Christmas Stroll – Bethlehem Style!

Although our team began the day finishing some Jerusalem sites, it was an afternoon trip to Bethlehem that stole the show. You can see some photos from our stops at the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Caiaphas’ house (where Jesus was tried by the Jewish High Priest). But our time in Bethlehem was exceedingly special.

After walking 6 or more miles around Jerusalem, we drove to Bethlehem where we enjoyed a special lunch (check out the murals in the restaurant.)  It seems like Bethlehem has a Christmas theme year-round and we just happen to be here in December!

After a late lunch we drove to the shepherd’s fields where we had a good glimpse of the location where the angels would have appeared to those men “watching over their flocks by night.”

We read the Luke 2 account of Jesus’ birth and as we began to sing some Christmas carols I looked down at my watch and it was just past 4:30pm.  How fitting that Cheryl and I would literally be sitting in Bethlehem looking over the valley where Jesus was born at the very same hour of our day the Christmas stroll will start on your Saturday in Bozeman. We were filled with awe as we sang “O Come All Ye Faithful” and especially the stanza, “O come ye to Bethlehem, come and behold Him, born the King of angels!”

We then viewed a stable in the rock that would have been much like the one Jesus was born in. Jesus truly humbled Himself to come to this earth and save us from our sins! We prayed for the Christmas stroll in Bozeman and for all our churches – that this Christmas season many hearts might prepare Him room!