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Bethlehem
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Church of the Nativity

Bethlehem

The birth of Jesus · West Bank

In the small town of King David, Jesus was born and laid in a manger, because there was no room for them. The first to hear were shepherds in the fields: the news came to ordinary people first. In the 4th century Emperor Constantine built a church over the cave where Christians remembered the birth. Today a silver star in that grotto, under the Church of the Nativity, marks the spot.

Did you know?

The entrance to the Church of the Nativity is only 1.2 metres high, the 'Door of Humility'. Everyone has to bow to go in.

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An inspiring story

News for the night shift

Who would you tell first?

If you had news that would change the world, you would go to the palace, the temple or the newspapers. God's messengers went to the fields outside Bethlehem, to shepherds working the night shift with their flocks. 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.' Why them? Perhaps exactly because nobody else would have thought of them. They ran to the town, found the baby in a manger, and told everyone what they had heard.

The first to hear about Jesus were ordinary workers in the dark. That says a lot about who he came for.

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Luke 2:10

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