A Moment of Hope

by David Chadwick Have you ever experienced something in your life that you had to wait a long time to see realized? Do you have any testimonies in your life of waiting for the Lord to answer a prayer and finally seeing it come to pass? This week's character at the cradle is Anna. She waited a long time to see the promise of her coming Messiah fulfilled, and she eventually saw it happen. Anna SAW...

by David Chadwick This week we are looking at Anna, a beautiful figure in the early days of Jesus's life. At 84 years old, this woman shows us a real-life example of what happens when someone abides in Christ. Jesus says in John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." There is no replacemen...

by David Chadwick Anna is this week's character at the cradle. Her story is found alongside Simeon's story in the temple where Mary and Joseph took Jesus to present him to the Lord at their purification ceremony. Anna lost her husband after being married seven years and is described by Luke as a prophetess and a widow at 84 years of age. She did not depart from the temple, seeking God with all her...

by David Chadwick Anna, a prophetess, is this week's character at the cradle. The name Anna means "grace" and "favor." True to her name's meaning, Anna was a beautiful display of the grace that would fully be made known to the world through the life of Jesus. Anna was also the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, one of the 12 tribes of Israel.   Do you think Dr. Luke interviewed Anna pers...

by David Chadwick Following Simeon, our next character at the cradle is Anna. Join me in Luke 2:36-38. In just three simple verses, we will learn so much about the life of Anna. Described in the Bible as a "prophetess," Anna had a spiritual gift from God to be able to rightly hear the heart of God and declare it accordingly for particular situations, sometimes even for future situations. In this c...

by David Chadwick Luke 2:33-35 wraps up this week's character at the cradle named Simeon, a righteous and devout man who knew of the Christ child's arrival through the Holy Spirit's revelation. He just prophesied over Jesus and knew that God had just fulfilled a promise he had made to him to let him see the salvation of the Lord through the Messiah before he passed away. Mary and Joseph marveled a...

by David Chadwick We are following the story of Simeon. Mary and Joseph were in the temple with Jesus, awaiting his purification according to the Law of Moses. Simeon had just realized that Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of all of the prophecies. Let's keep reading to see what happens with this character at the cradle whose life intersects with the Son of God. As we learned yesterday, Sime...

by David Chadwick The birth of Jesus changed the course of history forever. God, in flesh, came to mankind in the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen. Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem for Jesus's purification ceremony, a cultural practice in the Jewish faith where the parents presented their child to the Lord. They brought a humble sacrifice of two turtledoves and two young pigeon...

by David Chadwick There are so many characters whose lives purposefully and divinely intersect at the cradle with the main character we know as Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We have looked at Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph. Last week, we saw how all of these characters' lives were leading up to, anticipating, and preparing for the birth of Jesus. From there, we looked at the...

by David Chadwick This week, we continue to look at the characters at the cradle. These are the people whose lives divinely intersected with the incarnation of Jesus. Even from the womb, Zechariah and Elizabeth's lives were impacted by the miraculous conception of this soon-coming King of kings. So, what is currently happening in the story? And what character is at the cradle this week? His name i...

by David Chadwick Philippians 2:10-11 says, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." There is power in the name of Jesus. Wonder-working power. Even at conception, his name caused John to leap in his mother's womb and Elizabeth to be filled with the Spirit. His...

by David Chadwick Did you know Jesus is alive? Not just in the Christmas story, but today and forevermore! As we continue to study the birth of Jesus, the most compelling reality of the Christmas story is that the same wonder and glory that came with his birth is still available to us today. His birth unlocked an eternal promise. Jesus's birth impacted all of history and all of eternity. The first...

by David Chadwick Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to be registered for taxes. While there, Jesus was born in a smelly manger instead of a nice inn. The God of all creation chose to enter the world in the most humble of states. Jesus is the main character at the cradle. His birth was the catalyst to draw every other character to the cradle. So what happens next in the story? Let's look at Luk...

by David Chadwick When Caesar Augustus gave a decree mandating everyone to be registered for taxes, Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem began. Remember as you read the Christmas story that there was not one aspect that was outside of God's control or plan. In fact, every moment was a part of his plan. The twists and turns, the ups and downs – all of them point to our great need for redemption t...

by David Chadwick This week, we are going to look specifically at the birth of Jesus and the important role that the shepherds and angels played as characters at the cradle. However, before we look at some more of these secondary characters, we must first STOP and look at the main character. Jesus is the main event. He IS the ultimate character at the cradle, around whom God's entire story is writ...

by David Chadwick Zechariah concluded his prophecy in verse 79 by proclaiming that John the Baptist would "give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." John the Baptist would proclaim a message that would give light to the shadow of death, which is often people's greatest fear. But this light would also guide our feet to the way of p...

by David Chadwick Zechariah's prophecy gives strong gospel implications to the importance and need for repentance. Luke 1:77-78 says that John, in preparing the way for the Lord, would "give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high…" Zechariah knew that John's life's mission would...

by David Chadwick The Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are present throughout the biblical narrative. Much like in Genesis 1, where the Trinity is present during creation, the same holds true with these characters at the cradle. The Bible tells us that many of these characters at the cradle were specifically marked with the Holy Spirit during their encounters with the Christ child. The Spir...

by David Chadwick We are looking at the characters at the cradle, the people who found their lives intersecting with the life of Jesus, with divine precision. Each person carried a unique role and responsibility and stewarded his or her place in history with great purpose. Zechariah was one of those characters. In spite of his initial unbelief, which left him deaf and mute for a season, he allowed...

by David Chadwick This week, we cover Zechariah's prophecy found in Luke 1:67-79. This passage is powerful and full of revelation and insight. If you remember where we have been, Zechariah's words come on the heels of Elizabeth's prophetic exclamation in verse 42, Mary's song of praise in verses 46-56, and the birth of John in verses 57-66. Zechariah is coming off his nine months of silence. Becau...

by David Chadwick "And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, 'What then will this child be?' For the hand of the Lord was with him." Luke 1:65-66. When Zechariah's voice returned, he started blessing God for all that had happened to him and Elizabeth. He was incred...

by David Chadwick When Zechariah wrote down, "His name is John," for all to see and read, he obeyed in specificity all the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. At that moment, something significant happened. Let's take a look. "And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God" (Luke 1:64). Immediately. What a powerful word! Not gradual, not slowly… immed...

by David Chadwick The ultimate name of the Christmas story is born into a cradle. His name is Jesus. But there are many characters at the cradle who play significant roles in highlighting the Savior of the world. One, in particular, is the forerunner to the message of Jesus. His name is John. Luke 1:61-63 continues the story of John's circumcision. Even though everyone thought this special baby wo...

by David Chadwick What's in a name? There is power in a name. Meaning in a name. Purpose in a name. In Scripture, names often point to someone's God-ordained purpose. Today, you will learn why John's name was significant. After John was born, Zechariah and Elizabeth took him to be circumcised on the eighth day, as was the Jewish custom. This was also the time when the father would pronounce the na...

by David Chadwick This week, we are going to look at another character at the cradle. Join me as we explore the birth of John the Baptist, found in Luke 1:57-66. We will start today by looking at verses 57 and 58. Elizabeth's time to give birth has finally arrived! After her five months of hiddenness and Zechariah's nine months of silence, the divine time for John to enter the world had arrived! T...