Passages: Luke 1:39-56; Luke 1:57-80; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-7; Luke 2:8-20; Luke 2:21-38; Matthew 2:1-12

Mary hurries to the hill country to see her cousin Elisabeth, and the moment she arrives, the unborn John leaps in his mother's womb — Mary answers with a song of her own, praising God for lifting up the lowly. Elisabeth's son is born, and when Zacharias, still unable to speak, writes down the name John rather than naming the boy after himself, his voice returns at once. Joseph, troubled to learn Mary is with child, is told in a dream not to fear taking her as his wife, for the child is of the Holy Ghost. In Bethlehem, where a Roman census has brought them, Mary gives birth and lays her son in a manger — and it's shepherds in the fields, not anyone of standing, who hear the news first from an angel and a multitude of the heavenly host. Eight days later the child is named Jesus, and in the temple an old man named Simeon, told by the Spirit he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ, finally does — followed by a prophetess named Anna, who has lived in the temple for decades. Sometime after, wise men from the East arrive in Jerusalem asking where the newborn king of the Jews can be found, and a star leads them the rest of the way to Bethlehem.

We are in a complete Four-Gospel Harmony. Today's episode covers: Luke 1:39-56; Luke 1:57-80; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-7; Luke 2:8-20; Luke 2:21-38; Matthew 2:1-12 (Mary Visits Elisabeth; Birth and Early Life of John; Annunciation to Joseph; The Birth of Jesus; Angels Proclaim to Shepherds; Circumcision, Temple Service, Naming; Eastern Wise-Men Visit).