I
hope you’ve
been following closely, I hope you are aware,
That
now comes the transition the New Testament is here;
Beginning
with the Gospels and moving through the Acts,
We
will follow the Apostles and be guided by their tracks.
In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was God,
And
his own refused him did not give as much as a nod;
But
to all who came to him all that believe on his name,
To
them he gave his power for they were the ‘born again’.
This
same Word became flesh and resided with man,
Man
did not esteem the Master and from him he ran;
Moses
gave the law but Christ brought truth and grace,
Thus
Jesus Christ is the answer for all the human race.
Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John tell the Gospel story,
How
the Saviour Christ did come from his throne in glory;
Mary
was betrothed to Joseph in the meantime he did tarry,
But
then her strange conception stopped his plan to marry.
Then
Joseph was told in a dream, “Take Mary as your wife,”
For
that which was conceived in her was not an ordinary life;
A
virgin shall bring forth a son, did Isaiah the prophet foretell,
His
name, meaning God with us, shall be called Emmanuel.
Mary
went to visit Elizabeth way up in the hill country,
Elizabeth
was excited to hear the salutation from Mary;
Her
babe leapt within her and she asked in all her glee,
Why
should the mother of my Lord come to be with me?
Zacharias
who was a high priest was one day in the temple,
Performing
ministrations when appeared the angel Gabriel;
Told
that his wife would have a son and that in her old age,
Was
struck dumb when he argued, “no, never at her stage.”
Only
at the circumcision would he have his voice again,
So
on a piece of paper he was forced to write the name;
They
called him Zacharias but Elizabeth said he is John,
The
name the angel gave before the baby was born.
The Birth of Jesus
Out
on the Judean hills where shepherds watched their sheep,
There
came a brilliant light piercing through the darkness deep;
Hosts
of angels had descended to tell of the Saviour’s
birth,
Good
tidings and great salvation and peace to all on earth.
Fear
not said the angel for unto you the Savior has come,
None
other than Christ the Lord who is God’s eternal Son;
They
found the baby Jesus in the stable where he was born,
With
Mary, his mother and Joseph that first Christmas morn.
Next
there were the wise men that journeyed from afar,
All
the way to Herod’s palace while guided by the star;
Herod
attempted to fool them and feigned a spirit of worship,
But
the wise men warned in a dream had given him the slip.
They
gave the baby gifts and worshipped during their stay,
Then
returned to their homelands by going another way;
Gold,
frankincense and myrrh were the gifts they gave to him,
Each
one had a meaning for the one that saves from sin.
The
gold was given to the baby to show Jesus as their king,
Frankincense
to show his priesthood the one of whom we sing;
Myrrh
to anoint his body the death he would die for all,
And
salvation bring to many who on his name would call.
The
wise men never returned thus Herod was hot with rage,
“Kill
every child under two and all them that be that age!”
Joseph
took them to Egypt after he was warned in a dream,
And
only returned to Nazareth after Herod was off the scene.
In
accordance with the law they journeyed to Jerusalem,
There
they met a devout man whose name was Simeon;
Shown
that he would see the Christ before he met his death,
Right
in the temple court that day he drew him to his chest.
His
eyes had seen God’s salvation prepared for all people,
A
light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel;
A
blessing he gave to the parents and also the little child,
In
his arms he held our Saviour, so gentle, so meek, so mild.
There
was the prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel,
She
was eighty years and four and living in the temple;
When
she saw the child she rejoiced with exultation,
Giving
thanks to God for the redemption of Jerusalem.
And Jesus Developed
And
Jesus was strong in spirit, growing in godly wisdom,
Once
astonished all the doctors in the temple at Jerusalem;
He
took their questions with ease though they were demanding,
Not
one question they asked was beyond his understanding.
His
parents had sought for him not knowing where he was,
But
found him in the temple, the audience was a buzzed;
They
looked on him with relief, “Why seek ye me?”
he asked,
“Do
you not know that I must be about my Father’s task?”
They
understood not what he said though he gave them a start,
But
Mary pondered on these things and kept them in her heart;
Jesus
grew in wisdom and stature, in favour with God and man,
And
soon, as you will hear, he was known throughout the land.
Stewart Russell © 2013
