Skip to main content

Celebrating Advent - Lesson 6

By
Sing: Joy To The World


Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

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.” 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). 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.

Summary (Focus on verses 22-25): Yesterday we saw that Joseph was comforted by God and instructed to take Mary as his wife. Today we see that God fulfilled a promise he made a long time ago and that his presence with us is the ultimate cure to our anxiety.

 Activity: Have you ever been really excited about something and waited a long time for it? What was it? How do you feel when that time arrives and the waiting is over? Excited? Joyful? Nervous? Well, today we get to hear about a time that people waited a long long time for, a time where the waiting was finally over!

Questions/Responses:
What is a prophet? Prophets were men that God chose. Prophets spoke words to God's people. Prophets spoke about things they heard from God. Prophets told about things that were going to happen in the near and far future.

 Which prophet is Matthew talking about? Isaiah

 How long have the Israelites been waiting since Isaiah spoke to them of the birth of Jesus? About 600-700 years!

 Wow! Thats a long time! What name does Isaiah give him? What does his name mean? Immanuel - God is with us. 

 Mary and Joseph got fearful. They got nervous. What did God want them to know? God is with us!

 What does God want us to remember when we get scared? God is with us!

 What does God want us to remember when we sin? God is with us. God provides salvation!

 What are some things that God's promise tells us about God? God is faithful...God is powerful to keep his promises...God is wise to know when to fulfill his promises...

 Can we trust God always? Yes! We should put all of our hope in God's character. 

 What does Christmas remind us? God is with us!

Prayer and Ending
Heavenly Father, we thank you for being with us. Please help us to remember that you have sent your son to this earth and you are always with us in Christ through your Spirit. We pray that you will help us to remember this when we are fearful and when we are anxious. We pray for great confidence in believing that you are with us and that Christmas is a reminder of this. AMEN!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

By
I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...
2 comments
Read more