\u201c T oday in him a new light has dawned upon t he world: God has become one with man, and man has become one again wit h GOD. Your et ernal Word has t aken upon himself our human weakness, giving our mort al nat ure immort al value. So marvellous is t his oneness bet ween God and man t hat in Christ man rest ores t o

2009. We must begin this celebration by appreciating the wonderful things the Lord has done for us in 2008 such as: the bumper harvest we recorded this year, our personal health, peace of mind and many uncountable blessings.

Laity of the Diocese of Zaria and to all men and women of goodwill all over the world. At Christmas
we commemorate the Incarnation of God through the Virgin Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. This
happened because of t he love of God for us. \u201c For God so love t he world, t hat he sent his only
begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life\u201d [Jn.
3.16]. God\u2019 s purpose of sending his only begotten Son was to redeem and offer hope to mankind.

Every Christian must therefore appreciate the saving power of God by celebrating Christmas with hope and happiness. We cannot afford t o live in hopelessness and despair as if we are not people redeemed by God through the Incarnation of Jesus. The materialistic and self- fulfilling standards of the world have the tendency to cause disbelief and disregard for the things of God, especially in our modern times that the value system is changing. The coming of Christ the Son of God in the

Although Bethlehem is a small town, his message of hope has reverberated all over the world. And
all of us are beneficiaries to this wonderful manifestation of God. To him be all the thanks, the
praises and the glory now and forever more. Amen!

Mankind has experienced suffering and pain down through the ages sometimes caused by natural
disasters and at many other times caused by us humans through disobedience to divine injunctions.
The people of Israel were no exception.

From the slavery in Egypt to the exile in Babylon, they had the Judges and Prophets to remind them of the need for obedience to God and to trust His mercy and love. \u201c Yahweh sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, \u2018 This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says, \u2018 It was I who

The book of Judges tells us that each time they turned their backs on God they suffered greatly;
and each time they cried to God he sent them a liberator called judge to free them and remind
them of the need for obedience. God called them to continued hope of liberation through the
prophets like Isaiah. Through the stock of Jesse a prophet will arise to liberate his people. \u201c On
him will rest the spirit of Yahweh, a spirit of wisdom and insight, the spirit of counsel and power,
the spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh: his inspiration will lie in fearing Yahweh. His judgement

They prophesied the birth of a Saviour who would save his people from sin and death through a woman. \u201c The L ord will give you a sign in any case: It is this: the young woman is with child and will give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel\u201d [Is. 7: 14]. God\u2019 s plan of salvation for

humanity was near actualization. That became a reality with the birth of Jesus. He came more than 2 000 years ago to offer us hope and determination to continue to serve the living God even in the midst of suffering. His coming amongst us is a sign of t he presence of God in our lives and in our midst as his name Emmanuel shows \u201c God- wit h- us.\u201d Even in t he midst of pain and suffering, may we continue to rely on the power which comes from on high.