Joseph and Mary

THE GREATEST STORY: Chapter 2 – The Middle

(September 02, 2024) Dr Jim McClure shares more about The Greatest Story…

Following the prophet Malachi’s death there were no further prophetic revelations about Israel. For over 400 years the nation went into spiritual decline, and lost its independence first to the Greeks and then to the Romans. 

Throughout the centuries the prophets consistently challenged the moral and social corruption which the Bible describes as ‘darkness’ — but also revealed that God had not turned His back on humankind. While they had strongly denounced humanity’s rejection of God, they also affirmed that this had not resulted in God’s rejection of humankind!  They also revealed that the message of the Old Testament was not the whole story but just the beginning of a much bigger story.

They further indicated that a new chapter would begin when God Himself would personally get involved on planet earth — a chapter revealing God’s loving plan to reach out to a fallen, broken world by becoming personally involved!

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MARY – HEART OF AN UNLIKELY HERO!

(December 20, 2023) Richard Winter challenges…

You can be anywhere in the world and know the essentials of the Christmas story. The basics are –

  • Mary, merely a young girl engaged to be married to Joseph, is pregnant.
  • Her explanation? It’s a miracle from God.
  • Trouble explodes! Joseph wants out and plans a quiet divorce.
  • God sends an angel to Joseph revealing it’s all OK – so go ahead with the marriage.
  • This baby is His and will be the Saviour of Israel and the world!

Thought: Aren’t you impressed with those ‘Christmas-centred’ angelic messengers? Boy, were they busy! There was Mary, visited by the archangel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-35), Joseph (Matthew 1:20), and the astounded shepherds (Luke 2:8-15).

But let’s think about Mary… though she has always been considered one of the heroes of the Christian faith, I think it’s safe to say she was an unlikely hero. She just doesn’t exactly fit a hero profile. Why unlikely? you might ask.

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JOSEPH THE DREAMER

(December 18, 2023), Alan Higgins shares… and challenges.

It’ll soon be Christmas Eve and we’ll all be looking forward to Christmas Day and all the joy that it brings. I don’t know about you but I love Christmas Day… except I can’t stand all the build-up to it.  Christmas songs are played on the radio from mid-November and Christmas adverts seem to get on our TV screens and in stores earlier each year, indeed so many weeks before the great day. 

To me it gets a bit tiresome at times.  And people on Facebook remind me that there’s only so many days to go until Christmas!  Ah well – call me a grumpy old man, but I’ll be glad when Christmas Day comes and all the charging-about-like-‘eejits’ comes to an end and we can relax, open our presents, have a nice meal and fall asleep in front of the TV.

But that’s not what Christmas is – it’s about the arrival of the Saviour of the world, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).  It’s about Jesus – Immanuel – God with us (Matthew 1:23)!

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WORRYING? HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD!

(December 13, 2022) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share…

Unfortunately, some Christians worry instead of trusting Almighty God!

Yes, we should certainly be concerned about troubling matters that arise from time to time… but there is a huge difference between being concerned (taking responsibility to correct matters) and worrying!

Paul gave good advice in Philippians 4:6 – ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’

Seven don’ts…

1. Don’t worry –
Message Bible is very direct: ‘Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.’ Complete Jewish Bible charges: ‘Don’t worry about anything.’

It’s almost Christmas when we celebrate the amazing coming to planet Earth of Jesus in physical form – the incarnational birth of the one who would become our Saviour.

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MARY – WHAT AN INCREDIBLE LADY!

(December 10, 2022) Geri  B challenges us not just to believe the gospel message but to live it!

When Christmas comes around we naturally think of Jesus, born of a virgin, born in a manger, born to die on a cross for the sins of the world. That’s as it should be! There is no greater message to be proclaimed, nor any other focus that should be given.

But I would add that one of the greatest messengers of this truth is the mother of Jesus, Mary herself. Mary doesn’t preach this message, she lives it!

When we take time to go through the gospels and study this woman of God we find a very humble woman…

  • Great in faith
  • Persistent in prayer
  • Steadfast in her trust in God
  • Specific in believing that what He said about her son, Jesus, would come to pass
  • Willing to be willing!

Mary was willing to –

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JOSEPH – THE UNSUNG HERO OF CHRISTMAS

(December 10, 2022) Richard Winter shares some Christmas highlights…

There’s a list that we hear much about at Christmas – the Virgin Mary, angels, shepherds … an unknown number of wise men (who were possibly kings of foreign lands).

Heroes of the Christmas story, they played an important part in the birth of our Saviour and the message that God was with us!

However we often tend to forget to list one more hero… a true servant of God and to me the unsung hero of Christmas.

His name was Joseph who is identified by his personal characterists – which we should also embrace: Spiritual, sensitive, and submissive to God’s great plan to bring to earth our Saviour.

1) Spiritual
Let’s just imagine the scene with Joseph and Mary…
– ‘So… you’re tell me you’re pregnant, Mary – and to whom?’
– ‘What! You’re blaming God! Ha!’
– ‘So, God did this – you want me to believe that?’
– ‘Okay then… what’s else has God been doing to you?’

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‘MANY CLAIM TO HAVE UNFAILING LOVE BUT…

(August 8, 2021) Geri B brings an insightful challenge…

… a faithful man who can find?’ asks the wise Solomon in Proverbs 20:6.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘faithful’ as ‘steadfast in affection or allegiance, firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty, full of faith.’

In James’ epistle faith is intrinsically linked to deeds…  ‘What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save them?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds’ (James 2:14, 17-18). 

Hebrews 11 mentions those who lived their lives in faith by their deeds and we are exhorted to live in the same manner – whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in and the outcome.

However there is someone not mentioned in that chapter who also epitomises a life of faith… but he is often overlooked because of the woman he married.  However I would like to briefly examine his life to gain a little insight into what it can mean to live a faithful, full-of-faith life.  The ‘faith-ful’ life he lived was one of having the fear of God, being obedient and evidencing humility.

1. Fear
I speak of Joseph, a godly and righteous man, a descendant of King David, introduced in the book of Matthew as the fiancé of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  He was also a kind and gracious man who did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace by breaking their engagement due to her pregnancy, even though by the law he had every right to do so.

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WHO WANTS TO BE ‘JOSEPH’?

stuasrt-reynolds(December 12, 2016) Stuart Reynolds calls men to Joseph-based Christian living…

I heard a statistic that 40% of parents are unhappy about the part their child gets to play in the Nativity Play – whether it is in school or church. There’s always ‘competition’ among the girls as to who will be Mary…. Boys rush to be wise men and shepherds, and we can never have too many angels… but ‘Who wants to be Joseph?’

After all, Joseph…

  • Has to hold Mary’s hand – what little boy wants to be seen near a girl, in public, never mind to have to hold her hand?
  • Is silent – whether it be in the biblical accounts or our ‘creative’ Nativity productions, Joseph gets no lines, he doesn’t get to speak!
  • Remains in the shadows of Mary and Jesus – the main focus of attention is not really on him. There’s not many who can ‘act’ that part in a play, never mind live it for real!

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