Through suffering and testing, not only did Jesus learn obedience and become our High Priest (Heb  4:15; 5:8), we showed us how we can confront and overcome the temptation of the devil today.

Jesus' identification with sinners through his baptism invites us now to identify with His redeeming death and resurrection in our baptism.

In taking on human nature, Jesus had to grow in wisdom and stature. If Jesus needed to spend time listening and learning in His Father's house, we ought to do likewise.

Talk of repentance often depressingly brings our sins to the forefront of our attention. But that is the wrong focus of repentance. David shows us that through our sin and brokenness we gain access to the mercy and joy of the Lord.

Despite the many unknowns and unanswered questions, the main point is clear: wisemen from the east were divinely guided through celestial signs and Herod's evil intentions to worship the newborn king. Will we do the same?

The angels' appearance to the lowly and despised shepherds reminds us that Jesus came to save sinners, not those who think they are righteous. 

No matter your age, the immediate obedience of the young teenager, Mary, in submitting to God stands to convict and encourage us to act in the same way, trusting God's leading even when he takes us in life-altering directions.

Through he appears only briefly in the pages of the Gospels, the character of Joseph as Mary's betrothed and Jesus's earthly father gives us an example to follow.

When Mary looked upon Jesus, she was beholding God incarnate, the eternal Creator of the universe.

The ideas of fear and worship at first seem contradictory. Yet, as we find in Scripture, the fear of God is the proper starting point for worshipping the Lord Almighty.