This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Joseph of Nazareth was a fairly ordinary man up until the moment he found out that he fiancé Mary was pregnant. Instead of letting pride or anger rule him, Joseph chose to embrace mercy, he was willing to divorce her quietly.
Having demonstrated this strength of character, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream to tell him that God had chosen him for a monumental task: Adopt the Messiah.
Joseph may have been an ordinary carpenter, living in the unimportant village of Nazareth, but when he obeyed God's command by marrying Mary, Joseph became an example of faith and obedience that we would all do well to imitate.
When you are someone as important to history as Jesus of Nazareth, the long-awaited Messiah, curiosity about your ancestry is only natural. Matthew begins his Gospel by addressing this desire and does so in unexpected and interesting ways: (1) He starts with the titles of "Messiah," "son of David," and "son of Abraham." Each of these carries weight and adds to the claims about Jesus that Matthew's Gospel will be making. (2) The inclusion of four mothers with strong Gentile connections in a list that otherwise only contains fathers. In so doing Matthew points toward God's concern for the whole world as well as his willingness to utilize people who would otherwise be overlooked, two key themes in the Gospel narratives. (3) Matthew leaves in the list (while some have been left out to form thy symbolic 14,14,14 symmetry) men both good and bad, heroes and villains, making what Jesus will prove himself to be even more remarkable.
In our second combined service with Redeemer Anglican Church, Pastor Eric Phillips and Pastor Randy Powell share the honor of bringing the Christmas Eve message of hope and joy through the experience of the shepherds, first with one angel's message of a savior, followed by the promise of peace from a whole company of angels.
Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you absolutely hated? One that you can't wait to return, one that you struggle to pretend you're happy for?
Joseph was given a Christmas gift that he didn't ask for, the way he responded to this unexpected gift show why God chose him to be the dad here on earth to the long-awaited Messiah.
Perhaps you've received an amazingly unexpected and wonderful Christmas gift at some point, whatever it was, it can't begin to compare with the one given to Mary
In addition to his expected role as Messiah of king, Jesus added that of prophet and priest, but even more remarkably, that of servant as well. As God's chosen savior, a marvel in that because of Jesus' divinity it was in reality God choosing himself, Jesus served here on earth with remarkable self-control and compassion as he worked to establish God's justice on earth, a process that his death and resurrection secured the final victory for, and one that he will conclude when he returns in power and might.
For now, the calling of God's people is to imitate his self-control and compassion as we continue his mission of furthering God's justice on earth.
Having brought good news to the exiles of Judah in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah now calls upon them to share that news, shouting it from the mountaintop. Likewise, when the Advent of Jesus brought forth a greater fulfillment of Isaiah's words, the Good News was shared by the shepherds, later by John the Baptist, and eventually by Jesus' disciples following his command to take the message of forgiveness and hope to the ends of the earth.
What is our calling? Take the Good News to everyone who needs to heart it.
As we continue to consider the Advent of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the witnesses, we now come to the day of his birth and a number of shepherds going about their jobs working the night shift. God chooses them to receive the angelic message of Good News and great joy, to be the first to come see the newborn Messiah, and also to be the first to go tell others about this wonder which God has done. In other words, God chose them to be the first evangelists. Once more God's preference for making use of the meek and lowly amazes us, the willingness of these shepherds to be instruments of God's will encourages and challenges us to go and do likewise. Christ the Savior is born! Share the Good News!
When considering the 1st Christmas, let us not forget those who had longed to see that days for hundreds, even thousands of years. The prophets of ancient Israel as well as the angelic messengers of God both were curious as to how and when God would fulfill his Messianic promises. In addition, their desire to know more was further enhanced when God revealed that his Chosen One would both suffer AND be victorious, how these two seemingly opposite outcomes could come together was a vexing puzzle.
From our point of view, not only the Advent of Jesus, but his ministry, death, and resurrection, make perfect sense. We are blessed to know the whole story, to see why God's grace is truly so amazing.
Continuing to examine the first Advent through the eyes of its eyewitnesses, we turn to Elizabeth, the long-suffering wife of the priest Zechariah. After waiting decades, Elizabeth is blessed by God with a miraculous pregnancy. At her sixth month she receives a visit from her much younger relative Mary, at which point both the child in her womb (John) and the Holy Spirit give Elizabeth an amazing experience of wonder and joy. Elizabeth (and Zechariah) is the first to experience the 'ripple effect' of the Advent of the Son of God, the first to receive God's grace and mercy as part of Jesus' redemptive plan. Those ripples continue to this day, as the coming of Jesus continues to spread joy, grace, and reconciliation in our world.
As Matthew relates the event of the first Christmas, the focus is upon Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus. We learn that Joseph is like his ancestor, Boaz, a man of both righteous adherence to the Law of Moses, and a genuinely kind man. When Joseph learns of Mary's pregnancy he does not seek vengeance or humiliation, but rather intends to divorce her quietly. Joseph would thus fulfill the Law without being vindictive. Is it any wonder that God chose him to parent the Son of God?
"Nice guys finish last" may be a common enough idiom, and true in any number of pop culture examples and real-world scenarios. But God holds us to a different standard than 'winning' in this life, as followers of Jesus, we don't want to 'win' at the cost of our character.
As we look at the Advent story this year from the perspective of the eyewitnesses, we begin with Mary. If is difficult to put ourselves in her shoes with a gap of 2,000 years of culture, history, and for most of us, ethnicity separating us, but in the end even us men who do not know what it feels like to bring a child into this world, there is still a common humanity that we share with Mary. That being said, her response to Gabriel's mind-blowing message is truly extraordinary. Unlike many in the scriptures who respond to God's calling with hesitancy or doubt, Mary responds with humble obedience. "I am the Lord's servant" is as powerful as it is simple.
Amidst the wonder of Christmas, the angels and shepherds, the wise men and the star, is a deeper amazing truth. That moment in Bethlehem when Jesus first took breath was the coming of the Word of God, Immanuel, God in the flesh, living here with us. Why? Not to start a political revolution, or lay forth an ethical or philosophical path, but to bridge a gap. A gap between a holy and righteous God and a sinful people living darkness. This task only God could complete, so he came here to make our salvation possible. Jesus did not receive grace, as do we all, but was its source, he did not seek Truth, he was the Truth. This story begins before the world was created with the plan of God, takes a massive step forward at Bethlehem, but was always headed to Calvary and the Empty Tomb of Easter. So let us give glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rest. Merry Christmas.
Following the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, angels appear to shepherds in the night, amazing them and sharing the news that a Savior, the Messiah, has been born. An incredible culmination to the humble narrative of the birth of Jesus, as God chooses shepherds to be the first witnesses and the first bearers of the glad tidings of joy and hope.
In a key passage of Scripture, the angel Gabriel responds to Mary's question, "How will this be?" with an explanation of how the Son of the Most High will actually come to be. He makes it clear to Mary that the child she will bear will not be conceived in the natural way, he will not have a human father, but instead will be the result of an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The combination of humanity and deity, allowing Jesus to be both the Son of God and the Son of Man, was a unique miracle, an entrance of God himself into his creation. As further assurance, Gabriel offers to Mary the example of Elizabeth's unexpected pregnancy. The response of Mary to this stunning news is both simple and correct, "I am the Lord's servant."
In a world mired in moral and spiritual darkness, with humanity hopeless to solve the fundamental problem of our own fallen nature, it was up to God to intervene and change the trajectory of his creation. And so God came, the Word of God made flesh, the Son of God in human form, to bring light to those living in darkness, truth to those who know only falsehood, and life to those who were spiritually dead.
The light of Christ was the beginning, from there the grace of God has spread throughout the earth as the Gospel's message of repentance, reconciliation, and restoration has transformed lives generation after generation. We who believe today have inherited the light that first spread with the apostles, we now carry that light as ambassadors of God, bringing to news peoples and a new generation. May we all shine brightly as we reflect the glorious light of the Christ.
The most important events in human history invariably later involve those asking two questions: How did it happen? Why did it happen? For the most singular and momentous event in human history, the advent of the Christ child, the question of how was answered by the angel Gabriel, although it remains shrouded in mystery. The question of why, however, has been clearly answered by Scripture, we need only ponder the character of God as we examine it.
The zeal of the LORD brought the Emmanuel, God in the flesh, to earth. Why zeal? Zeal is the emotion that is connected to both love (ardor) and anger (envy, jealousy) relating to the relationships between people and between God and people. In this case, the zeal of God as our Heavenly Father would not allow God to sit idly by as humanity self-destructed in its rebellion against God. The love of God, propelled by zeal, moved God to act in accordance with his holiness, thus the advent of the Son of God, sent to be a sacrifice for sin, sent to redeem humanity from darkness.
As we celebrate Christmas, marveling at the wondrous deeds of love which God has wrought, let us remember that zeal motivated God, for his is our God, and we are his people.
What's in a name? The Messiah promised by the prophet Isaiah is given many names in Scripture: Jesus, Emmanuel, Son of Man, Son of God, Lamb of God, and Man of Sorrows (among others). Here in Isaiah 9:6b, the prophet adds four titles given to the one who will bring God's salvation to earth: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each of these in turn further explains who the Messiah will be and what he will accomplish.
What news could you receive that you would consider to be good? More than that, what news would also cause you great joy? When an angel of the Lord appeared to several shepherds near Bethlehem, he brought to them "good news of great joy", but not just for them, for all peoples. What news could fulfill that hype? As we know, that news was the advent of the Christ child, the arrival on earth of the Son of God, in the flesh, to begin the process by which he would offer salvation to mankind. The shepherds could only wonder at this news and the child they hustled to find, but we know the full impact of that miraculous birth, for he is indeed the savior of the world.
"God is with us", what does this mean? When Isaiah declared that the virgin's child would be named Immanuel, it seemed most likely that God would be with his people in Spirit. After all, God had gone to great lengths to convince his Covenant people that he was the only true God, that they need seek no other. God could be "with" his people wherever they were. And yet, more was needed, the Covenant people were unable to lift themselves up to the lofty standard of the Law of Moses, they needed help. As Matthew recounts the story of Jesus, the term Immanuel takes on a whole new meaning. Because Mary's conception was an act of the Holy Spirit, God himself would be entering into his creation in new way unlike anything that had happened before. The God of the universe, not bound by time or space, would take upon himself human flesh and live as we do, bound by the laws that he himself had helped his father craft. Immanuel would go from being a symbol of God's relationship with his people to being a literal truth; God would indeed be "with us" when the Christ was born.
How would this advent of Creator into his creation change our world? One thing became crystal clear, if God is willing to condescend so much to save us, his love for us cannot be doubted. Likewise, if God found it necessary to go to such an end to save humanity, our hope of ever fixing ourselves must have been false all along. God came down to earth at Bethlehem because there was no other way, Immanuel was our only hope.
After his dream ends, Joseph proceeds to obey the word of God by bringing Mary home as his wife. The Son of God will now have an adoptive father to raise him on behalf of his heavenly Father.
To watch the video, click on the link below: Sermon Video
