Even though the entrance of Christ into this world comes in the circumstances of oppression,

where he is virtually incognito and sent to a cave to be born,

yet a very short distance away, there is an explosion of glory.

Music There is an explosion of glory.

The angels appeared and lit up the sky. As a society, we set aside a day in December to celebrate that event.

Many get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season and forget that Christ, the Godman,

came to save his people. I think we can all learn an important lesson from the shepherds who are in

Bethlehem that first Christmas night. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and thanks for joining us

for this Wednesday edition of Renewing Your Mind. As we continue R.C. Sproles series, Messiah is Born.

Don't forget that this week you can request digital access to this series,

the 12 Message series What Did Jesus Do, and its Study Guide,

plus we'll send you Dr. Sproles' detailed yet accessible book called The Work of Christ, when you give a year-end

donation in support of renewing your mind at Renewing Your Mind.org. Without the continued support

of listeners like you, this outreach would not be possible, so please know how thankful we are

for you. Well, here's Dr. Sprawl as he looks back to those eyewitnesses who were the first to witness

the glory of Christmas.

I remember in the decade of the 60s, in fact it was in the late 60s, that my wife and I were

living briefly in Philadelphia. And shortly after we moved to the city of Brotherly Love,

we spent a day touring the city, seeing all the famous sites that go back to the

revolutionary period. And that evening, we went to Independence Hall, and we sat in the

courtyard outside of the building to witness a new kind of dramatic

entertainment called a sound and light show. We had never experienced anything like this before

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