How do you picture the nativity scene? Jessica Jenkins shares historical and cultural insight into the birth of Jesus and shares encouragement for telling the story of Christmas.

Follow Jessica Jenkins at We Who Thirst Read about the Historically Accurate Nativity “In a house birth, Mary would be surrounded by family and neighbor women and possible midwives, and so you have this whole community surrounding Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Rather than them being shamed and ostracized and pushed away, it’s the gathering in and caring for them.” “Luke tells us that this house had a guest room. That word in Greek, ‘kataluma,’ is often what is translated in many English translations as the ‘inn.’ Where we’re used to reading in Luke 2 ‘there was no room for them in the inn,’ the Greek word there is ‘kataluma,’ which really means ‘guest room.’” Luke 22 and Mark 14 “It’s not going to be sparse, like our typical stable scenes, where it’s just Mary and Joseph and a sheep. You’re going to have aunties and hosts and hostess and kids running around screaming and maybe a chicken flying through.” “You mean Jesus came to be one of us? He’s not born in a palace?” “Jesus is the One who draws near. He is with you.” “It’s really amazing to think about how God just surrounds these people, and He just puts Himself right in the middle of everyday happenings. The angels come and announce in a big way, which it’s definitely worth announcing, but He’s also just coming in the absolute simplicity of birth and day-to-day life.” “The typical nativity story is God not with us. God’s away in a manger. He’s pushed out, He’s far away, He’s not really with us, He’s over there. But Emmanuel is God with us.” “Figuring out how to teach kids about Jesus can feel really overwhelming. Don’t feel like you have to do it all at once.” “God came to be with His people, including children.” “If we can ground our kids [in the truth] that Jesus is near them, rather than being a far-off distant God ready to reject them at a moment’s notice for a failure, but He’s a God who draws near, that will fundamentally change how they view God and their ability to attach to God and trust God.”

What’s changing our lives:

Keane: Staffs made out of dowels for his kids Heather: Meet-up with other Christian women in her area Jessica: Sweatshirts

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