How Christmas Became

What if the true story of Christmas began not in a stable, but in a garden? This message takes us on a remarkable journey from Genesis to Bethlehem, revealing how God orchestrated the most elaborate rescue mission in human history. We discover that immediately after sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, God announced His plan of redemption in Genesis 3:15—promising that a descendant would come to crush the serpent's head, even though the serpent would strike His heel. This cryptic prophecy finds its fulfillment in a teenage girl, likely only 14 or 15 years old, traveling 90 miles across the desert while nine months pregnant. The sovereignty of God shines through as He uses Caesar Augustus, the most powerful man in the world, to issue a census decree at precisely the right moment to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. This wasn't just a fuzzy story about a baby in a manger—it was a cosmic battle over humanity itself, so threatening to the enemy that Herod attempted to wipe out an entire generation of boys. Yet God's knockout punch against sin and death prevailed. We're reminded that while we may face casualties and even fatalities in this spiritual battle, we have an eternal promise. Christmas represents God's ultimate gift: a plan conceived 4,000 years before its fulfillment, executed through the most unlikely people, to offer us salvation and hope.