At Christmas, we celebrate a birth that happened centuries ago. The God of the universe was born of a human mother.

This baby Jesus in the manger was not a new God, but the God who had created the world. He had known it from the beginning. On Christmas, for the first time, He looked at His world through human eyes.

The God who had created man still loved His creation. Though humankind had wandered away from Him again and again, He loved them. Though He knew they would kill Him, He loved them — enough to die for them.

Jesus came at Christmas to save those lost men. He came to save you. 

During Advent, the season that comes before Christmas, the church sings “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Emmanuel means “God with us.” Humankind still wanders away from God again and again. Alone, we lose the way. We need a God who is not far off, but who will come to rescue us. 

God is with us. Jesus came at Christmas to save you. But not just at Christmas. He comes to save you now.

Believers in Jesus gather together at church every week, and there Jesus meets them. He speaks to them through His Word in the Bible. He brings the forgiveness of sins to those who trust in Him. He is there with comfort and peace for His people. Every week.

As we gather together in church under His name, we know that Christ is with us, just as He has promised to be. This is our joy, the joy of all the earth.

Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod