9 Lessons (from 9 lessons and carols)

We had 9 lessons and carols in our garden last night. I love the way the readings take you through from Genesis to the birth of Christ, so I've put them on the blog as an alternative way of sharing them with those who couldn't make it.

Genesis 3
The fall of mankind
8They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
 9Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
 10He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."
 11And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
 12The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."
 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

 22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--
 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed
Genesis 22

15Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
 16and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
 17indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
 18"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."


The Prophet Foretells the Coming of the Saviour
Isaiah 9
    2The people who walk in darkness
         Will see a great light;
         Those who live in a dark land,
         The light will shine on them.
    3You shall multiply the nation,
         You shall increase their gladness;
         They will be glad in Your presence
         As with the gladness of harvest,
         As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
.
    6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
    7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
         On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
         To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
         From then on and forevermore
         The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

The peace that Christ will bring is foreshown
Isaiah 11
    1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
         And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
    2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
         The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
         The spirit of counsel and strength,
         The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
    3And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
         And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
         Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
    4But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
         And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
         And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
         And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
    5Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
         And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
    6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
         And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
         And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
         And a little boy will lead them.
    7Also the cow and the bear will graze,
         Their young will lie down together,
         And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
    8The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
         And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
    9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
         For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
         As the waters cover the sea

Jesus' Birth Foretold
Luke 1
 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
 28And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you."
 29But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
 30The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
 31"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
 32"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
 34Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
 35The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
 36"And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
 37"For nothing will be impossible with God."
 38And Mary said, "Behold, the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.



Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem
Luke 2
 1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
 2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
 3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
 4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
 5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
 6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds go to the Manger
Luke 2
 8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
 9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
 12"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
 13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
    14"Glory to God in the highest,
         And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
 15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
 16So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

The wise men are led by the star to Jesus
Matthew 2

 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
 2"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
 5They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
    6'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
         ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
         FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
         WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"
 7Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."
 9After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
 11After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
 12And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

John unfolds the great mystery of the incarnation
John 1
 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 2He was in the beginning with God.
 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
 7He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
 8He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
 9There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
 10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
 11He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.