3 Truths From The Christmas Story
Selected Scriptures
Matthew 1:18a (NLT)
“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.”
1. God Works Through Ordinary People
Matthew 1:18b (NLT)
But before the marriage took place, while she (Mary) was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:31–38 (NLT)
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel[a] forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
God works supernaturally through people who believe Him
Luke 1:41–42 & 45 (NIV)
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!....
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
2. God Speaks to Ordinary People
Matthew 1:18–19 (NLT)
But before the marriage took place, while she (Mary) was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
Matthew 1:20–21 (NLT)
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And
she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:24–25 (NLT)
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
3. God Keeps His Promises to Ordinary People
Matthew 1:22–23 (NLT)
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us."
Matthew 1:23 (NLT)
She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’
John 3:16 (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
