Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro* –Two fathers meet.

One says, “My son just got his first job after college.”

The second asked, “When did he graduate?”

“About fifteen years ago.”

Some of you may have experienced the same thing.

But the point is, we don’t want to produce children who are 15 or 20 or 40 years figuring out God’s plan for their lives, right?

Imagine as a young couple you’re suddenly informed your baby will become leader of the free world.

How would you feel?

It would be hard not to panic, wouldn’t it?

How do I do this?

Will I get it right?

Well, that is exactly where Mary and Joseph found themselves.

They knew they had a special baby.

His birth announcement was astounding!

How do you raise the promised Messiah?! God likes us dependent, giving us what we need a day at a time.

Mary and Joseph were no exception.

Gabriel didn’t stick around past the initial announcement.

And now the baby is here.

But what next?

How do they treat Him?

What challenges lie ahead?

Are things going according to plan?

Have they missed anything?

This passage is about how God, in response to their faithfulness, helped them raise Jesus.

And in preparing to write Theophilus, affirming his faith, Luke went to Mary as his source for all this.

As he sat with her years later, she took pains to remember the events of Jesus’ early childhood.

And in this portion of Luke’s record we see the messianic mission of Christ developing from 3 perspectives.

From Mary and Joseph we see how faithful parenting enabled Jesus to discover and fulfill his mission.

From Simeon, we see further prophetic enlightenment defining and setting expectations for that mission.

And from Anna we have an example of a faithful response to that mission.

Now, some of you might say, “Surely Christ knew His mission.

How could that be in question?”

And as God, He certainly knew.

But remember -- He has emptied Himself of utilizing His powers as God.

Thus, as this passage clearly depicts, He went through a normal human growth cycle in which according to [[v.

52 “He increased in wisdom.”

>> Luke 2:52]] Living without the aid of His deity, He, like us, must discover His mission and purpose in life.

That put heavy pressure on Mary and Joseph.

So, how did they help this unique child find His destiny?

In that answer, we will find guidance in helping our own children and grandchildren find their special, one-of-a-kind purpose in life.

It won’t be a messianic purpose.

But every life is uniquely crafted by God to accomplish something of eternal significance.

Our chief job as parents?

Help children find that purpose.

Heavy, heavy responsibility.

So, how did they do it, and how can we do it?

*I.

Persist in God’s presence*

[[V.

22: “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”

>> Luke 2:22]] Mary and Joseph faced the daunting task of raising a unique child who they did not fully understand.

But they knew who made that child, and they sought His presence.

Fittingly, God confirms the identity and mission of their son when they go to His house.

We have the same issue on a smaller scale with our children and grandchildren.

They’re not Jesus, but there is a unique but unknown plan of God for that child.

Children don’t come with packaged instructions.

We have to find them.

And help our children find them.

So, Mary and Joseph went to the temple.

Now God is everywhere and can be found anywhere.

But He has always urged His people to worship, pray, fellowship with Him in a special way at His house.

Mary and Joseph “brought him up to Jerusalem.”

They went to the temple.

They went for ceremonial purposes that could have been accomplished elsewhere, in a synagogue.

But they delayed 40 days so they could go to the temple.

And guess what?

God was waiting for them there with not one but two specially selected servants of His to help further their task.

In God’s house, God provided blessings they otherwise never would have had.

God intends all His children to be together, but especially those who are seeking God’s mission for their children.

We were never meant to live in isolation.

God refreshes thru His Word, through fellowship and through the giftedness of others.

This furthers His blessing, His guidance and His will in our lives.

No Christian parent should deceive themselves that they are doing all they can for their children without regular in attendance at a God-honoring, Bible-teaching church.

It’s where God meets us in a special way and equips us with renewed faith and direction.

That’s why God challenges us in Heb 10:24, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Mary and Joseph perfectly model that in this passage.

Squirrels had overrun the 3 churches in one small town.

After prayer, the elders of the first church determined the animals were predestined to be there and left them.

The second church trapped the rodents and freed them outside of town.

But 3 days later, the squirrels were back.

The third church was the only one to rid itself of the squirrels.

The pastor baptized them, registered them as members.

Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

If that is us – we are only cheating ourselves – and our children by short-circuiting God’s ministry to us through each other.

And don’t tell me it’s tough.

I was the oldest of eleven children.

Dad and Mom were the hardest working people I ever knew.

But tho sometimes ready to drop from fatigue, we never missed Sunday morning, Sunday night, youth group, Wednesday night and any other time the doors were open.

They understood priorities.

Being with God is a matter of how badly we want it.

There is no question about how badly we need it!

Families serious about their faith worship God together.

*II.

Perfect God’s Word (be doers)*

About 45 years after these events, one of Mary’s children – James, (#2) – wrote these words: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jas 1:22).

Those words were partly inspired by the example of his parents.

Their rigorous obedience was exemplary, and their kids got it.

They not only knew the Word; they were living it.

Five times reference is made to their obedience.

So, [[v.