Chronological Christmas Story - Day 1

One of the Bibles I have, that I love to use, is the The Daily Bible. Ever read a story in the Bible and get confuse because you think it happened two or three times? I do. Mostly it is because the same story is written about by two or three different people.

This is a chronological Bible. It isn't much use to pack along to church and follow your pastor with, but it is great to read the Bible through in a year. Everything is in order in the way it probably occurred. So, it skips from book to book and chapter to chapter, but it completely flows and makes sense.

For the next four days, I'm simply going to paste the Christmas story in Chronological order, skipping genealogies. I'm putting it hear in the New International Reader's Version that is more understandable to kids, if you'd like to take a little couch time each day to read the sections to them.

 

John 1 

1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.  ³ All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. ⁴ Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not understood it.  ⁶ A man came who was sent from God. His name was John. ⁷ He came to give witness about that light. He gave witness so that all people could believe.  ⁸ John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.  ¹⁰ The Word was in the world that was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him.  ¹² Some people did accept him. They believed in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. ¹³ To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.  ¹⁴ The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son.    He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth.  ¹⁵ John gives witness about him. He cries out and says, "This was the one I was talking about. I said, 'He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.' "  ¹⁶ We have all received one blessing after another. God's grace is not limited. ¹⁷ Moses gave us the law. Jesus Christ has given us grace and truth.  ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But God, the one and only Son, is at the Father's side. He has shown us what God is like. 

Luke 1
 

 ⁵ Herod was king of Judea. During the time he was ruling, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to a group of priests named after Abijah. His wife Elizabeth also came from the family line of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them did what was right in God's eyes. They obeyed all the Lord's commandments and rules faithfully. ⁷ But they had no children, because Elizabeth was not able to have any. And they were both very old.  ⁸ One day Zechariah's group was on duty. He was serving as a priest in God's temple. ⁹ He happened to be chosen, in the usual way, to go into the temple of the Lord. There he was supposed to burn incense. ¹⁰ The time came for this to be done. All who had gathered to worship were praying outside.  ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel was standing at the right side of the incense altar. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified.  ¹³ But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will have a child. It will be a boy, and you must name him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you. His birth will make many people very glad. ¹⁵ He will be important in the Lord's eyes.    "He must never use wine or other such drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring many of Israel's people back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will teach parents how to love their children. He will also teach people who don't obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord."
¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is old too."  ¹⁹ The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I serve God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will have to be silent. You will not be able to speak until after John is born. That's because you did not believe my words. They will come true when the time is right."  ²¹ During that time, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out. They wondered why he stayed in the temple so long. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple. They knew this because he kept motioning to them. He still could not speak.  ²³ When his time of service was over, he returned home. ²⁴ After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months. ²⁵ "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days, he has been kind to me. He has taken away my shame among the people."