Christmas 2025 Greetings from PRTS

As we enter Christmas week, the faculty, students, and staff at the PRC Seminary take this opportunity to express to you our hope and prayer for a joy-filled, peaceful, and hope-centered Christmas season--all founded on and found in God's Son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderwork of pure grace our salvation is--from the Father's perfect plan in eternity to its complete fulfillment in time and history, from Jesus' Incarnation to His cross and resurrection, from His ascension into heaven to His return in glory!

As we commemorate and celebrate our Savior's lowly birth for us poor sinners, may our hearts and mouths break forth in thankful praise to our great God, joining the angelic chorus to proclaim, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14.

For your consideration and edification this week, we post a portion of this Advent meditation Rev. Michael DeVries wrote last year for the Standard Bearer. Based on Luke 2:7, it is simply titled "No Room."

No Room

"Yes, there is no room for Christ in all the world. There is no room for Him because He is God’s Son. And all men by nature hate God and God’s Christ. This is the horrible poverty of sin, yea, the poverty of our sin! Our poverty was so great that by nature we too hate Him and would cast Him out! And it is wickedly hypocritical when people boast that they would have given Jesus room, or that they would certainly make room in their hearts and lives for Him. What foolish pride—for it simply cannot be done! Bethlehem shows us that we have no room for Jesus in the world or in our hearts!

"Our blessed comfort is that even though there is no room for Christ anywhere because we will not and cannot give Him room, He nevertheless makes His own room. Jesus makes room for Himself. By the power of His Spirit and grace He comes and makes His way into the hearts of His people.

"These are the glad tidings of Christmas! In the fullness of time God sent His Son. According to the prophet of old He would be despised and rejected of men. Never was there room for Christ, not in all the world. And finally He was cast out with screams and curses, “Away with him; crucify him!” And they nailed Him to the accursed tree of the cross. In that deep way our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood in perfect obedience to the Father. In that deep way He bore the full burden of the sin and guilt of His people. Having accomplished salvation, Christ arose victoriously and ascended to His Father’s right hand to reign in majesty.

"The rich blessings of His salvation He now applies irresistibly by His Spirit unto our hearts and lives. He dwells with us and abides with us forever! Ultimately, upon the basis of His atoning sacrifice, He brings His beloved bride, the church, into the great glory of the new heavens and the new earth.

"The apostle conveys it so powerfully in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Let us be humbled as we behold our wretched poverty into which He entered at His birth. May we be filled with gratitude as we see that that poverty culminated at the cross. May we be comforted in the triumph of His resurrection.

"Thank God there was no room for Jesus! The Christmas gospel is exactly here! Rejoice that He has made room so that we know Him and love Him and serve Him!

"O, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!"