Dear friends, welcome to our insights for November 2008.
The story of Christmas and the birth of Jesus are well known, both to believers and non-believers. However, I wonder how many of us who call ourselves believers ever thought about the characters we meet in the story and the places that are mentioned before and after the Christmas Day.

Just to remind you, Advent, which is rooted in the Latin word 'advents' which means 'arrival', reminds us of the period and time of waiting for the arrival of Christmas, the coming of Jesus to earth when he was born in Bethlehem about two thousand years ago.

From the believer's point of view and Christian understanding, advent is the new year of the Christian church and the church season that leads to Christmas Day.

In this Insight of November, I would like to share with you the Biblical characters known as the seven Biblical pillars of Christmas. In other words, 'Who's Who in the Bible known as the seven pillars of Christmas?'

These seven Biblical characters are well known and they are selected to remind us that through them, God made his plan happen. These seven Biblical characters feature in the Christmas story and with the suggested readings, comments, ideas and prayers will help us to rediscover why Christmas is special.


'Who's Who in the seven pillars of Christmas?'

1. Abram-Abraham (Genesis 11-25, Exodus 2:24; Acts 7:2-8)
2. Micah
3. David
4. Ruth
5. Joseph
6. The Angel Gabriel
7. Mary

Pillar No 1. Abram-Abraham.
Matthew 1:1,2. A record of Jesus Christ the Son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob....

Thousands of years before Jesus was born, God chose someone to lead the way and begin the story. Abraham was a great man who did great things. He was patient and kind, a loving husband and a really caring father. However, the most important thing of all was that he always tried to do what God told him to do.

Abraham was faced with a big decision. He could stay where he was and settle down to live a calm and contended life, or he could move on and obey God in settling in a new place. He chose to go God's way, and because of that he became the father of many nations, having children who had more children. Abraham really is the man who was the start of the Jewish people, God's people.

When Jesus was born it was really important that the people realised that he was part of God's plan and related to the beginnings of the Jewish people. Jesus, and Joseph, his earthly father, was in the same family line going back to both King David and Abraham, with many other generations of people along the way.

As you prepare for Christmas this December, spend some time copying some thing you have discovered from Abraham's calling, character, faith, trust, generosity and friendship just to mentioned a few. Show that you really care about your family, (husband and wife), saying something good to them or doing something kind. Show that you are obedient to God by trying to change one of your bad habits. Show that you are open to God's guidance by asking him to help you with any decisions you have to make.

Think about what it means to have total faith in God. Remember that God made sure that Abraham was safe and successful, and Abraham made sure that he always listened to God and did what was best.

When we have to think about the future.
Help us to be like Abraham.
Help us to trust you.
When we have to care for others,
Help us to be like Abraham.



Pillar No 2. Micah was a well-known Prophet.

Micah 5:2 reads; 'But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will rule over all Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.'

He had to tell the truth.

It is tough to have to keep standing up for the truth despite what everyone else does and says. God sometimes calls people to speak his words and challenge the way people live, and Micah was one of those messengers - a prophet of God.

Micah was from a small town called Moresheth, which was about 40 Kilometres from Jerusalem. He spoke out and wrote down what God said to him, and was always calling the people of Israel to change, warning them that God was angry at their lives and behaviour. Through Micah, God was saying that he hated what the people were doing but loved them as people.

Micah was writing around 700 years before Jesus was born, and yet God told him that Bethlehem would be the special place where the birth of God's Son would happen.

Micah brought this amazing message to Bethlehem, a small, unimportant place, would become famous. From there someone would come who would be a special ruler. Indeed, the history of the person would have begun in ancient times - just like Jesus' did. It is wonderful that God had a messenger who was not afraid to speak God's words, and amazing that, 700 years afterwards, the words came true.

The people at the time of Micah were doing lots of wrong things that went against God's plan. Do you think that we are any worse than the people Micah was speaking to?

Think about people you know who speak out for the truth and do the right thing. What makes them do that?

As you spend this Advent time getting ready to meet Jesus this Christmas, think about what you could do for God in the future.

You sent your prophet to speak out.
Make us strong, God of love.
You sent your servant to tell people of your love.
Make us strong, God of love.



Pillar No 3 David

1 Samuel 16:7 reads. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

King David was a hero in the Old Testament, and by proving a link between David and Jesus, the writer Matthew is highlighting just how important Jesus was and is to the world. David was chosen to be king by God through his messenger Samuel, despite the greater strength and experience of his brothers. God showed through this that he looks at the inside of people, not just the outside. The bible tells us later that Jesus looked just like any ordinary man, yet inside he was very special indeed. People weren't attracted to Jesus because of how he looked, but because of what he said and did. This is also what happened as Samuel was trying to choose the new king.

Many generations before Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, King David did great things for God and led God's people. Joseph was related to him through an unbroken line of Bible heroes, ordinary people and even some bad people! However, David was also linked with the town of Bethlehem and the area of Judea, so he becomes even more important to the story that happened nearly a thousand years after he died.

Find out a little more about your ancestors, those who came before you. Do you know about your grandparents or great-grandparents? Do you have a family tree, which shows that came before you? Just like Jesus was related to David, there may have been really great people related to you in the past.

As you prepare for Christmas, think about how you judge people by their appearance. Do you sometimes get it wrong, or consider people to be less valuable because of how they look.

Make the effort to get to know someone you have judged by the outside.



Pillar No 4 Joseph.

Matthew the theologian tells us (Matt 1:20, 21). But he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save people from their sins.'

Joseph was really a good guy! He had to make lots of tough decisions, and he stuck with Mary when many would have left her and made her task even more difficult.

Joseph was a carpenter. He was probably a few years older than the young Mary, whom he had promised to marry. He had his own business making furniture, and was respected in his hometown of Nazareth. So it was a shock to him when he discovered that Mary was expecting a baby, and at first he decided to keep it quiet but not go ahead with the wedding.

After a dramatic visit by an angel in a dream Joseph changed his mind, and soon Mary and Joseph were married and travelling to Bethlehem to register as part of the big census, the count of all people, that was happening at that time.

Later Joseph had to find them somewhere to stay, he had to help his wife give birth to Jesus, and he had to obey another dream to keep Jesus safe by getting away from King Herod.

Joseph was related to King David, and was really important part of the story and part of God's plan. We don't know what he thought about it all, however, he was willing to be guided by God. He proved to be a loving husband and a good earthly father for Jesus.

And that's not bad!

To Be Continued...

Modicum