Sermon Tone Analysis
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*Experience the Nativity Story*
*The Courage of Joseph*
Matthew 1:18-25
* *
*Living a Life of Courage…*
* *
*1.
Cultivate a Heart of Compassion*
* *
/This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
/
/Matt 1:18-19 NIV/
/ /
/Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
/
/1 Cor 13:4-7 NLT/
* *
*2.
Listen for God’s Voice*
* *
/But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
/
/Matt 1:20-21 NIV/
/ /
/Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track./
/Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG/
*3.
Follow God’s Lead*
* *
/When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.
/
/Matt 1:24-25 NIV/
/ /
/Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other.
Act on what you hear!/
/James 1:22 MSG/
/ /
/ /
* *
How many of you saw the movie the Nativity Story this weekend?
Wasn’t it great?
I was especially moved by the way Joseph was portrayed…and what it must have been like to be Joseph.
I heard about a small boy who was bitterly disappointed at not being cast as Joseph in the school Christmas play.
He was given the role of the innkeeper instead.
So throughout the weeks of rehearsal he pouted and plotted about how he could get back at the boy who got the part of Joseph.
On the day of the performance Joseph and Mary made their entrance and knocked on the door of the Inn.
The Innkeeper opened it a fraction and eyed them coldly.
/“Can you give us lodging for the night?”/
pleaded Joseph, who then stood back awaiting the expected refusal.
But the Innkeeper had not pondered all those weeks for nothing…He flung open the door and smiled and said, /“Come in, come in, You shall have the best room in the hotel.”/
/ /
There was a pause, then with great presence of mind, the youthful Joseph said to Mary, /“Hold on, I’ll take a look inside first.”/
He looked past the Innkeeper, shook his head firmly and announced, /“I’m not taking my wife into a place like this.
Come on Mary, we’ll sleep in the stable!!”/
The little boy who played the role of Joseph was able to get the plot back on course.
As we think about the first Christmas…what was it like to be Joseph?
Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to play the role of Joseph?
He is often described as the forgotten man of Christmas.
Today we want to put the spotlight on Joseph and learn from him.
Someone once asked Leonard Bernstein, famed conductor of the New York Philharmonic, which instrument was the most difficult to play.
His immediate response was, /“the second fiddle.”/
Joseph as second fiddle, played an essential part in the Nativity Story…and he played it well.
His is a story of courage…courage on display.
Joseph was the man to whom God entrusted the task of protecting the mother and her child from the time she conceived Jesus.
He was the rugged and brave man who led Mary safely along the dangerous roads to Bethlehem, to Egypt and eventually back home to northern Israel.
God selected this man to protect the infant Jesus in the dangerous first years of his life.
As we look over the span of his life we see that Joseph had the courage to:
• Live a morally upright life in an immoral world
• marry a pregnant girl who was not carrying his child
• protect his wife and son in their flight to Egypt and then again upon their return to Nazareth
God the Spirit has included the story of Joseph to encourage each one of us to live courageously, even if it means living dangerously, in doing God’s will.
Before we study his courage, we must remember that Joseph was not some kind of super being.
He was an ordinary, flesh and blood man….like
us.
Life isn’t easy…it requires courage.
What can we learn from Joseph about living a life of courage?
His story unfolds in three parts
*Part one: Joseph’s dilemma*
Matt 1:18 -19 records Joseph’s Dilemma:
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Have you ever been at a place in your life where you asked the question: /God what is going on?
What are you doing to me?/
Who hasn’t felt that way?
We have all been there where it seems like everything we had ever hoped for has suddenly disappeared…and you can’t make sense out of your circumstances.
You feel like your dreams and hopes for life just came crashing down.
Well that is where Joseph was…obviously confused and no doubt crushed by what was happening to him.
When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant…the news floored him.
Why?
Because he was engaged to her…and he knew that he had not been with her…that he couldn’t possibly be the father.
There was only one logical conclusion…Mary had been unfaithful to him.
Though they were not married yet, so sacred was the period of engagement that they were by custom considered as if married.
According to the law Joseph had two options:
1.
He could divorce her publicly and shame her in a court of justice, or
2.
He could put her away secretly by means of a private divorce.
What would he do?
Verse19 says because he “/did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”/
/ /
Do you see Joseph’s dilemma?
His world has just been rocked…the woman he loves and is engaged to, is pregnant and he is not the father.
/ /
That my friend qualifies as a dilemma.
A scene from the movie “The Nativity Story” shows how Joseph must have agonized over what to do about Mary…watch it…
Film Clip: “Honor”* *The Nativity Story \\ \\
Joseph agonizes over what he should do \\ \\ Any man would respond under such circumstances with: \\ \\ · *Shock*.
Joseph thought that Mary was a pure and chaste girl…He must have been shocked to the core.
\\ · *Deep sorrow*.
His dreams of marriage to this young girl now seemed to be forever shattered.
\\ · *Anger*.
Joseph must have felt betrayed.
His manly pride would have made him want to punish somebody!
No one would have blamed him if he had caused a terrible scene in the village.
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