MAPLE GROVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
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The Birth of Jesus and the Holy Spirit

11/30/2017

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​An angel said to Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” The Angel of the Lord put things in the right perspective. The angel made it clear that the coming of Jesus was initiated by God. It was his plan. It was his plan that Mary would conceive through the Holy Spirit. She conceived in a supernatural way which meant that this was possible through God’s divine power.
When each of my children was born, I said, “It is a miracle.” It was a miracle that happened through Linda and me.  The birth of Jesus was independent of the help of a human father. It was purely between the Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary.  That is a true miracle.  We see here the combination of human and divine influence in the birth of Christ. So we say that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In Jesus, these two natures came together. Jesus is both God and man.
Another way to explain this is by clarifying that Jesus is God who incarnated and became like us. When he became like us, he did not give up his deity or his attributes as God. He kept all those things. What happened was that by becoming human, he added something that belongs to man. He was born as a baby from a human mother. He became weary, thirsty and hungry. He experienced the full range of human emotions such as marvel, weeping, and sorrow. He lived on earth just as we do.  That’s why he is referred to as God with us.
We need salvation that we cannot bring about ourselves.  Jesus, who is God and man, was going to make that possible. He made that possible through his birth (or incarnation), his life, his teachings, his suffering,  his death and resurrection.  You have to put all of that together as Jesus’ one act of salvation for all of us.  In order to really benefit from Jesus, one must confess his sin, believe in Jesus and submit to God.
Jesus’ act of redemption is complete but not yet upon us if we don’t come and submit ourselves to him.  John 3:16 says “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
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West Des Moines, IA 50266
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Mailing address: PO BOX 845, Waukee, IA 50263
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