
    Ghostland who IS anybody—or rather, speaking of ghosts, one should
    say, I suppose, every nobody who IS any nobody—comes out to show
    himself or herself, to see and to be seen, to promenade about and
    display their winding-sheets and grave-clothes to each other, to
    criticise one another's style, and sneer at one another's
    complexion.”
    Excerpt From
    Told After Supper
    Jerome K. Jerome
    This material may be protected by copyright.
    Maybe it’s a good thing we’ve lost that bit of culture?
    But, the first Christmas does involve some ‘otherworldly’ persons and issues.
    READ MATTHEW 1:18-25
    It is easy to hear this passage, as we typically do every year, and miss some of the most remarkable events and persons.
    Matthew 1:18 HCSB
    The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
    Matthew 1:20 HCSB
    But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.
    When we read about the Holy Spirit we often nod our head and wonder, exactly who is He, what does He do, and what in the world could the angel mean ‘pregnant by the Holy Spirit?’
    For both Mary and Joseph these words ‘the Holy Spirit’ were life-altering!
    As faithful Jews they would have been familiar with the passages in Genesis describing creation. In the creation account we read these words:
    Genesis 1:2 HCSB
    Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
    There is not a lot of information here, but those familiar with the creation stories would recognize that God and the Holy Spirit were at the very least partners in creation. Later in the account of Noah’s flood most Jews would be familiar with this statement:
    Genesis 6:3 HCSB
    And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.”
    Later in Isaiah, which was often quoted and used in many synangogues, we read these promises:
    Isaiah 11:1–2 HCSB
    Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him — a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
    and…
    Isaiah 42:1 HCSB
    “This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations.
    The role of the Holy Spirit in the Christmas event, featured in both Matthew and Luke reminds us of

    God’s Creative Power

    Something from nothing is not something we can understand. From creation till now something from nothing is evidence of God.
    Consider:
    An older couple, past the years of childbearing is promised achild who will be filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb;
    a young betrothed woman is chosen by God and informed she will be the mother of the Messiah;
    a man, betrothed to her, seeking to avoid conflict and controversy, is told that his betrothed is pregnant via the Holy Spirit.
    All these statements point to a supernatural power beyond anything humans can understand.
    It’s not just raw power, but power with a purpose, power that leads to a specific outcome:
    Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.””

    God’s Complete Self-Expression

    John the Baptist, a promised child in a humanly impossible situation, is filled with the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit. Luke describes it like this:
    Luke 1:35 HCSB
    The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
    The Greek word translated ‘overshadow’ is a deeply theological term that would have resonated with Mary as an observant Jewish woman. Jews were shaped by the exodus event described in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the OT. For the first year after being freed from slavery to the Epytians God’s people camped at Mt Sinai. Prior to moving on Moses was instructed to build a tabernacle, a large tent that would represent God’s presence among His people. As the tabernacle was completed we read Exodus 40:34 “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
    As Gabriel shared with Mary he used the same word to describe how God would make His presence known - The Most High will ‘overshadow’ you. Literally God would make Himself known in such a way that the child to be conceived would be nothing less than the fullness of God in the flesh. John the Beloved disciple describes the birth of Christ with similar language: John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
    As Joseph listens to the angels message he is assured that her pregnancy is not the result of human activity but rather the deliberate activity of God Himself.

    God’s Eternal Plan Completed

    Key to understanding the Holy Spirit’s role:
    Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.””
    This is not just a limited promise made only to Jews. Rather His birth as the angels proclaimed to the shepherds His birth Luke 2:10–11 “But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.”

    REFLECT AND RESPOND

      • Matthew 1:18HCSB

      • Genesis 1:2HCSB

      • Matthew 1:20HCSB

      • Isaiah 11:1–2HCSB

      • Genesis 6:3HCSB

      • Isaiah 42:1HCSB

      • Luke 1:35HCSB

      • Luke 2:10–11HCSB

      • Hebrews 1:3HCSB

Community Baptist Church
sschenewerk@gmail.com
5416799569
http://www.winstoncommunitybaptist.com
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