There goes the Neighborhood

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD-MATTHEW 1:18-25

SBS: Great to be here. Hope everyone had a nice valentines day.

Prayer

INTRO: Childbirth is an incredible time. Those of us who have had children remember what a wonderful day it was when we saw their birth or when we picked them up from the agency. Childbirth can also be a time of difficulty and trial. In a list of 911 calls this on appears:

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?

Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only

two minutes apart.

Dispatcher: Is this her first child?

Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

Yet getting a child is not the only time that we need God’s help. This next section of Matthew’s gospel forms a bridge between the genealogy and the rest of the gospel. It reminds us that there is something that we should all keep in mind as we read through the rest of the book.It tells us about Mary and Joseph, who, by the way are not just for Christmas. Matthew wants us all to know that with the birth of Jesus, God has come to be with us. In the paraphrase “The Message” Eugene Peterson paraphrases John 1:14 to say that the “word moved into our neighborhood.”

How does the neighborhood change when God moves in?

EVERY PERSON HERE TODAY SHOULD REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH US EVEN DURING THE DARK TIMES OF OUR LIVES.

Matthew wants us to remember certain times that God is with us.

Standard Outline (headings and body text)GOD IS WITH US DURING TIMES OF DISTRESS. V. 18

Distress comes from outside circumstances- “she was found with child” this was not Joseph or Mary’s fault. Mary was probably 13-15 years old

Distress comes at inopportune times- “When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,”

GOD IS WITH US DURING TIMES OF DECISION VV. 19-21

Decisions force us to choose. Even when they seem to have no good alternative. V. 19 Dante’s Inferno has a special place for those who would not choose

Decisions show who we really are. Joseph was a “Righteous man” We make our decisions and then our decisions turn around and make us

Decisions often take time. Wait for the angel. VV. 20-21

GOD IS WITH US DURING TIMES OF DELIGHT VV. 22-25

We delight in God’s word. v. 22-23 that it might be fulfilled

Matthew loves this word fulfilled

He will use it 15 other times in his book. NO other NT writer uses it more often

We delight in God’s commands. V 24

Dreams are a way that God will communicate with Joseph on several occasions reminding us of the OT Joseph who also went down to Egypt because of a dream.

In the Greek vv. 20-21 and 24-25 have 15 words in common, indicating exact obedience.

We delight in God’s gifts. V 25- The gift of his son, our redeemer The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.

There are those of you who do not feel like God is with you. You feel alone, dispirited, like you are making decisions with no one to help you. God is with you. About a week ago Dr. Reymond was lecturing and it took me back to my own seminary days. Immanuel-God with us. I could understand God against us. I could understand God hates us. I could understand God is angry with us. But God with us, I will never be able to understand that.