What does First B Jackson teach about christmas nativity?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the Christmas nativity is treated not as a sentimental story to be admired but as the arrival of a specific person with a specific purpose. The services have walked through the full arc of the narrative, from the Old Testament prophecies in Isaiah and Micah through the birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds in the field, and the Magi from the East, with the consistent conviction that the power is in the story itself. The thread connecting all of it is light: Jesus arrives as the light of the world, announced by angels, sought by foreigners, and received by those willing to act on what they hear.
A recurring theme in these services is the pattern of immediate response shown by every figure who encounters the good news. Mary says yes, Joseph gets up and does what he is told, and the shepherds go straight to Bethlehem. That pattern is set beside a quieter and more uncomfortable contrast: the chief priests and scribes knew exactly where the Messiah was to be born, told Herod without hesitation, and then simply did not go. The Magi, by contrast, traveled from the East, followed the star, found the child, and fell down and worshiped him. The nativity, as taught here, is not just a record of what happened but a question put to whoever is hearing it.
The gifts of the Magi have received close attention in these services. Gold and frankincense point to Jesus as king and as God. Myrrh is harder: its primary use at the time was in embalming, and bringing embalming resin to a newborn is strange and sobering. The teaching traced myrrh through all three of its appearances in connection with Jesus in scripture, from his birth, to the cross in Mark 15, to the tomb, noting that he was only there from Friday to Sunday and had no need of it in the end. The strangeness of the gift is precisely the point: from the night of his birth, the whole shape of what was to come was already present.
Taught from John 8:12 · Luke 2:1-20 · Matthew 2:1-11 · Isaiah 9:6-7 · John 3:16
The passage taught · Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- December 25, 2023 Christmas Eve Service 2023 - 4:30pm Service - John 8:12 A Christmas Eve service from First Baptist Jackson: the nativity story read aloud, carols sung together, and a candlelight reminder that the light of Christ cannot be overcome.
- December 24, 2023 December 24th Christmas Eve Candlight - 4:30pm A Christmas Eve retelling of the nativity, from Old Testament prophecy through the Magi, closing with candlelight and the call to carry Christ's light into the world.
- December 24, 2018 Christmas Eve Service - 4.30pm (2) A Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Jackson: the nativity story read aloud, carols sung by candlelight, and a straightforward message about Jesus as the light of the world.