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Big Idea: God will surprise us when we trust Him with the confusing seasons.
Outline:
Joseph didn’t think it was supposed to happen this way - neither did Mary (v.
18).
Sometimes the right thing to do isn’t God’s right thing to do (v.
19).
Joseph was a good man.
Prov 3:5-6.
Give space for God to speak into the situation (vv.
20-23).
After 700 years - God was finally fulfilling the promise through YOUR family!
The highest promise - Jesus (God is salvation) & Immanuel (God with us).
The Messianic promise is coming through this crazy situation!
Surprise.
Bet you didn’t expect that when you got engaged to a young humble girl from Nazareth!
What great thing does God have in store for us if we’re willing to give God space to speak into our difficult and hard-to-understand situations?
What if through it, that prayer request from 20 years ago comes to pass (Mikey’s baptism)?
My grandma - Told the devil I’d never stop praying for him.
I stopped talking to my grandma.
I’m standing here because a poor immigrant illiterate Mexican lady wouldn’t stop praying for her grandson who said he hated her.
Trust God and see His Word come to pass (vv.
24-25).
You’re going to be surprised!
God is awesome and can’t be contained into box.
Intro:
Good morning.
Welcome to TRC.
Real quick: Aren’t these TVs cool?
That’s our mission at TRC: We want to be cool for Jesus!
Just kidding.
As our Production team has evaluated our setup and looked to the future, in addition to the fact that our current screen is coming apart, we decided these were our best option moving forward.
Here’s why I bring it up: We still need help paying for these.
And since it’s Christmas, I want to give our church family the opportunity to get our church a present.
These were on sale for Black Friday.
The total cost for the TVs, stands, and cables was around $1,300.00.
Therefore, this Christmas would you pray about how you can help gift these to the church?
Just some quick math, based on our church size - if just the adults each gave $33, we’d have more than enough.
That’s a pretty affordable gift!
Alright, we are in our second week of the “I Didn’t Expect That!” series.
It’s a sermon series focusing on God’s Christmas Surprises - found in the first two chapters of Matthew’s gospel.
Things that happen in the Christmas story that cause us to say, “I didn’t expect that!” Or, “Why is this included in the story of Jesus’ birth?”
Last week we looked at the surprise relatives in Jesus’ family.
If you missed that, you can always find the livestream via our Facebook page, or the YouTube version on our website: riverchurchct.com
This week we come to our next surprise.
If you have your Bible/app, turn to .
The title of today’s sermon is,“It’s not supposed to happen this way!”
How many have gone through something that’s caused us to say this to ourselves?
Maybe you’re going through that right now... You’re in good company.
Check it out...
, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place this way...”
Find Christmas story in the first two chapters.
There are surprises.
Here’s the next one.
Exegesis:
I love that.
Matthew’s like, “So, it happen this way.
No, for real.
I’m not kidding.
It happened this way.”
And he starts this way because what he’s about to say… no one expected it to be this way… He continues...
Let me pause and take a moment to explain betrothed because it’s not really a term we use anymore; plus, it’s important to understanding our story.
When a couple was betrothed, it was kinda like engaged, but way more serious.
After the couple’s parents made the appropriate arrangements for the two to be married, they would enter into a year-long testing period.
During this year, the two would legally be husband and wife, but didn’t live together.
The purpose of this period was to ensure devotion and purity.
If the woman didn’t have a baby within this time, it was all good in the hood.
When the year was over, the husband would go to the bride’s parents home (where she was living), with this grand procession, and then bring her back to his home.
They would then live together and consummate the marriage.
So in our story, Joseph and Mary were within this year-long waiting period.
But all of a sudden, it was discovered that Mary WAS pregnant.
Somebody say, “Uh Oh!”
But not just that, it says she was “with child from the Holy Spirit.”
Say, “Huh?”
Can you see why Matthew starts off by saying, “I’m gonna tell you the story of Jesus’ birth - the Christmas story - but it’s not what you expect!”
Joseph definitely didn’t expect it to happen this way.
We can assume Joseph started this process super-excited!
He was getting married!
He was about to start his family!
And even though this story involves a cultural aspect that’s foreign to us - arranged marriages - there’s nothing in the story to indicate it was a forced marriage.
It’s more likely both Joseph and Mary were excited about their future together.
But then THIS happened...
Verse 19...
This verse says three things:
First, it says Joseph thought Mary was guilty !
That was the most logical answer.
She was found pregnant during their betrothal - the testing period of purity!
And it wasn’t even Joseph’s baby!
What a betrayal!
Obviously, it only makes sense to get a divorce.
Next, notice it ALSO says, “he was unwilling to put her to shame...” Culturally, Joseph could’ve ruined Mary’s life.
He could’ve shamed her and basically set her up for life-long singleness and poverty.
The power was his, but he was unwilling!
Which says a lot about Joseph.
I think it validates what the passage says about him: That he was a “just man.”
Joseph was a good man.
He didn’t want to destroy Mary’s life, even when he felt she betrayed him.
Culturally, he could’ve ruined Mary’s life.
He could’ve shamed her and basically set her up for life-long singleness and poverty.
If you will, it had the right to, but he was unwilling!
Which says a lot about Joseph.
One, it proves what the passage says about him: That he was a “just man.”
Joseph was a good man.
The THIRD thing I think this passage says by implication is that Joseph was heart broken.
Which means he LOVED Mary.
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