LW Baptist Church

On Sunday, Dec. 7, LW Baptist Church will gather in Clubhouse 4 at 10 a.m. to celebrate the incarnation—God becoming man. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ birth record traces through the periods of Israel’s history and back to the Edenic promise. His ancestors are named in the theocracy (God’s rule), the monarchy (Davidic kings), the royal-decline (Israel abiding many days without a king) and the promised time, when a man born of woman would crush the serpent, as Eve was promised. The record of the birth of Jesus looks back to these events and looks ahead to his career by tracing his family tree. Every human being has two genealogies, paternal and maternal. Jesus’ royal family line is traced back to David through his adoptive father Joseph. His natural lineage is traced through his mother Mary and grandfather Heli (also spelled Eli) back to Adam and Eve, who received the prophecy that a woman’s seed would crush the serpent. Because God’s redeemed children are flesh and blood, their savior Jesus became flesh and blood to save them. As the poet John Donne said, “Twas much that man was made like God before/But that God should be made like man, much more.”