A girl named Mary, lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. One day, the Lord sent an angel to speak to her. The angel said, "Mary, the Lord is with you. He has specially blessed you."

When Mary heard this, she was very worried. "What is going to happen," she wondered. But the angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary. The Lord is very pleased with you. You'll become pregnant and you'll have a son. You are to name him Jesus. He'll be great and he'll be called the Son of the Most High God. He'll become a king, like his ancestor, David. He'll be King forever."

"But how can this happen?" asked Mary. "I'm a virgin." The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you. The power of God will be with you. So this holy child will be called the Son of God. For a long time, your relative, Elizabeth, has been unable to have a child. She's old now, yet she's six months pregnant. There's nothing that God cannot do."

"I'm the Lord's servant," said Mary. "May it happen to me, just as you have said."

Mary's relative, Elizabeth, lived in the hill country of Judea. It was a long way from Mary's home in Nazareth.

Soon after the angel had spoken to her, Mary went to see Elizabeth. When she arrived at Elizabeth's house, she went in and greeted her. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's baby jumped in her womb.

Elizabeth was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. She said in a loud voice, "Mary, you are the most blessed among women, and the child you are going to have will be blessed. Who am I, that my Lord's mother should come to see me? For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy! You believe that the Lord's word to you will come true - how happy you must be."

Mary said,
"My heart praises the Lord,
And my soul rejoices in God my Saviour,
For he has remembered me, his humble servant.
From now on, people will call me blessed,
For the Almighty God has done great things for me."

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months. Then she returned to her home in Nazareth.

The first man was made by God. His body was made by God. God made Adam's body. Everything in the world was made by God.

The animals were made by God. He made their bodies. He made the sheep. He made the sheep's body. He made the horse. He made the horse's body. He made the lion. He made the lion's body. God made the bodies of the man and of the animals. The man was different from the animals. Why was the man different from the animals?

Here is the answer to that question. We give the answer here.

God made Adam's body. Then God did something more. God breathed into Adam. God made Adam's body, and then God breathed into it. The breath of God was breathed into Adam. God's breath was in Adam. This gave Adam a soul.

When God breathed into Adam, then Adam had a soul. God gave Adam a soul. The man had a body and a soul. With his body he saw things on the earth. With his body he felt things on the earth. With his body he knew things here on the earth. He saw the trees and the mountains. He saw the animals and the birds. He looked up and saw the sun, the moon and the stars. He felt the trees and the earth. He could touch the bodies of the animals.

With his body he knew the things that God had made. With his soul he knew God. He could not see God, but with his soul he could know God. He was different from the animals because he could know God.

Sheep, horses, dogs, lions, all have bodies. God made many other animals, and they all had bodies. God made only one man. He gave the man a body, and he gave the man a soul. The animals could not know God, but Adam could know God because he had a soul.

God talked to Adam. God heard Adam talk to him. What did God say to Adam? Look out for the answer to the question, "What did God say to Adam?"

In those days, there were many people in the Roman Empire. The Emperor wanted to have all the people counted. Everyone had to go to his own town to register. Joseph's town was Bethlehem, in Judea. His ancestor, King David, was born in this town, so Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to register.

Joseph, together with his wife, Mary, set off from Nazareth in Galilee. They travelled a long way, and at last they arrived in Bethlehem, in Judea. There were many people in Bethlehem. They had all come to register. The inn was full. There was no place for Joseph and Mary to spend the night. Mary was very tired. It was almost time for her baby to be born.

Joseph found a stable near the inn. He and Mary went in there to spend the night. Mary's baby, a son, was born that night. She wrapped him in cloths. There was a manger in that stable. She put him in the manger to sleep. The baby was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he was conceived.

That night, some shepherds were in the fields not far from Bethlehem. They were looking after their sheep. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. The glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified.

"Don't be afraid," said the angel. "I've brought you good news - a Saviour has been born to you in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. This good news will bring great joy to all the people. You'll find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger - then you'll realise that I've told you the truth." Many more angels appeared and together they sang praises to God. When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "The Lord has told us about this wonderful thing that has taken place. Let's go to Bethlehem and see it."

The shepherds left their sheep in the fields and went quickly to Bethlehem. They found Mary and Joseph in the stable. They saw the baby lying in the manger, just as the angel had told them.

One of the shepherds said to Mary and Joseph, "We were in the fields looking after our sheep. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and the glory of the Lord shone all around us. We were terrified but the angel said, 'Don't be afraid. I've brought you good news. Your Saviour was born in David's town to-day. He is Christ the Lord. Go there and look for him. You'll find him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' So we left our sheep in the fields and came here immediately." Mary listened carefully, and often thought about these things afterwards.

The shepherds also told other people the good news. Everyone was amazed. Then the shepherds left Bethlehem and returned to the fields. They praised God for all the things which they had heard and seen.

Some time later, wise men from a country in the east, came to Jerusalem. They asked the people in Jerusalem, "Where is the baby, born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star come up in the east, so we have come to worship him."

At that time, Herod was the king of the Jews. When he heard about this, he was very upset.

Everyone else in Jerusalem was also very upset. Herod called all the Jewish leaders to come before him. He asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?" They answered, "In Bethlehem, in Judea. A prophet had said, 'The ruler of the people of Israel will come from Bethlehem, in Judea.' "

After hearing this, Herod asked the wise men to come before him. He found out from them when the star had appeared. Then he said to them, "Go to Bethlehem and look for the child. When you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him."

The wise men set off to look for the child. On the way, they saw a star. It was the same star that they had seen in the east. They were full of joy when they saw it. The star went before them and they followed it. Then it stopped just above a house. They went into the house and saw the child with his mother. They knelt down and worshipped him. Then they took out the gifts which they had brought and gave them to him.

That night, they had a dream. They dreamt that God was telling them not to return to Herod. So they returned to their country in the east by another road.

After the wise men had left, Joseph had a dream. In that dream, an angel of the Lord said to him, "Herod is looking for the child. He wants to kill him. Get up quickly. Take the child and his mother and escape into Egypt. Stay there till I tell you to leave." Joseph got up immediately. He took the child and his mother and escaped to Egypt.

When Herod realised that the wise men had tricked him, he was very angry. He told his officers, "Go to Bethlehem and all the places nearby and kill all the baby boys." The officers and their men went and killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in all the places nearby.

Some time later, an angel of the Lord appeared before Joseph in a dream. The angel said, "Herod is dead. Get up and take the child and his mother and return to Israel."

Joseph returned to Israel with the child and his mother, and they went to live in Nazareth.