18-Dec-22 (Matthew 1:18-25)

There's a special word that we find in our gospel reading for today that describes Jesus. That word is "Emmanuel". Does anyone know what that means? [Wait for answers].
Emmanuel means "God with us", but those three small words mean a lot. "God with us" means that God loves us so much that God sent Jesus to show us who God is and how much God loves us. "God with us" means that we can learn the most about God by listening and watching Jesus. When we see what Jesus does and says, we know what God is saying to us and what God would do. "God with us" means that, no matter else happens in our lives, God is always with us and cares about us.
So, the next time you're feeling scared and worried, or just want to know more about God, look at what Jesus does and says.

Let's pray about that.
God, we thank you that we could see who you are through what Jesus said and did. We not only thank you for Jesus, who shows us about you, but for all the people in our church and family that help us to learn about you. When we meet other people who would like to know about you, help us to show them what we know.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.