Joy to the WorldSample
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A New Force
When Matteo Ricci went to China in the sixteenth century, he took samples of religious art to illustrate the Christian story for people who had never heard it. They readily accepted portraits of Mary holding the baby Jesus, but when he produced paintings of the crucifixion and tried to explain that the God-child had come to be executed, his audience reacted with revulsion and horror. They couldn’t worship a crucified God.
As I thumb through my Christmas cards, I realize that we do much the same thing. In our celebrations and observances, we may not think about how the story that began at Bethlehem turned out at Calvary.
In Luke’s account of the Christmas story, only one person—the old man Simeon—seems to grasp the mysterious nature of what God has set in motion. “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him,” he told Mary, and then he made the prediction that a sword would pierce her own soul (2:34–35). Simeon knew that though on the surface little had changed—Herod still ruled, Roman troops still occupied Israel—underneath, everything had changed. God’s promised redemption had arrived.
PHILIP YANCEY
The cradle without the cross misses the true meaning of Christ’s birth.
Scripture
About this Plan
![Joy to the World](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17490%2F1280x720.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
The following devotionals were written to help you in your spiritual journey. Each article has been selected to help you understand more about God's love for you, and we hope that through these pages you will find encouragement, comfort, and true joy this Christmas season.
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Related Plans
![Joy - Experience Joy This Christmas](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17655%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
Joy - Experience Joy This Christmas
![Dwell Christmas by David Binion](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17531%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
Dwell Christmas by David Binion
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Joy: A Countdown to Christmas
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Christmas Hope
![The Heart of God](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17559%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
The Heart of God
![Thru The Bible -- Gospel Of Mark](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F19257%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
Thru The Bible -- Gospel Of Mark
![Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - 11 Days & Ways To Have A Merry Christmas](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17753%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - 11 Days & Ways To Have A Merry Christmas
![The 10 Promises of Christmas](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17492%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
The 10 Promises of Christmas
![God With Us](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F17499%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)
God With Us
![Thru The Bible -- Gospel Of Matthew](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fyvplans%2F19281%2F320x180.jpg&w=640&q=75)