Charting the Birth of Christ

Don't you love teaching your homeschooler Bible lessons during the holidays? What young child isn't enthralled from hearing the captivating story of Mary, Joseph, and the arrival of baby Jesus? Unfortunately, as little ones grow older, the wonder of the Christmas story can sometimes be lost in the material trappings of the holiday season. How can homeschooling parents recapture the initial excitement of the Christmas message in their children's hearts? Give your child a new perspective of God's redemptive plan by teaching the Christmas story in a whole new way.

Using information found in Bible resources and the LIFEPAC® Bible curriculum for grade 7 from Alpha Omega Publications®, your homeschooler can chart the amazing Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ's birth. As your child examines and studies each detail foretold by prophets hundreds of years before Jesus was born, he will again be amazed at the intricate fulfillment of God's Word. Here are a few Scriptures to get you and your child started in rediscovering the Christ of Christmas:

Prophecy	Fulfilled
Before 4000 B.C. -- Born of the seed of a woman
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.	Galations 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
2185 B.C. -- Descendent of Abraham
Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:	Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
1870 B.C. -- From the tribe of Judah
Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.	Luke 3:33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
700 B.C. -- An heir to the throne of David
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.	Luke 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
700 B.C. -- Born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.	Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
700 B.C. -- Born a virgin
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.	Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
600 B.C. -- Children slaughtered in Bethlehem
Jeremiah 31:15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.	Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
750 B.C. -- Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt to escape Herod
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.	Matthew 2:14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: