Joseph learns that his fiancée is pregnant, and he has every right to break off the engagement quietly and save both her face and his own. The law is on his side, and yet he chooses something nobody expected of him. That story opens a sermon about the fathers of Jesus (Matthew 1). Joseph was not the biological father, but he was the one who named the child, took responsibility for him and brought him into the line of David, because fatherhood turns out to be a decision rather than biology. Listen if you want to see what an ordinary person’s courage looks like in the face of God’s plan.
The Fathers of Jesus
The World of Jesus
Jesus’ coming into the world is the most important event in history. As we read His story, we discover that He entered a world of very ordinary people. His ancestors had complicated life stories. His birth turned His family’s life upside down, caught the attention of foreign thinkers, and terrified the local authorities. Although distant, Jesus’ world is not very different from our own.
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4 sermons
