Month: December 2018

   Pompeii was an ancient city built by the Oscans. In 80 B.C. the Romans took over Pompeii so it became a Roman city. Rich Romans could travel to Pompeii for a relaxing vacation. The city offered activities. It had an amphitheater, gymnasium, and bathhouses. People lived very poorly there.

   The ancient city of Pompeii is located near modern-day Naples, Italy. Pompeii is about five miles away from Mount Vesuvius. Even though the mountain had erupted before, the Romans ignored it and continued to go to Pompeii. They loved the warm, sunny, weather!

   In 79 A.D., the mountain erupted again! Ashes and rocks shot out so high into the air that even people hundreds of miles away witnessed the event. The lava was so hot that it killed anything within six miles of it. The ashes even clogged the air to make it difficult to breathe. Once the ashes cleared, Pompeii was completely destroyed. At least 2,000 people were killed in this catastrophe.

   Pompeii was rediscovered by archeologists and became an archeological site. They found lots of artifacts and well-preserved bodies. They preserved the bodies by pouring plaster or resin in the cavities.

   Archeologists found many artifacts and made a lot of discoveries about the Roman culture.

   After Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit into each of his disciples making them each apostle. Apostle means “one who is sent out”. The job of each apostle is found in the Great Commision, which we find in Matthew 28:19-20. It says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

   Here were some of the early apostles, Simon Peter, James, John, Philip, and Paul. Each of these men went to different corners of the world to preach the gospel. Some were even martyred because of their faith in Jesus. James was beheaded by Herod (not the Herod that tried to kill Jesus), but John was not martyred. He lived many years and died of old age. He also wrote many books of the Bible.

   Here is an interesting story about an apostle. One of the interesting things about him is that he did not start out as an apostle. Instead, he persecuted apostles. His name was Saul, but one day he met the Lord, repented of his sin, and became known as Paul, one of the greatest apostles in history.

   Because of men like Paul and the apostles, the gospel spread to all the corners of the world. Each man went to a different city and preached the gospel there. Some people believed the gospel and others rejected it, but Christianity still spread. Even though some died preaching the gospel, Christianity never stopped. I am a Christian because of these men.

   An angel, named Gabriel, came to visit a young Jewish girl named Mary. Gabriel told Mary that she will have a Baby and she will call his name Jesus, but she was not married. Instead, she was engaged to a man named Joseph. She rejoiced that the Messiah would come through her. Throughout the Bible, many prophecies were told of Jesus’ coming to earth. One was that he would be born in Bethlehem.

   After a census was called, Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendant of David, and David’s hometown was Bethlehem. Once they got there, there was no place for them to stay so they had to sleep in a stable and on that very night, Jesus was born.

   Out in the fields, shepherds were watching over their flock when all of a sudden, an angel appeared and told them that Jesus was born. After the angel left they wanted to see Jesus, so they ran to see Jesus. After they saw Jesus, they went throughout the city proclaiming that Christ has been born.

   Wise men, who were astronomers from the East saw Jesus’ star and went to see Him. They met Herod, king of Judea and asked him where Jesus was born. After Herod heard this, he was furious and one of his men told him that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem and then Herod told the Wise men this. The Wise men finally got to Jesus a year after he was born and gave him kingly gifts. These were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

   When the Wise men left, they did not go to Herod. Instead, they went home a different way. When Herod realized he had been deceived by the Wise men, he demanded that all male children under three were to be killed. Before this happened, an angel told Joseph in a dream to go to Egypt and Joseph obeyed. In Egypt, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus waited until Herod was dead to return and an angel told Joseph it was safe to return so Joseph and his family went to Nazareth where Jesus grew up as a humble carpenter. I think Jesus’ birth is amazing!