Untitled Sermon

(Mat 1:18 NIV) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

The duration of engagements in Old Testament times varied considerably—sometimes couples married on the same day they became betrothed, though typically a period elapsed between betrothal and the actual marriage ceremony. During this interval, the groom prepared a dwelling place in his father’s house while the bride readied herself for married life.

Later Jewish practice formalized these timelines more strictly. After betrothal, a standard twelve-month waiting period preceded the formal home-taking that completed the marriage

(Luk 1:26 NIV) In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,

(Luk 1:27 NIV) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

(Luk 1:28 NIV) The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

(Luk 1:29 NIV) Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

(Luk 1:30 NIV) But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.

(Luk 1:31 NIV) You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.

(Luk 1:32 NIV) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

(Luk 1:33 NIV) and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."

(Luk 1:34 NIV) "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

(Luk 1:35 NIV) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

(Luk 1:36 NIV) Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.

(Luk 1:37 NIV) For no word from God will ever fail."

(Luk 1:38 NIV) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

(Mat 1:19 NIV) Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

(Mat 1:20 NIV) 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.

(Mat 1:21 NIV) 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."

(Mat 1:22 NIV) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

(Mat 1:23 NIV) "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

(Mat 1:24 NIV) When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

(Mat 1:25 NIV) But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

My value cannot be determined by all that has been recorded of me. My value is in God saying, well done by good and faithful servant.