First Words of Jesus by Stu Epperson

"The One she carried in her womb would one day carry her cross and come out of the tomb” writes Stu Epperson in his latest book, First Words of Jesus: From the Cradle to the Cross. The author provides meditations this Christmas season on what Jesus’ first recorded words meant for those seeking Him including Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Herod, Anna, Simeon, and others. Epperson gives 10 excellent contrasts between the cradle and the cross:

Cradle	Cross
1. Roman law led to His traumatic birth in a cattle trough	1. Roman law sentenced Him to His traumatic death on a wooden cross
2. Born in Bethlehem, the city of bread	2. The bread of life was broken at Golgotha
3. The good news of the Gospel first came to the lowly shepherds	3. The good news of the Gospel was last given to the lowly thief
4. Mary’s pain in childbirth	4. Mary’s pain in her child’s death
5. Marked by the brightness of a star at birth	5. The morning star was covered in oppressive darkness at death
6. Blessing by the giving of gifts from wise men	6. Cursed by the taking of His clothes for gambling by fools
7. The first cry of birth	7. The last cry of death
8. Accepted and embraced in love and care	8. Rejected and forsaken in judgment and wrath
9. Blessed and worshiped	9. Cursed and mocked
10. Born inside a stable and clothed	10. Died outside in the open air and stripped of clothing

The Best Christmas Gift Ever by Melinda Rumbaugh

“It’s finally Christmas, a great time of year for giving and loving and spreading good cheer!” so begins The Best Christmas Gift Ever by Melinda Rumbaugh. It’s Christmas time and the Veggies are celebrating rather enthusiastically in many ways. But the real reason for such happiness is finding the real gift from God Himself - His Son, Jesus Christ. The attractive artwork and the simple prose will remind your little ones this Christmas season that Jesus who is the Light of the world, who spoke and the countless galaxies sprang into existence, is the reason behind the lights decorated on the tree. And the tree should point to yet another tree on which He hung as He sacrificed His own life so that we might live. Don’t move any further until you contemplate the real reason of Christmas.

How does Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 foreshadow the Suffering Servant?

Crucifixion was invented in the ancient near East and one of the earliest accounts of mass execution through the cross was Darius I’s crucifixion of three thousand political dissidents in Babylon. Thousands have suffered the inexplicable horror of crucifixion but Christ’s crucifixion remains unique. He was the sinless Savior who bore the cumulative sufferings of all mankind. On the cross, Christ cried out the words uttered by David a millennium earlier: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” – which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). 

Though there are few today who doubt the execution of Christ on the cross, there has been vehement opposition for the very psalm to which Jesus drew attention with his dying words – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken men?” (Psalm 22:1). Was David “merely” referring to his own suffering or did it foreshadow Christ’s crucifixion? Likewise, does the suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 point to the nation of Israel or to the Messiah? Though there are scores of messianic prophecies, the upcoming blogs will look at Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 in its entirety to show that Jesus Christ is the suffering Servant.