1. The beauty of this season ought to draw preachers into the Scriptures own poetry, rich imagery, and paradoxical language to present the holy mystery of Christ’s incarnation.
  2. The text is not a legalistic set of principles. It is a description of the way things are for us, now that Christ has entered in.
  3. Lutheran pastors have at least three sermons in these three days. The calendar allows preachers to wed together some important themes this Christmas. The Magnificat (conception), the birth account from Matthew 1, and the fuller account of Christ’s birth from Luke 2 give clear shape to the proclamation for the Feast of the Nativity. The Epistle readings, however, should also be considered as the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of the nativity.