A Couragous Christmas
Matthew 1:18-25
Joshua 1:6-9, (NIV)
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
1. Courage to accept the animosity of the world
Matthew 1:18a
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:18a+b
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph...
Matthew 1:18, (ESV)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. But before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:19,
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:20,
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife.
2. Courage to accept the adventure of God’s will
Matthew 1:20,
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
3. Courage to accept the authority of God’s Word
Matthew 1:21,
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:24-25,
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 2:13, (ESV)
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.
Matthew 2:19, (ESV)
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead. "And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."
4. Courage to accept that God wants to be with you
Matthew 1:22-23,
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
