To children of all ages, and grown-ups who are still children at heart: here’s a challenging Christmas code for your family to decipher. (It’s a bit tricky, but we think combined brain power should do the trick.) We’ll post the names of everyone who figures out the secret code and sends it in by December 20th. Have fun, and Merry Christmas!

How to do it:

1. Find each of the following parts of the Christmas story (or relating to the Christmas story) in your Bible. (Hint: All the verses below are found in two of the four Gospels [KJV].)

2. In each blank space note down the VERSE NUMBER of each verse in the same order as they appear. (Remember, just the verse number, not the chapter.)

3. Decipher this Christmas phrase by matching each verse number with a character of the alphabet (1 = A, 2 = B, etc. If greater than 26, number equals a space.)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  (14 spaces)

• “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
• “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.”
• “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.”
• “And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”
• “To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”
• “And the child [John] grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”
• “And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
• “When he [Joseph] arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”
• “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”
• “And they [the religious leaders] said unto him [Herod], In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet.”
• “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.”
• “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
• “And, behold, thou [Zacharias] shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”
• “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”