In the very beginning Jesus existed as the Word. He was both with God, and was God at the same time.
When God spoke the world into existence, Jesus was the Word that made everything. Nothing was made without Him. All life and light came from Him.

But humans did not choose the light. They chose the darkness. They chose to make their own decisions instead of relying on God. Sin came into the world, but God the Father had a plan from the very beginning. He would send His Son, the Word, into the world-a human being who would live among us.

God sent the angel Gabriel to a young woman living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. Mary was not rich or important. Her fiancé was just a carpenter. But they came from the family of King David, from which God had promised to send the Savior.

Without warning, Mary found her room flooded with light. The angel shone like fire and greeted her with surprising words. “God is with you! You are very blessed!”

Mary could do nothing but stare in shock and the shining figure. “Don’t be scared!” Gabriel added. “The Lord has chosen you for a very special job. God will give you a Son, who will be a king like His ancestor David, but His kingdom will never end.”

“But I can’t have a baby yet!” Mary reminded him. “How is this going to happen?”

“It will be a miracle of the Holy Spirit,” Gabriel explained. “This Baby will be the Son of God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant!” Mary said. “I accept His will.”

After the angel left her, Mary sang a song of praise to God.

“I praise the Lord with every bit of my heart! I am happy because of God my Savior. I’m just a humble servant of God, but He takes care of me. Everyone will remember how much God has blessed me. He shows mercy to all His followers. We have been waiting for God to bring us the Savior for generations, and now He is keeping the promise He made to Abraham and his family!”

Shortly after this, Mary went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Before Elizabeth even saw her, Mary called out, “Elizabeth!” Without even turning around, Elizabeth felt baby John leap inside of her belly with excitement.

The Holy Spirit whispered to Elizabeth and gave her words of praise to say.

Loudly, she called out, “You have been blessed by God more than any other woman! They Baby you are carrying is a blessing.”

When Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, heard about this, he was confused, to say the least. But the angel appeared to Joseph one night while he was sleeping.

“Mary’s Baby is from the Holy Spirit,” the angel whispered. “You should still get married. Name the Baby Jesus. He will save people from their sins.”

Joseph rolled over in his sleep, his forehead scrunched in anxiety.

“Remember what the prophet Isaiah wrote?” the angel reminded him. “He said that this Baby will be called Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

After Joseph woke up, he was relieved to know what God’s plan for him was. Joseph and Mary got married, just like the angel had said to. It wasn’t the wedding they had pictured, or the way to start their life together that they had imagined, but they were both willing to serve God however He asked them to.