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How Joseph Gave Us Christmas
Matthew 1:18-25
Skip Heitzig

Matthew 1 (NKJV™)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Christmas Messages

In the Christmas story, Jesus understandably gets top billing. Mary follows as a close second, again rightfully so since she was a young virgin girl who miraculously turned up pregnant with Israel’s Messiah. But then there’s Joseph. Though he is part of the nativity scene, he is regarded as almost incidental or supplemental, like a bystander. Today, we will follow Joseph’s uneasy emotional journey from Nazareth to the manger as we consider his role and reaction to it.

This collection of Christmas messages from over the years focuses on the birth of Jesus Christ—"Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" (Matthew 1:23). You'll be encouraged to keep your eyes on Christ no matter the season.

Outline

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  1. Excitement (v. 18a)

  2. Shock (v. 18b)

  3. Confusion (v. 19)

  4. Fear (vv. 20-23)

  5. Resolve (vv. 24b-25)

Study Guide

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Connect Group Guide: December 19, 2021
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: “How Joseph Gave Us Christmas”
Text: Matthew 1:18-25

Main Point
In the Christmas story, Jesus understandably gets top billing. Mary follows as a close second, again rightfully so since she was a young virgin girl who miraculously turned up pregnant with Israel’s Messiah. But then there’s Joseph. Though he is part of the nativity scene, he is regarded as almost incidental or supplemental, like a bystander. Today, we will follow Joseph’s uneasy emotional journey from Nazareth to the manger as we consider his role and reaction to it.

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” —Matthew 1:24-25 (NIV)

Talk about It
  1. How would you feel if an angel visited you?
  2. The text tells us Joseph considered the option of “putting Mary away”—releasing or divorcing her. What would you do if you were in Joseph’s position? How did
    Joseph’s character lead him to the right decision with God’s help?
  3. What events in your life were resolved when you obeyed God? How can disobedience lead to consternation and confusion?
  4. Who or what is your life revolving around?
“Obedience is not easy. We’re never promised a downhill, uncomplicated ride if we obey.” —Pastor Skip

Make It Practical
  • Place Jesus at the center. At first, Joseph didn’t know this truth. But then he adjusted his entire life to protect a woman and raise a boy who was not his own. Joseph wasn’t the star of the show, nor was Mary. Placing Jesus at the center motivated them their entire lives.
  • Choose obedience. Sometimes the best decisions are the hardest. It would have been easier for Joseph to get a private divorce and walk away. Following God’s will doesn’t mean everything is going to flow smoothly and easily.
  • Walk in integrity. The world needs men who are just and righteous. Read Matthew 1:19.
Pray
Father, thank You for the example of Joseph’s commitment and obedience. Give our world and our church men of integrity, men of righteousness and justice who make the tough decisions to please You.

Cross references: Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Luke 1:26-38, 56

Transcript

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How Joseph Gave Us Christmas - Matthew 1:18-25 - Skip Heitzig

[MUSIC PLAYING]
Good morning. We wish you a blessed joyful Christmas season with your family, with relatives, with new friends that you meet. We are today in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, if you have a Bible. And I think you brought one. That's a good thing to do to a Bible study, bring a Bible. Matthew, chapter 1-- the next few messages are going to all be Christmas centered. So this week I want to talk to you about Joseph. Christmas Eve I want to talk to you about a couple of obscure people in the Christmas message, and that is Simeon and Anna.

And then next Sunday, which is the day after Christmas, we're going to be having one service at 11 o'clock, having communion, ending the year on the right note, as the church together, one service at 11 o'clock communion. And I'll be talking to you about the Magi. And the reason I'm doing it after Christmas is because they didn't show up until after Christmas, contrary to your nativity set and Christmas cards. But we'll be doing that.

But let's turn to Matthew chapter 1 and have a word of prayer. Father, thank you for the opportunity to gather together as the people of God, centering on the greatest message the world ever had the opportunity to hear about the greatest person the world ever had the opportunity to encounter, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you that you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten son. And we believe in him. And because we believe in him, we place our faith in him.

You said that we will never perish. But we will have everlasting life. We celebrate that every time we come together. We celebrate our everlasting life. And I pray, Lord, that you would broaden and deepen our understanding. Even though this is a very familiar text to us, we pray, Lord, that we would gain a deeper appreciation, therefore a deeper adoration of you. In Jesus's name we ask, Amen.

Well, I feel we have done a little bit of disservice to the person of Joseph in the Christmas story. And when I say that it's because I mean we know he's there. Joseph is always there. But we have sort of regarded Joseph as almost a bystander.

He's there standing around. And yet if it weren't for Joseph obeying God, humbling himself to carry out the command that he has given in the passage we're about to read, there wouldn't be a Christmas for us to celebrate. Joseph is one of the most overlooked characters of all of the Christmas characters. There are more sermons about the Old Testament Joseph than there are about this Joseph in the New Testament.

Even our Christmas carols, our hymnology, when it comes to Christmas, usually it centers on Jesus, as it should. But also if not Jesus, then who else? Mary. It's Mary and Jesus. So one of the most famous Christmas songs is "Silent Night." "Silent Night, holy night, all is calm. All is bright. Round yon' virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild." There's not a word in that entire song about Joseph. I checked.

[LAUGHTER]
Another Christmas song, "what child is this, who's laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping?" Great song. But just so you know, Joseph also had a lap.

[LAUGHTER]

And I'm guessing that from time to time, Jesus made his way to that lap as well. There's no song about it. One of the famous more recent songs by Mark Lowry is "Mary, Did You Know?" You know that song. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know?"

Well, I don't know what Mary knew. Mary had a revelation from God. But I would also say Joseph, what did you know? Because you also had a revelation from God. We're about to see that.

There are other songs in the Christmas season. Amy Grant sings a song, "Breath of Heaven" also known as "Mary's Song." The words are, "I have traveled many moonless nights, cold and weary with a babe inside. And I wonder what I've done. Holy Father, you have come and chosen me now to carry your son." It's a beautiful song. But Joseph was also chosen by God not to carry the son, but to provide in early childhood for that boy.

Another song by the group Koiné, "Gentle Mary," "gentle Mary laid her child lowly in a manger. There he lay, the defiled, to the world a stranger." Well, gentle Mary was there. But gentle Joseph was also there as well. No word about him.

A famous song that's been around a while, "Mary's Boy," "Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day. And man will live forever more because of Christmas Day." All true. But after Christmas Day, Joseph was in charge of training that child with a trade and occupation, many, many hours and years of investment.

It is so blatant this absence of Joseph from the Christmas story, or at least the regard that he is a bystander, it is so blatant that one preacher's sermon on Joseph, one of the rare sermons, he entitled his sermon "Joseph, the Face in the Background--" "The Face in the Background." But Joseph had a front-row seat to this story.

And today we're going to sort of put ourselves in his sandals, so to speak, and look at the Christmas story from the perspective of Joseph, the adoptive father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew, chapter 1, beginning in verse 18, we read this, "now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother, Mary, was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son. And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord to the prophet saying, 'behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us.' Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he--" that's Joseph-- "called his name Jesus."

I want to talk to you today on how Joseph gave us Christmas. That's the name of this message, "How Joseph Gave us Christmas." Now, I know some of you are thinking, boy, that's sort of a misleading title because frankly Joseph did not give us Christmas. He had nothing at all to do with the impregnation of Mary, his wife. We know that. It was a virgin birth. She was conceived by the Holy Spirit, or Jesus was in her womb.

Joseph was simply the adoptive father in the story. But as I mentioned, he is not a bystander. He provides the necessary framework within Judaism, the social framework, for the raising of Jesus in this culture.

It was Joseph who loved Mary through a very strange pregnancy, a very suspect pregnancy. And even he at first is suspect of it. And he will raise the Lord Jesus. I was given this, or at least I found this a few years back. And I think I showed it to you then. It may have been quite a few years back.

But the idea is it's called A Social Network Christmas. If Facebook would have been around in the first century, what Christmas might have looked like. We're going to play that for you.

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel. And ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel. Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, oh, Israel. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah.

[END PLAYBACK]

[APPLAUSE]

Well, let's take a look at the story, this very vivid dream, as was in the clip. And I want to show you five stages, five emotional stages that Joseph went through as I have read it in this story. And because we mentioned A Social Network Christmas, I'm going to get a little bit of help from some emojis that you probably are familiar with.

So the first emotion that Joseph had with Mary in the relationship is this one, excitement. So Joseph and Mary get engaged. He's excited. That's what he feels. Notice, in verse 18, it says, "Mary was betrothed to Joseph."

Now, nobody gets betrothed anymore. We get engaged in our culture. But in those days, engagement happened when children were quite young, like grade school. Their parents got them engaged. Their parents made a decision that my Johnny and your little Sarah are going to get married one day. You made the decision as parents. They, the kids, had nothing at all to do with it.

And then there were two stages to the marriage. There was called the [HEBREW]. And the [HEBREW] is a Hebrew word that is the betrothal. This lasted about a year, 12 months. It was a formal ceremony, in which you'd go to a synagogue, be pledged for marriage.

It was a formal contract. You were considered husband and wife. Yet you had no physical intimate relations. But you were promised to each other. And the only way that you could break that off, once you were betrothed, is a formal ceremony of divorce.

So that happened for about a year, the [HEBREW]. The second part of the ceremony is called the [HEBREW]. That is the-- almost sounds like hoopla. But the [HEBREW] is the formal marriage ceremony, a year after you go back to that same synagogue, typically. And you go through the ceremony with all your friends, all your family. And it's a huge celebration.

Now, in hearing that, most modern Americans recoil at the idea that their parents would choose a mate for them, especially when they're so young and they haven't met that person. But parents felt that matters of the heart were too important to leave to young people to make the decision. You'd see a girl and go, I really like that girl. I'm going to marry that girl. Then parents felt, that's just too frivolous. So we'll make the decision for you.

And we hear them. We go, I hate that idea. We should be able to pick our own. Oh, by the way, something else, usually the betrothal happened when the girl was between 13 and 14 years of age, sometimes as early as 12. So Mary, when she's betrothed to Joseph, is probably, according to the culture of the time, between 13 and 14, maybe even 12 years of age. The boy could have been much older. But that's the typical age.

So again, you hear that, and you go, much too young to get married. And parents making the decision for you is nuts. I would only say to that, given the divorce and marriage statistics that I see today, we haven't done much better job. Today, people get engaged later, break up earlier, and just say, no big deal, move on with their lives.

In fact, I saw a picture that a girl had signed to her boyfriend. It said, "dearest Tom" on the back, picture of herself, gave it to Tom. "Dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity." At the very bottom of the picture, "PS, if we ever break up, I want this picture back." Not much commitment in that.

So when they were betrothed, I'm just saying that Joseph felt like this. He was excited. All couples are. When we in our culture get engaged, our first emotion is excitement. I will tell you that when I asked my wife to marry me-- I've told you this before, I think. I did the worst job of anybody I've ever met.

I was very confused. I was very nervous. I don't even remember asking the question, will you marry me? She stopped me in the conversation. And she said, Skip, you just asked me to marry you, and I said yes. And I heard that, and I stood up, and I said, now, wait a minute. Hold on. This is a big decision.

And she looked at me just so bewildered, like, who is this guy? Well, I eventually learned to make it here, to come to the excitement. And I did. And after that, I couldn't wait to get off work and give her a visit. She couldn't wait for me to get off work and give her a call. And no doubt, Joseph and Mary, when that first happened, that first year of betrothal happened, they were excited for that relationship.

We know that Joseph was a carpenter. We're told that in Matthew, chapter 13. He had a trade. And he worked in Nazareth. And he was probably dreaming about the wedding ceremony and the honeymoon-- all guys do dream of that-- the life they're going to have afterwards, how many kids. They were in the process of talking about all of that. So that's the first emotion that Joseph felt, excitement.

The second emotion that Joseph felt in the story, as I see it, is this, shock. He went from excitement to shock because, look at verse 18, "Mary was found with child." OK, stop right there. That would put a wrinkle in the relationship. That would cause any guy to go from this to this pretty quickly, from excitement to shock. And so it was with Joseph.

Mary was found with child. Now, I don't know where Joseph was when he got the news that Mary is pregnant. I don't know exactly who told Joseph the news. Could have been Mary herself. But I imagine that when he heard that she was with child, it's like somebody sucked all the air out of the room.

And I'm just going to pretend. Maybe he was he was in a shop, in his carpentry shop, making a little sign for Mary, carving it out of wood that said, Joseph loves Mary. And just as he's putting the finishing touches on that sign, he hears the news she is with child. I can only imagine what Joseph's friends would have said.

I don't know if-- I've worked around carpenters. If you're a carpenter, with all due respect, if you're a Christian carpenter, let me know who you are so I can pray for you. People in the building business can be direct, shall we say. And I'm sure that Joseph heard things like, oh, come on, Joseph. We know you did it. Or really, you're going to marry this girl? Are you kidding? If she did it to you before marriage, she's going to be unfaithful to you. You need to dump that girl.

You see, in those days, sexual purity was regarded very highly. By the way, it still is with God. He puts it on a high plain. But in that culture, it was just understood that someone would stay pure until marriage.

Now, what I'd like you to do is look at another set of events. This is all sort of happening simultaneously. But turn with me to Luke, chapter 1, if you don't mind. We've seen the story from Joseph's perspective. And we're going to continue with that. But in Luke, chapter 1, we see the events leading up to the angel Gabriel giving the same message, this time to Mary, a very familiar Christmas story, verse 26 of Luke chapter 1, "in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

And having come in, the angel said to her, 'rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.' When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, 'do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and call his name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David. And he will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'

And Mary said to the angel, 'how can this be, since I do not know a man?'" I have not had intimate relations with any man. "And the angel answered and said to her, 'the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. And now, indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age. And this now is the sixth month of her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.' Mary said, 'behold the maid servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her."

Angel visits Mary. Mary can't figure out how this is possible. Angel leaves. She thinks, I've got to process this with somebody. Angel says, go see your cousin Elizabeth. She knows something about miraculous birth. She's an old lady who's pregnant. And she'll take you through it. She'll walk you through it.

So Mary goes down to Judea and spends three months. If you go over in the same chapter to verse 56, it says, "Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her house." So down in Judea three months, which means Mary has three months to process this. So by the time Joseph finds out, Mary has already worked through this in her mind for three months.

By the time she gets back to Nazareth, she's now in her third month, maybe slightly showing. Maybe there's a little baby bump by this time, typically when it starts to grow. Joseph finds out. He has not had three months to process this. It's like, [GASPS] you're what? So he is shocked.

But you know what it's like whenever you read a story or you watch a story in a movie unfold, and you know the events that are going on behind the scenes? The main character does not know the events. So let's say it's a murderer chasing a woman through town. And the murderer sneaks into her house in advance and hides in a closet. She gets home and goes from room to room.

And the camera shows the guy in the closet. You know he's there. She doesn't. You want to yell at the screen and say, he's in the closet! Get out of the house! He's in the closet, right? You want to do that. Wouldn't do any good if you did.

When I read the story of Joseph in Matthew, chapter 1, I want to say to Joseph, read Luke, chapter 1. You're still in Matthew. Keep going. There's information you need to know about. But, of course, we can't do that.

But he goes from excitement to shock. He goes from yippee to uh-oh, she's pregnant immediately. Have you ever been surprised by a bit of news like that?

Life is going good for you. Doctor calls. We got the test results. Or you have an unmarried daughter who says, I'm pregnant. Or your boss says, we're downsizing, and your name is on the list, bye. Or the bank calls and says, we're going to foreclose on the house. It's shocking when you hear that bit of news. Or how about this one. The world's in a pandemic. Just give us two weeks, flatten the curve.

[LAUGHTER]
Imagine what it was like to hear the words, sweetheart, I'm pregnant. Total shock. That takes us to a third experience, emotional experience that Joseph had in the story. It's this one. This is confusion. Joseph is confused. In verse 19 it says, "then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make a public example, was minded to put her away secretly."

Now, previously, all of Joseph's thoughts were elation. He was thinking about the ceremony. He was thinking about the honeymoon. He was thinking about their business. He was thinking about their family they're going to build together, all the dreams, all the hopes.

Not anymore. He has none of those thoughts. Now all of his thoughts are, what am I going to do about my pregnant girlfriend? What can Joseph do about his pregnant girlfriend? Herein lies the confusion.

In that day and age in that culture, there were three options Joseph had. Option number one, he could expose her publicly as being an unfaithful wife, an unfaithful woman. The period of betrothal, the 12 months, as I mentioned, was a formal contract. No physical relations allowed whatsoever but a formal contract.

If that contract was broken by a pregnancy, the man could have, according to Old Testament law, Deuteronomy, chapter 22, brought her out publicly and exposed her. And what would they do to a woman like that?

Stone her.

They'd stone her to death. That was an option. He could have done that. Now, maybe she wouldn't have been stoned because, after all, the Romans had taken over. They denied the Jews the right to exercise capital punishment. That was reserved only for the Roman government, as we will see in the crucifixion story.

But nonetheless, he could have tried that and exposed her and shamed her publicly. That's option number one. Option number two, he could privately divorce her. All he had to do is give her a handwritten notice of divorce. The certificate would be witnessed by two witnesses, and it would be done.

Option number three, he could marry her. According to Exodus 22, if a young couple who's betrothed, if she ends up pregnant, and presumably-- the text just sort of presumes or assumes that they had physical relations. They could get married. They would get married. That was permissible under the law.

Problem is Joseph had nothing to do with it. So Joseph opts for option number two. I'm going to privately divorce her. I'm going to get a rabbi, and we're going to get this thing ended. And that was Joseph's way of showing some compassion for Mary, just do it privately.

Nobody will know. Yes, eventually, everybody will know because she's pregnant. She's going to be showing. But that's going to be her problem, not my problem. But to show her a little compassion, I'm not going to expose her publicly. I'm certainly not going to marry her. So I'll just divorce her privately.

Those were the three options he had. Now had he been living today, there would be a fourth option, sadly, and that is I'll give you $1,000. You go terminate the pregnancy, the unwanted pregnancy. But in those days, in that culture, that wasn't even thought of.

So he opts for number two. I'm going to divorce her privately. But he's still confused about it because notice in verse 20 it says, "while he thought about these things--" so they're bouncing around his brain. He thinks, I'm going to divorce her. But he's not quite sure. He's confused, which leads us to a fourth emotional state that I think is in the story, you'll see. It's this one.

What's this? This is fear. And look at verse 20, and you'll see. "While he thought about these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be,'" what?

Afraid.

Afraid. Now, the only reason you tell somebody not to be afraid is because they are afraid. The angel said, "son of Joseph, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." What is he afraid of? Well, he could be afraid of a lot of things.

He's afraid of the future. He's afraid of the gossip, the talk, the slander. The people are going to be blaming him. Maybe he's afraid for Mary's future. What's going to become of her? I'm going to divorce her privately. But then what? What is her life going to be like? I love her, but I'm afraid for her.

A number of things he could be afraid of. But while he was thinking about all of these things, he got really tired. As often happens when people are in a heightened emotional state, they grow weary. And he grew weary. And he fell asleep. And when he slept, he entered into a dream state, we are told here. And an angel came and spoke to him.

Now, everybody dreams every night. You go, I don't dream. Well, you might not remember your dream. But dream experts say that you dream between four to six times every single night. And in total, you go through about two hours-- you had two hours of dreams last night. Whether you remember them or not is another issue.

I typically remember all my dreams. But my wife will sometimes have dreams. And in her dreams, she's articulate. She'll say things. And she doesn't know she's saying it because she's in a dream. So this happened a few years ago where she turned to me, and she was just dreaming. I was woken up by it. She said, honey, I love you, in the dream. And that was a very sweet thing to say. She has no recollection the next day that she said that, though she does say that in her awake times as well.

But she said in the dream, I love you so much. And I turn over said, well, honey, I love you too. And I said something to her. She didn't respond because she was off in another dream. Same night she turned to me a few minutes later and said, shut up and go to sleep! Now, she has no recollection that that happened. All of that was in one of her dreams-- or two of her dreams.

[LAUGHTER]
Here's the funny thing about sleep or nighttime. At night, your troubles seem bigger than they do in the day. At night, sometimes you wake up, and then it's because of a dream that you have because you deal with problems that are unresolved during the day. And there's a number of kinds of dreams that people can have.

Some people have falling dreams. Anybody ever dreamed that they're falling off a building? Falling dreams usually denote fear of insecurity or anxiety that your life is somehow out of control.

Then there are chasing dreams. Anybody have chasing dreams or being chased? I had a lot of those as a kid. It is indicating the fear of impending threat or being in a stressful situation. Now, I was a kid. I didn't have a whole lot of stress. But I did have those dreams.

Then some people have trapped dreams. They're trapped in a cage. They're trapped in a room. That usually indicates fear of being restrained or restricted in life.

Joseph had an angel dream. But this wasn't just a dream manufactured by his own brain chemistry. This was a dream maintain and controlled by God. It was in a dream, but the angel came and told Joseph in verse 21 three things are going to happen, Joseph. Mary's going to have a baby. You're going to name the baby. And that baby's going to save the world.

Now, if what Mary told him seemed crazy, what the angel told him seemed crazier. She said, I'm pregnant. The angel said, she's going to have a baby. You're going to name the baby Jesus. That baby's going to save the world from sin. That was the message.

Well, that dream was enough to talk Joseph off the ledge of fear. And Joseph then ended up having a final emotion, and that's this one, resolve. Finally he settled that this was good, that this was part of God's plan. And he was resolved on his part to carry it out.

Verse 24, "then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife." He woke up, and he obeyed. They got married. It was a good dream. It was a good dream.

Joseph now feels relieved. Joseph is now grateful to be a part of God's plan to save the world. So they go to a rabbi. And they get her done. They get married. Joseph was resolved.

Now, I told you about my botched proposal to my wife. Once I settled on the fact that I had just asked her to marry me and got really excited about it-- and I did get really excited about it, and we were planning the wedding. At the same time, through the process, my resolve waned a little bit. And my poor wife, I was having second thoughts, and I remember going to her and saying, gosh I, don't know, Lenya, a lifetime's a long time, right? I mean, don't you think? I mean, to make a commitment to a person forever until death do us part? Hee, that's kind of hard.

So I wasn't there for a while. Finally I got there. And it might have been on my wedding day that I got there. But I finally got to the area of resolve. Joseph was there. Not only was he resolved to do it and did it, but look at verse 25. You add sort of a little note to that. It says, "and Joseph did not know her--" that is have intimate physical sexual relations with her-- "until she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus."

So not only is Mary committed to this process. Joseph is as committed and would not touch her physically till after the baby was born. Why is that important? Why does Matthew add that? So that you know that Joseph's state of mind during this time, he was so resolved, it's as if he was saying, I don't want anyone to say I had anything to do with what God is doing with you. I had no part of that. I don't want any gossip or rumors going around. I'm not going to even touch you till after this baby is born. I want everybody to know this was a God thing.

Now, for Joseph, this was not an easy decision. This was not the easy part. The dream was the easy part. After you wake up from the dream, the future is the hard part. Looking into the face of a who doesn't look anything like you that you had nothing to do with that birth, but saying I'm committed to raising this child in the fear and admonition of the Lord to follow God's plan, that took courage.

Now he's going to take them to Bethlehem. And that's a dangerous journey. And once they're there, there's Herod, who wants to kill anybody who claims to be king, as we know the story tells us. Then he's going to whisk them off to Egypt for two years. So he's leaving the country. He has to start all over in his occupation and make a living for his family.

Then after that, he's going to take them back up to Nazareth, with all his family and all his friends and all his carpenter buddies, who can figure out dates and pregnancy schedules, and their tongues are going to wag, and the gossip is going to fly for years to come. All of that to say simply this, obedience to God is never easy. If you think, well, once I decide to obey God and do his will, everything's going to flow smoothly, no, sometimes the right thing is the hard thing.

He made the hard choice. So let me leave you with a few lessons as we close this out. And we have closed it out. We're done with our emojis and our emotions. But let's walk out of here with a few lessons.

Number one, families work best when Jesus is at the center. That's sort of the obvious big-picture story here. Families work best when Christ is at the center. At first, Joseph did not know this. He didn't know that Jesus was to be the center not only of his family, but of world history.

And he found that out in a dream. And he decided I'm going to put Jesus at the center of my family, where he should be. I wish that all families would put Christ at the center. Their family life would be better. Families work best when Christ is at the center.

Lesson number two, sometimes the best decisions are the hardest decisions. It'd be much easier for Joseph to get that private divorce, put her away secretly. Life would be a lot easier for him. Life would be a lot harder for Joseph to take this child down to Bethlehem or this woman down to Bethlehem, have the baby, go to Egypt, go back, all of the stuff that's going to happen. Sometimes the best decisions are the hardest.

And number three, the world needs more Josephs. The world needs men of integrity, just men. Joseph was a just man. It means righteous. He decided, I'm going to do the right thing. No matter if it's easy or hard, the right thing is to honor God. The right thing is to marry this woman. The right thing is to raise this child. The world needs men of integrity, men who will follow God's will.

And so on this weekend, before we enter into the Christmas week, or as we are entering into it, we remember Joseph, the one who is sometimes hidden in the Christmas story. But were it not for him, we wouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas as we do. And so Father, we are thankful for all the men that you have raised up in the lives of our church, in our own lives, who have put Christ first, who have made tough decisions, and who are men of integrity. Give us more like Joseph. In Jesus's name, we pray.

We hope you enjoyed this special service from Calvary Church. We'd love to know how this message impacted you. Email us mystory@calvarynm.church. And just a reminder, you can support this ministry with a financial gift at calvarynm.church/give. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from Calvary Church.

Additional Messages in this Series

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12/25/1983
completed
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Christmas 1983
Luke 1:26-33
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas 1983 - Luke 1:26-33 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/1984
completed
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Those Who Found Christmas
Luke 2:8-20
Skip Heitzig
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Those Who Found Christmas - Luke 2:8-20 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1985
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1985
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1985 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/21/1986
completed
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A Gift for Jesus
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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A Gift for Jesus - Matthew 2:1-12 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/20/1987
completed
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What Child is This?
Luke 2:1-14
Skip Heitzig
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What Child is This? - Luke 2:1-14 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/1988
completed
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Simeon's Christmas Present
Luke 2:25-35
Skip Heitzig
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Simeon's Christmas Present - Luke 2:25-35 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1989
completed
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Christmas According to Isaiah
Isaiah 9:6-7
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas According to Isaiah - Isaiah 9:6-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/1990
completed
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Kinfolk of Christ
Matthew 1:1-17
Skip Heitzig
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Kinfolk of Christ - Matthew 1:1-17 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/22/1991
completed
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The Man Who Missed Christmas
Matthew 2; Luke 2
Skip Heitzig
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The Man Who Missed Christmas - Matthew 2, Luke 2 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1992
completed
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Strange Birthday Gifts
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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Strange Birthday Gifts - Matthew 2:1-12 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1993
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1993
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1993 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/15/1994
completed
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Can Christmas Lead You to Christ?
Skip Heitzig
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Can Christmas Lead You to Christ? from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1994
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1994
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1994 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/1994
completed
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The Crisis of Christmas
John 1
Skip Heitzig
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The Crisis of Christmas - John 1 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/9/1995
completed
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What Makes Christmas So Right
Skip Heitzig
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What Makes Christmas So Right from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/17/1995
completed
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O Holy Night
Skip Heitzig
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O Holy Night from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1995
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1995
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1995 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/28/1995
completed
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Christmas Outreach 1995
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Outreach 1995 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1996
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1996
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1996 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1997
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1997
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1997 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/20/1998
completed
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Four Names for God's Gift
Matthew 1:18-2:5
Skip Heitzig
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Four Names for God's Gift - Matthew 1:18-2:5 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1998
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1998
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1998 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/1999
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 1999
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 1999 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2000
completed
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Christmas Lessons From The Family Tree
Matthew 1
Skip Heitzig
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Every year many folks buy a Christmas tree and place it in their homes, bedecking it for the holiday festivities. Meanwhile, the real Christmas tree is too often left out of the celebrations. I'm talking about the family tree - the genealogical record of Jesus' ancestry which forms the beginning of the Christmas story. If you've never considered it before, you're in for a pleasant (and shocking) surprise!
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12/23/2001
completed
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The King of Christmas
Isaiah 9:6-7
Skip Heitzig
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The King of Christmas - Isaiah 9:6-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2001
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2001
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2001 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2002
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2002
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2002 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2003
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2003
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2003 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/19/2004
completed
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The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Matthew 1:18-2:6
Skip Heitzig
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The Gift That Keeps on Giving - Matthew 1:18-2:6 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2004
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2004
Luke 2:1-7
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2004 - Luke 2:1-7 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/17/2005
completed
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Merry CHRISTmas
Matthew 1:18-25
Skip Heitzig
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Merry CHRISTmas - Matthew 1:18-25 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/21/2005
completed
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A Classic Christmas
Skip Heitzig
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A Classic Christmas from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/23/2005
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2005
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas Eve Service 2005 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/25/2005
completed
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How Did Jesus Celebrate Christmas?
John 10:22-31
Skip Heitzig
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How Did Jesus Celebrate Christmas? - John 10:22-31 from our series of Christmas Messages with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Albuquerque.
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12/24/2006
completed
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A Not-So-Silent Night
Luke 2:1-20
Skip Heitzig
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The Christmas season with its familiar carols wafting through the air evokes emotions of peace, tranquility and serenity. The birth of Jesus Christ was hardly that kind of an event. It was not a "silent night" but rather a boisterous and busy one. It's been that way ever since hasn't it? Into our busy world stepped the Son of God. Let's consider what lessons we can learn from the busyness of the first Christmas and how God wants to connect with our busy schedules.
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12/24/2006
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2006
Skip Heitzig
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12/24/2007
completed
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Christmas Eve Service 2007
Skip Heitzig
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12/21/2008
completed
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Christmas in a Nutshell
John 1:14
Skip Heitzig
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12/24/2008
completed
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No Fear - Christmas Eve 2008
Matthew 1:1-25; Luke 1:1-80
Skip Heitzig
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12/28/2008
completed
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A One-Star Hotel in Bethlehem
Matthew 2:1-12
Skip Heitzig
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12/20/2009
completed
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Is It OK To Celebrate Christmas?
Matthew 2:1-6
Skip Heitzig
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Every year timid yet sincere believers ask this question. They can see the commercialization of what was intended to be a celebration of the Lord's birth. They've heard about the paganization of the ancient Babylonians and Romans. Perhaps they're worried about putting up a tree or giving gifts because they, like their Puritan predecessors, feel that this would be compromising their faith. So let's take a brief look backward to the origin of some these traditions and chart a reasonable and biblical course forward so we can celebrate with a clear and joyful conscience.
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12/24/2009
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A Christmas Island - Christmas Eve 2009
Skip Heitzig
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The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus form a paradox to the identity of our Savior -- the God who created heavens and earth born as a helpless baby in Bethlehem. Let's travel together to that Christmas Island of old, and consider the greatest gift ever given.
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12/8/2010
completed
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Is It OK To Celebrate Christmas?
Matthew 2:1-6
Skip Heitzig
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Every year timid yet sincere believers ask this question. They can see the commercialization of what was intended to be a celebration of the Lord's birth. They've heard about the paganization of the ancient Babylonians and Romans. Perhaps they're worried about putting up a tree or giving gifts because they, like their Puritan predecessors, feel that this would be compromising their faith. So let's take a brief look backward to the origin of some these traditions and chart a reasonable and biblical course forward so we can celebrate with a clear and joyful conscience.
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12/12/2010
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The PRESENTS of God
Matthew 6:25-34
Skip Heitzig
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No matter how generous you may be this Christmas or at any other time, you will never be able to out-give God! His lavish kindness can be plainly observed, but it is too often overlooked. Let's consider during this season just how openhanded God is to us and the nature of some of His presents that He gives to us who are His children.
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12/19/2010
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Mary's Excellent ADVENTure
Luke 1:26-55
Skip Heitzig
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Christmastime has historically been referred to as Advent Season by the church. Advent means arrival or coming. At Christmas we celebrate the first advent (or coming) of Christ to earth to redeem the human race from sin, while we await His second advent when He rules forever. Mary of Nazareth was the human receptacle that God used to birth His Son into the world. She was a model believer in every way. Her example brings fresh encouragement to us. Let’s consider her.
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12/24/2010
completed
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The Light Was About to Shine - Christmas Eve 2010
Matthew 4:13-17
Skip Heitzig
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As the prophet Isaiah peered through his prophetic lens, he could see a small glimmer of light in the future. At the time of Jesus' birth the world sat in darkness--politically, economically, and spiritually. But when Jesus Christ was born, God Turned on the light! Let’s consider the beautiful source of illumination and learn that while we may be sitting in darkness, God is calling us to step into Son-light.
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12/15/2013
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A Baby in an Old Man's Arms
Luke 2:25-35
Skip Heitzig
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To speak about a gruesome death seems out of place at Christmas time, doesn't it? Why would we take Communion (the elements that speak of Jesus' death) at a time we should be celebrating Jesus' birth? An old man answers that question for us: Simeon of Jerusalem takes the baby Jesus in his arms and tells us the rest of the Christmas story.
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12/22/2013
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It's Darkest Just Before Dawn!
Matthew 4:13-17
Skip Heitzig
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A well-worn adage from the 1600s declares that it's always the darkest just before the dawn. Christmas is a celebration of light: Lights are strung everywhere both indoors and out. If you've ever wondered why, it's because Jesus, the light of the world, pierced the darkness of our world, making it possible for us to see clearly enough to escape one world and move into the next.
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12/24/2013
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The Light Has Come
John 1:9
Skip Heitzig
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I love early mornings when sunlight first comes up over the eastern sky. But if you've ever had the experience of the sun suddenly shining into your eyes, it's not so pleasant. Most people wince when light is shined in their eyes. Jesus is presented here as being "the light of men" and "shining in darkness." But the world cries out, "Turn off that light!" How can Jesus enlighten your life and how will you respond to Him?
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12/24/2015
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Jesus: Hope for All
Luke 2:4-14
Skip Heitzig
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The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy and brought hope to all. In this Christmas Eve message, Pastor Skip explains how Jesus' birth is a preview to what His life and death means for us: Jesus was and is accessible to all people from all walks of life who believe in His name.
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12/24/2017
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Christmas Under the Tree
Skip Heitzig
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With roughly 30 million sold every year, Christmas trees are one of the most popular and cherished Christmas traditions. Decorated trees adorn our homes, shops, and churches during the holiday season. The question is: What does a tree have to do with Christmas?
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12/23/2018
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Christmas Through the Ages
Romans 1:1-4; Galatians 4:4-5
Skip Heitzig
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Christmas stands as one of the major holidays within the church. On Christmas Day, we celebrate the incarnation, God coming to earth in human form through the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In this teaching, Skip Heitzig reflects on the unique aspects of Jesus' birth, looking to Scripture to find where Christmas began and why.
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12/24/2019
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Ornaments
Luke 2:8-11; John 17:6-12; Revelation 5:8-10
Skip Heitzig
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The night Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord invited all people to meet the newborn Savior, starting with the lowliest and most overlooked population: shepherds. This extraordinary invitation to the most ordinary people was a preview of the humble birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. In this Christmas Eve message, Pastor Skip Heitzig explains how Jesus is God's gift to us and we are God's gift to Jesus for all eternity.
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12/24/2020
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A Candlelight Christmas
Skip Heitzig
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12/24/2021
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A Thrill of Hope
Luke 2
Skip Heitzig
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So many of the great songs of the Christmas season have hope as the theme. Perhaps the most famous is the familiar hymn from 1847 “O Holy Night,” which describes the thrill of hope as the weary world rejoices. There are two people in the Christmas story who are usually overlooked, but who embodied this hope as they waited with expectation for years on end for Jesus’ birth. They are Simeon and Anna, and these two are great examples of what it means biblically to have hope.
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12/26/2021
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Being Wise and Unwise
Matthew 2:1-11
Skip Heitzig
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There are 56 additional messages in this series.
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