Emmanuel. It’s another name for Jesus. In fact, it was a name given to Jesus like 700 years before Jesus was born! Did your parents name you 700 years before you were born?! Mine didn’t! You see, this time of year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus we have to remember something very very important. This birth had been planned since the beginning of time! That’s pretty crazy. Most ladies are pregnant with a baby for 9 months, but Jesus being born had been in the works for thousands of YEARS! We know this because 700 years before Jesus was born a guy in the Bible named Isaiah said that a virgin would have a baby boy and they would name him Emmanuel. Here’s the super cool part. Guess what Emmanuel means? If you know what the name Emmanuel means go ahead and tell me… Emmanuel means God with us. And that’s just what happened when Jesus was born. God was with us through this little bitty baby who needed his mommy and daddy to feed him and bathe him and change his diaper. But then he grew and grew and became a man who told everyone about God and His ways and eventually died on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life with Him. Whew. What a life this miracle baby had! He changed the world! Emmanuel…God with us. What a cool name. What a cool God that He would want to come and be WITH US. He left heaven to come to us. And if you’re anything like me you might think….why? Why would God want to come and be with ME? I can think of a lot better things He could be doing or cooler people He could be hanging out with. I mean, I make bad choices sometimes and mess up and I don’t always have the best attitude. Why would He want to be with me and not someone else? Well, it’s all because He loves us no matter what…even the worst part of us. He loves you and He loves me so much that He wanted to be WITH US. Emmanuel. Matthew chapter 1 tells us of the details about the birth of Jesus and says in Matthew 1:22 and 23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet: (who was Isaiah 700 years earlier) “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel.”   Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing: Emmanuel is another name for Jesus, but what does it mean? Why is it important that God wanted to be with us? How can you thank God for the gift of Jesus in coming to be with us? Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel.” Matthew 1:23