The Return to Nazareth: A Christmas Story: Bible Series 2010

Now it is time for Mary, Joseph and Jesus, their son to return to Israel. Matthew 19-23, NIV, Life Application Bible: "After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

So, goes the story of Jesus Christ's birth. We will now continue in the days forward to look at the ministry of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior to mankind. There is a great deal of discussion and debate what it is that Jesus did as a young man as well as what happened between the years that separated the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is understood that there was 400 years that separated the two Testament's. But, we do know that Jesus did walk the earth as you and I do today but that He was God's Son and that He preached God's law and that He was God Himself in human flesh.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Alex and Dave.

Alex Aleman's Music is at RMusic

If you are interested in hearing some of Alex's music and even purchasing it, you can certainly do so at RMusic.com. There are some of his best songs listed here which includes: Complacent Days, Dancing in Heaven, Worth Knowing and Last Easter Sunday.

The Escape To Egypt: A Christmas Story: Bible Series 2010

The Escape to Egypt
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." (Matthew 2:13) This had to be frightening to both Joseph and Mary even though they knew that their son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah and the King of the Jews was with them. Why would anyone in their right mind want to kill the Son of God? The Son of Man? He had not even taken His first steps yet or even spoken His first words. It was certainly as if the people in high positions throughout the land knew who He was and what He was to be. King Herod said that he was the only king of the land and that there was no other. But when he was approached by the three kings of the orient, and they told him differently, he was angry and he wanted the child killed.

"So, he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet. "Out of Egypt I called my son."" (Matthew 2:14-15). Here the prophet spoken about is Hosea and this is from Hosea 11:1 which says: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." What is interesting here is that in the Old Testament in the Book of Hosea, many will tell you that this references the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt during the era of Moses. It is said that God had such a love for His people Israel that He was actually talking about sending them out of Egypt into the Promised Land. This is all great, but this is also one of the prophesies of Jesus' life when He was a child. He was sent into Egypt and as was said from the angel of the Lord, Joseph and Mary and their son Jesus was to stay in that far off land until they heard from him.

"When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Matthew 16-18). During the time that the northern tribes of Israel were taken by the Assyrians, Rachel, a wife to Jacob could be heard crying and weeping. The weeping was very bad in this case as was the case when the young children were put to death by Herod. Another amazement of similarities between Old Testament and New Testament times.

(Note: When it comes to the weeping and to the order of having children killed, I can only think back to my studies of the Holocaust. I did a lot of research as I lost family during the period of World War II and when I was in Israel, I could only weep when I found family names of those killed during that awful period in Jewish history. I was at Yad Vashem, which means the Hand of God, the Holocaust Museum in Israel).

Tomorrow, I will be bringing another part of the Christmas Story to you and it will involve Jesus' return to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary.

Thanks for reading our blog and enjoy the continued Bible Series and soon there will be some of Alex's music posted here.

The Christmas Story: Bible Series 2010: Visitors Arrive From Eastern Lands

Visitors Arrive from Eastern Lands

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, not in a hospital or a home, but in what is termed as a manger (in a barn, on hay) after innkeeper, after innkeeper rejected Mary and Joseph. They pleaded for a room but was repeatedly told that there just was "no room." However, one innkeeper did give them something so that Mary can have a warm place for the King of Kings.

Jesus Christ was born during the time of King Herod and after His birth, Magi came to visit King Herod and asked: "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written. (Note: The Chief Priests by the way were known as the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the Saducees.)

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." Micah 5:2.

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so I too may go and worship him." After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, the saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:1-12, Life Application Study Bible, NIV.)

(Footnote: So what a beautiful thing that has happened. Jesus Christ was born in a manger on a bedding of hay. There was a star, an angel and shepherds that announced his birth. There were three kings from the east known as Magi who came to worship him and bring him beautiful gifts. But, there was one man, a mean man, Herod, who did not really want to worship the King of Kings, but to have him put to death. So, the plot thickens and things begin to get somewhat strange and mysterious for Joseph and Mary and their baby, Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews. I have always loved the Story of Christmas, especially this part, as I grew up Jewish. I still did not read into the New Testament because I did not believe that it was for me to do so. But, since before my conversion to Christianity, I certainly began to read it and began to see that there was so much more to the picture of Judeo-Christian beliefs and what it meant to be a Complete Jew.)

On Monday, you will see the next post in this bible series about the Escape to Egypt for Joseph, Mary and their baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas: A Biblical Series 2010 An Angel Appears

A Christmas Story: Part 1: The Birth of Jesus: The Book of Matthew in the New Testament (Life Application Study Bible) tells the Christmas Story this way: It starts with an Angel appearing to Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet. "The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel- which means, "God with us." (Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. Matthew 1:24-25: When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

So, we have now set the scene: The angel has made his appearance to Joseph, Son of David, to let him know of the coming of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, his son. Instructions were given and the word is now out. Next we will read about the visitors arriving from the Eastern Lands after Jesus was born.

(Footnote: This is the greatest story ever told. Actually, the entire Holy Bible is known as the Greatest Story ever told. It is a great read and it is the Word of God. For many, many years, I was led to believe that the Bible consisted of the First Five Books of Moses and that this was the "Law of the Land." It very much was until the birth of Jesus and as He grew up, traveled and taught the Word of God to the people. I truly love the story of Christmas and what it means to me.)

David M. Brown
November 27, 2010

God's love letter

Introduction to Mission Lighthouse Ministry

Alex Aleman

Welcome to the Mission Lighthouse Ministry Blog. My name is David M. Brown and I am a co-founder along with my best friend and brother-in-Christ, Alexander Aleman. The ministry is located in Georgia and it has a single purpose: to help bring those who are lost in their spiritual lives and want to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to do this with great worship music, bible study, concerts (performed by Alexander), timely newsletters and public speaking engagements by Alexander and myself.

Alexander Aleman lives in Lilburn, Georgia with his wife Carrie and two great daughters Christina and Chloe. He graduated from Covenant Christian Academy in Loganville, Georgia. He has been writing music as well as performing concerts for nearly 20 years and has conducted public speaking engagements for some time. He has the God given talent of music, writing music and public speaking. Some of his music is presently being used in worship services in churches in Southern Georgia. He also has produced two cd's of his music. He also has the God given talent of playing the guitar. His home church is Mount Carmel Christian Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. In December, he will be portraying Joseph, the father of Jesus Christ in the Christmas production at Mount Carmel Christian Church. His wife, Carrie, will be portraying Mary and this will be a production you do not want to miss. Alex's mother-in-law, Trudy Daffron is the producer of the Christmas production and will be conducting the Mount Carmel Christian Church Choir.

David Brown lives in Grayson, Georgia and is married to Amy Brown of Tucker, Georgia. They have three cats and a parakeet. David came to Christianity from a life as a Conservative Jew for over 30 years. He was Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13 and lived in Israel for nearly two full summers back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He came to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior back on March 9, 2003 and has also been a member of Mount Carmel Christian Church where he was baptized into Christ. David, not long after accepting Jesus, started an on-line ministry with the same name and found that it became extremely popular. He and Alex met as members of the Mount Carmel Christian Church choir in 2003 and have been best friends ever since. David graduated from The American University in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration and Foreign Affairs. He is presently a free lance writer and photojournalist. He is also a self-published author.

Nearly three years ago, David and Alex got together and decided that they wanted to do something to help spread the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the decision was made to use Mission Lighthouse Ministry as the ways and means to do this. David decided that it was important to share Alex's musical talents and his public speaking ability to help spread the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the best way to do this is through ministry as we are all minister's to the Lord.

So, in 2007, Mission Lighthouse Ministry was reconstructed to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, Alex's music and public speaking. David, who loves to tell the story of his conversion to Christianity, is also presently writing a story about his conversion.

Please feel free to visit this Mission Lighthouse Ministry blog as often as you would like as it will be continuously updated with the news of the ministry, Alex's music and video's.

Thank you for visiting and Mission Lighthouse Ministry would like to wish its friends and family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

David M. Brown
November 26, 2010