{"id":8537,"date":"2023-12-11T10:01:48","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T15:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=8537"},"modified":"2023-12-11T10:01:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T15:01:48","slug":"max-lucado-discusses-biblical-facts-about-the-christmas-story-that-sets-christianity-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/12\/max-lucado-discusses-biblical-facts-about-the-christmas-story-that-sets-christianity-apart.html","title":{"rendered":"Max Lucado Discusses Biblical Facts About the Christmas Story That Sets Christianity Apart"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_8543\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8543\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8543\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/12\/nativity-scene-credit-shutterstock-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"nativity scene\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8543\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alexander Hoffman\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Author and pastor Max Lucado thinks there\u2019s profound \u201cuniqueness\u201d at the center of the Christmas story that sets it apart from any other theological paradigm. Lucado recently told CBN Digital, \u201cThe uniqueness of the Christian faith is that we believe in a God who came to us before we went to Him. Every other theology, philosophy, every other approach to God says, \u2018Do this, and maybe God will notice or accept you.\u2019 It\u2019s a relationship based on performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, when it comes to the Christmas story and Jesus, the preacher said we\u2019re very literally celebrating a God who chose to come to us before \u201cwe even knew we needed Him.\u201d The ever-reflective Lucado was preparing for the release of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fathomevents.com\/events\/max-lucados-because-of-bethlehem\/\">Max Lucado\u2019s Because of Bethlehem<\/a>,\u201d a special event that hit theaters nationwide Dec. 5-7.<\/p>\n<p>The live concert promised to bring families \u201cthe magic and wonder of Christmastime\u201d as the preacher shares his own holiday memories, a Christmas message, and music from artists like Evan Craft, Matt Maher, Matthew West, Anne Wilson, and others. It\u2019s an event Lucado believed would deeply inspire people to think more resonantly about the true meaning of Christmas, telling CBN Digital he sees the Lord\u2019s mode of arrival as especially pertinent.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_evv8VrkEJI?si=-ET67jbZ1vsLWf6g\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cHe was here not in the form of a volcano, lightning bolt, or angry prophet, but He was here in the form of a baby, He was here in the form of an embryo, He was here in the form of a seed. And He could not have condescended more, He could have not have gone further, and not only that, He was born in humility, not born in a castle in Rome, or some villa in Greece, but He condescended himself to the home of a simple carpenter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aside from that, Lucado noted Jesus\u2019 decision to live in \u201cobscurity and anonymity\u201d for the first 30 years of His life, pointing to Jesus\u2019 humility and grace as other powerful differentiators of the Christian faith. Lucado said, \u201cHe is the picture of grace, God entering our world, finding us, seeking us out,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so I just never get tired of that story. I love telling it. I love hearing it. I love looking for new ways to share it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fathomevents.com\/events\/max-lucados-because-of-bethlehem\/\">Because of Bethlehem<\/a>\u201d theatrical experience is just one new way to tell that age-old story \u2014 one he believes comes at a time when the world desperately needs truth. Lucado said, calling the state of the world \u201cfragile,\u201d \u201cGiven what the world is going through right now, don\u2019t we need a reminder of a God \u2026 who comes looking for us? I think the world is hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author and pastor Max Lucado thinks there\u2019s profound \u201cuniqueness\u201d at the center of the Christmas story that sets it apart from any other theological paradigm. Lucado recently told CBN Digital, \u201cThe uniqueness of the Christian faith is that we believe in a God who came to us before we went to Him. Every other theology,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":8543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,549],"tags":[565,280,1796],"class_list":["post-8537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-miracle","tag-christianity","tag-christmas","tag-max-lucado"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Max Lucado Discusses Biblical Facts About the Christmas Story That Sets Christianity Apart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Author and preacher Max Lucado says there&#039;s a uniqueness about Jesus and the Christmas story that sets it apart from other religions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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