The report is not the story. Hear that again, the report is not the story. Your circumstances don’t dictate the narrative of your story. God is writing your story, and your story is safe in His hands! Maybe you received a diagnosis from your doctor, a call from your child’s school, a denial letter from your insurance company, a betrayal from a friend, your spouse wants to leave, a denial letter for that job or that school or that promotion…but remember this, your report is not your story! 2000 years ago there was a report, an unwed teenage girl betrothed to be married was pregnant but that wasn’t the story. A young man’s heart was broken to learn of his betroth’s supposed infidelity but that wasn’t the story. Israel was occupied by a foreign power but that wasn’t the story. There was no room in the inn…but that wasn’t the story. God was at work! God was writing a story, that Immanuel had come, that God was finally with us, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, our salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand! The report is never the story! And this truth as we will see tonight traces all the way back to 605 BC as Daniel was taken away into captivity. The report was that Israel was over…but the report is not the story.