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Celebrating Advent - Lesson 4 by Pastor Kevin

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Sing: Go Tell It On The Mountain


Reading: Matthew 1:18-21

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Summary: This another section that can get tricky with kids. Again, we can use general terms and help them to see that Mary and Joseph were placed in a very difficult situation. The people of the town would have likely perceived Mary to be an adulteress, which could be punishable by death (see Deuteronomy 22:23-25). Joseph obviously knew that the baby wasn't his, causing him to jump to the same conclusion. Any way you sliced it, there just were no easy answers. God tested their faith and purified their character as they did their best to honor God and do what was right. Remember, these two would have been quite young (Mary in her early to mid teens and Joseph a little bit older). This was quite a burden for young people to carry. Nonetheless, God intervenes and helps them through by the message from the angel.

Questions/Responses:
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't know what to do? What did you do? Did you ask someone? 

 Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't know what the right thing to do was (difference between right and wrong)? Perhaps you can tell your children a story of a time that you just were not sure what God wanted you to do!

 What is it like to be in a situation like this? Unpleasant. Confusing. Stressful. Like you just want someone to tell you what to do. 

 Well, Joseph and Mary are in a hard position. Mary has a baby in her tummy. Yay! We know it is baby Jesus. However, there is a problem. What is the problem? Mary and Joseph are not married yet and not supposed to have a baby. A lot of people around them would look down on them and they could even get into serious trouble for having a baby. 

 Did Mary and Joseph sin? No, they didn't sin. God gave them the baby in Mary's tummy. 

 So what is the problem? The other people would not believe that the baby came from God. The other people would want to believe that they did sin. Only God knows they didn't sin. Joseph and Mary are scared of what might happen.

So what will they do? Do they need to be scared? No. Psalm 56:3 tells us that "when I am afraid I will trust in you." Soon after Joseph wondered and prayed about what he should do, God sent an angel to tell him not to be afraid and that God was with them in their difficult situation. 

 We are glad God is always with us! Jesus was with Mary and Joseph!

Prayer and Ending
Father in heaven, we pray and ask that you would help us to believe in you when our lives are difficult. We pray that we would accept our lives as they are and trust that you only give us good things. Help us to trust that you are good even when we are tested and tempted to doubt you. AMEN!

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