12/18/2016
The Redemption of Christmas
Matthew 1:21 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.
God Works Redemption Through Ordinary People
Luke 1:26-27 …in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
God Chooses People For Greater Purposes
Luke 1:28-30 The angel came to her and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
God Ordained Our Participation In Redemption
Luke 1:31-33 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.
Redemption Is Accomplished Through a Servant’s Heart
Luke 1:34-38 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Human Plans Are Never Sure
Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Righteousness is Characterized by Mercy
Matthew 1:19 But because Joseph her husband was a righteous man, he did not want to expose her to public disgrace, so he purposed to divorce her quietly.
God Intervenes In Our Lives as Needed
Matthew 1:20-21 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.”
Leaders Who Profane God’s Word Curse Themselves & The People Who Follow Them!
Jeremiah 36:27-31 …You burned the scroll …therefore this is what the Lord says to Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened (to God’s Word).
The Curse of Sin Is Cured By the Arrival of The Savior
Matthew 1:22-23 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”
Righteousness is Obedience to God’s Word
Matthew 1:24-25 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.