Sermon Tone Analysis

REMEMBER: 8:30 service needs to be in Life Group at 9:30

show Glory of Christmas video

I took a class in High school where I had one of those babies for a few days.

I took really good care of it!

The only points I lost were because I went to church with it after school one day and one of my youth ministers named P-dawg said, “what’s this thing?”

and squeezed its head!

Joseph and Mary were people no one expected to be the parents of the Messiah.

We don’t know much about Joseph at all.

But we do know that even though no one expected him to be the adoptive father of the Savior, God still chose him.

If there were a contest to find the biblical character with the least mentions but the most impact, Joseph has to be one of the finalists.

When thinking about the major characters in the Christmas story, we don’t usually, or at least I didn’t, think about Joseph.

But I’ve seen in studying that he really played a much larger role than I realized…

Honestly I think I used to think of Joseph as a clueless guy who just got caught in the middle of it.

Things are getting crazy and he’s just standing there with a confused look on his face and an angel shows up and says, “go there” and he goes because he isn’t sure what else to do.

But as I read through these very few verses that we have on him I’m convinced I was wrong.

First because I don’t think any part of what the Father was doing here, or anywhere, was haphazard.

Second, I don’t think Scripture paints a picture of a man who wasn’t sure what he was doing, but rather a faithful man who desired to honor God with his life.

And so the question that came to my mind is why did God choose this man to be the adoptive father of his Son and how do I need to let him be an example for me because of it?

Here’s my answer: Joseph was just a really good dude!

Joseph was a righteous man; obedient to God and a spiritual leader for his family.

Pray

He was a righteous man.

read Matt 1:18-19 and see notes in Bible

Hopefully everyone has had the blessing multiple times of having a friend who always seems to do the right thing.

They’re generous, always in a good mood, kind, serve others, forgiving.

Just smiling all the time.

To the point that if someone frustrates them or it sounds like they may be getting angry everyone stops what they’re doing to see if it actually happens, you know?

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a few people like that in my life.

You just love to be around those people because they make you feel good and want to be better yourself.

They more I read and studied the more I felt like Joseph was that kind of person.

He was righteous, as we should seek to be.

He was “just”.

He was humble, “divorcing” her quietly to protect her even though she didn’t seem to deserve it.

And so he was going to quietly end the relationship, but then he receives the first of a handful of messages from God, and we see that…

He was obedient to God.

This obedience is a part of him being a righteous person.

A characteristic of his righteousness.

I hope that this whole thing went better for him than I feel like it would go for me!

His faith was definitely bigger than mine because I don’t know that an angel showing up in my room in the middle of the night would be enough for me to wake Kristen up, “Hey!

Babe! Hey, get up and get the kids!

We’re moving to Egypt!”

I really think this is Hebrews 11 type stuff, put this man in the Hall!

He had great faith and trust in God! Let’s see the ways he was obedient in this story.

read 1:20-25

Joseph loved God and knew that he could trust Him and that obedience was always the best thing.

He understood that even though it may be painful sometimes, it was still better.

read 2:13-15

Not just leaving town, but leaving the country.

And to Egypt of all places!

I don’t know what relations were like between Egypt and the Hebrews at this point in history, but you’ve got to figure that when a Hebrew family is told to go to Egypt there’s a shudder that goes through them, thinking about what their ancestors went through there.

Joseph was obedient because he trusted God.

He had faith in God.

read 2:19-23

Once again we see that God leads Joseph and Joseph in faith leads his family.

He trusts God and knows that God is faithful.

Do you trust God?

Is that trust displayed in your life through obedience to Him? Obedience to his Word?

In the small things and the big?

Is there somewhere in your life that you need to turn and repent of disobedience and trust God and submit to where He’s leading you?

Moving your family like Joseph?

A career move?

Something you need to start or stop doing?

Obedience to God isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.

Joseph is a perfect example of that!

He is an example for us in the way he sought to be obedient.

And he sought to lead his family to be obedient as well.

He was a spiritual leader for his family.

He led them to be faithful followers of the Lord, just as he was called to.

He understood the assignment.

Read Lk 2:22-24; 41

I’m sure that we all have family things that we don’t really like that much but we know are going to happen because it’s a priority for our family, or for our parents.

Or our in laws.

My mother-in-law… Kristen reminded me of this, so I’m not in trouble.

My mother in law loves pictures.

Takes them all the time.

At moments when I’m trying to do things.

I don’t think I can recall a time that these pictures have ever been taken out to look at, but darn it we took them!

I do not like pictures.

I don’t want to stop what I’m doing to smile.

I also hate matching.

One Christmas when Kristen and I had been married for a couple years, we got tot their house and she had matching pajamas for everyone for a picture… I was not happy.

But I also knew it was happening because I knew it was a priority.

That had been made clear, not just by her words but also by her actions.

Joseph and Mary made it a clear priority through their actions that they were following God.

I don’t know if Jesus’ half brothers and sisters felt about going to Jerusalem the way I feel about pictures, but they knew they were doing it because they knew it was a true priority to their parents.

Joseph was being faithful to the law, obedient to God’s commands, and he was taking his family along with him.

This yearly trip to Jerusalem for the Passover was nearly 150 miles round trip.

And this was one of three annual trips to Jerusalem that Jews were supposed to make according to the law.

It was not easy, but Joseph, and I’m sure Mary as well, understood the importance of raising their children to follow God.

Parents, grandparents, are you leading your children and grandchildren to follow after God? Are you making it a priority in your family?

Is obeying his Word an expectation?

It must be!

Those of you who don’t yet have children but hope to one day, go ahead and start thinking about this stuff.

Know what will be important to you as a parent.

Don’t wait until you have a child in your arms.

Some of our students have heard me ask before, Do you learn to use a parachute before you get in the plane or after you jump out? “Having kids and skydiving is not the same thing!”

No it’s not, having kids is way more dangerous and scary!

Joseph and Mary showed that living for God was a priority in the way they ordered their lives.

In the way that they spent their time and the things they did.

This has got to be an example for us.