Theme: "Perfect Love" (Casteth Out Fear) - No fear to any kind of torment that is coming to the old sin-king world in the year of the Lord on Y2K22 and the succeeding years to come.
Lesson-2: "MARY & JOSEPH"-Perfect Match Made In Heaven. God interrupt their ideal love story.
Key verses: Lke 1:27-28, "Τo a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, & said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
I. Introduction:
The extraordinary classic that tells the greatest love story of all, the story of Mary & Joseph, as it has never been told before. This is the story of two real people whose lives were touched by God: A couple chosen by God to provide an earthly home for His Son. Here are Mary and Joseph - a teenage girl and a young carpenter - alone, frightened, in love, & faced with family conflict, a troubled world, and an awesome responsibility as God interrupted their engagement for the divine seed.
II. Topic To Be Discuss:
A. A Match Made In Heaven Love Story.
1. Mary, A Virgin, a virtuous woman. A young lady highly favor of the Lord (Lke 1:27), "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."
a) A Virgin young lady. Have you ever thought about what Mary was like as a child? We envision her as being one of the sweetest, most obedient, meek, and godly young ladies you would ever hope to meet.
b) Mother of God's Son. There had to have been something special about her for God to choose her as the mother of His only Son in (Lke 1:30-31), "And the angelTheme: "Perfect Love" (Casteth Out Fear) - No fear to any kind of torment that is coming to the old sin-
king world in the year of the Lord on Y2K22 and the succeeding years to come.
Lesson-2: "MARY & JOSEPH"-Perfect Match Made In Heaven. God interrupt their ideal love story.
Key verses: Lke 1:27-28, "Τo a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, & said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
I. Introduction:
The extraordinary classic that tells the greatest love story of all, the story of Mary & Joseph, as it has never been told before. This is the story of two real people whose lives were touched by God: A couple chosen by God to provide an earthly home for His Son. Here are Mary and Joseph - a teenage girl and a
young carpenter - alone, frightened, in love, & faced with family conflict, a troubled world, and an awesome responsibility as God interrupted their engagement for the divine seed.
II. Topic To Be Discuss:
A. A Match Made In Heaven Love Story.
1. Mary, A Virgin, a virtuous woman. A young lady highly favor of the Lord (Lke 1:27), "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name
was Mary."
a) A Virgin young lady. Have you ever thought about what Mary was like as a child? We envision her as being one of the sweetest, most obedient, meek, and godly young ladies you would ever hope to meet.
b) Mother of God's Son. There had to have been something special about her for God to choose her as the mother of His only Son in (Lke 1:30-31), "And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus."
c) Spiritual conception. Though she may have been considered an adult in her culture when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her (a young teenager), she was still incredibly young & untouched
(Lke 1:35), "..., The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
2. Joseph, A Just man. The presence of a human father was necessary from Davidic descent, for protection, affection, and instruction.
a) Righteous Man. God favored Mary, but He must have also considered Joseph to be worthy as God count him as righteous, a just man (Mat 1:19), "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
b) Joseph's roles. Among the roles Joseph seen to fulfill as father of Jesus are Davidic genealogical fatherhood, and reputed fatherhood in the eyes of public (Mat 1:20), "..., behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost."
c) Obedient father. Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, remained with his wife, & did not know her until she had given birth to her firstborn Son, Jesus (Mat 1:24-25),"& knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: & he called his name Jesus."
d) A carpenter. Joseph was responsible for raising Jesus, teaching Him a trade, as he is a carpenter and caring for Him until adulthood (Mrk 6:3), "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him."
B. A Jewish Marriage Traditions.
1. Parental made match wedding. Their parents made match for them as soon as they have their 13th birthday celebration.
a) Betrothal period. Within 2-3 years after the agreement, they are betrothed once the man pays the bride price to the woman's father and the contract is signed.
b) Wedding chamber (a canopy symbolizes the home that a couple built together). Afterward, the man will start to build a wedding chamber at his father's house, while the woman would stay with her parents to wait.
c) Formal wedding. After year, the formal wedding ceremony, which involved procession from the bride's home to the man's, a speaking of blessing & consummation of the marriage in the wedding chamber.
d) Union consideration. The union was considered binding upon the payment of the bride price and the couple could refer to each other as husband & wife even during this betrothal period.
2. Mary & Joseph wedding preparation.
a) The Bride. Mary had her knight in shining armor. Her parents found a righteous man with an established career for her.
a-1) The contract. Joseph paid the bride price, which meant Mary was no longer a burden to her father.
a-2) Getting ready. She only had to wait for the wedding ceremony and she would be set for a partner in life.
b) The Bridegroom. Joseph had the woman of his dreams. He trusted his parents' choice and he knew Mary to be a godly woman who considered family so important.
b-1) Chamber completion. He only needed to finish the wedding chamber & he would be set for life.
b-2) The interruption. God sent angel Gabriel to visit Mary, Suddenly, everything changed.
C. Obeying God Rather Than Your Heart. Why was it that when God came to the picture, Joseph and Mary's love story seem to fall apart? God interrupted their ideal love story so that His ultimate love story to redeem the world can unfold through Jesus Christ.
1. God sent the angel Gabriel. He addressed her saying, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women (Lke 1:28).
a) Mary is dignified. There could be anything greater in life than to be called highly favored of the Lord!
b) The promised fulfill. God, in his choice of Mary to be the mother of the Messiah has put an honour upon peculiar to herself, above that of Eve, who was the mother of all living in (Gen 3:15), "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy headb) Wedding chamber (a canopy symbolizes the home that a couple built together). Afterward, the man will start to build a wedding chamber at his father's house, while the woman would stay with her parents to wait.
c) Formal wedding. After year, the formal wedding ceremony, which involved procession from the bride's home to the man's, a speaking of blessing & consummation of the marriage in the wedding chamber.
d) Union consideration. The union was considered binding upon the payment of the bride price and the couple could refer to each other as husband & wife even during this betrothal period.
2. Mary & Joseph wedding preparation.
a) The Bride. Mary had her knight in shining armor. Her parents found a righteous man with an established career for her.
a-1) The contract. Joseph paid the bride price, which meant Mary was no longer a burden to her father.
a-2) Getting ready. She only had to wait for the wedding ceremony and she would be set for a partner in life.
b) The Bridegroom. Joseph had the woman of his dreams. He trusted his parents' choice and he knew Mary to be a godly woman who considered family so important.
b-1) Chamber completion. He only needed to finish the wedding chamber & he would be set for life.
b-2) The interruption. God sent angel Gabriel to visit Mary, Suddenly, everything changed.
C. Obeying God Rather Than Your Heart. Why was it that when God came to the picture, Joseph and Mary's love story seem to fall apart? God interrupted their ideal love story so that His ultimate love story to redeem the world can unfold through Jesus Christ.
1. God sent the angel Gabriel. He addressed her saying, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women (Lke 1:28).
a) Mary is dignified. There could be anything greater in life than to be called highly favored of the Lord!
b) The promised fulfill. God, in his choice of Mary to be the mother of the Messiah has put an honour upon peculiar to herself, above that of Eve, who was the mother of all living in (Gen 3:15), "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."- 2. Pregnancy of the divine seed. Super spiritual conception, that the Holy Spirit overshadow the womb of Mary to prepare a human body in (Mat 1:18), "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
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a) Mary is a Godly woman. She knew from the Law and the Prophets that God would send a Messiah to redeem Israel Lke 1:49-50, "For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;& holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation."b) She knew the prophecy. She is mindful of the prophecies about Jesus & she would treasure
these words in her heart and think about them often (Lke 2:19, 51), "But Mary kept all these
things, and pondered them in her heart." (v-51), "And he went down with them, and came
to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."
c) She knew God's character. A testament to an intimate relationship with Yahweh. And so, she responded to God, "Let it be done to me according to Your word," (Lke 1:38).
3. Joseph perplexity. He would have felt the painful betrayal deeply. He had already paid the bride price. He was looking forward to the final ceremony. And then his betrothed came back from a three-month visit to her cousin Elisabeth, pregnant!
a) A simple & quiet divorce. He could have brought her before the elders for her to be publicly executed or divorced, but righteous man that he was, he decided to divorce her quietly (Mat
1:19), "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
b) Joseph obeys God. But God sent an angel to him in a dream, and he obeyed, regardless of his feelings, because he trusted God. His immediate obedience was a testament to an intimate relationship with God.
4. Points to ponder:
a) I can't imagine. What it must have been like to hold the Son of God in my arms as tiny infant.
b) Family Interaction. I would love the opportunity to look into Mary and Joseph's home & see them interact with their kids and each other.
c) An ideal home. What went on in the household? Lots of hugs & laughter? Not a surprised.
d) Marriage is a complete & perfect image of God. It will "only be manifested" in its full expression when men and women stand side by side in the family, ministry & in the church-this is an ideal HOME, not perfect but God fearing family.
D. God's Purpose For Your Love Story. God set up a love story where Jesus would grow up in wisdom and in stature & in favor with Him & all the people (Lke 2:46-52), "... And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
1. Perfect environment. God make sure that the Savior would be nurtured in an environment where His Son Jesus would not only know the Scriptures well but would also have a humble & obedient heart before Him, as exemplified by His earthly parents. Challenging questions to all lovers.
a) Intimacy. If our love stories are meant to fulfill God's purpose for our lives, shouldn't we nurture our intimacy with God first so that we can know His voice & be in the center of His will when the time comes for us to marry?
b) Obedience. Shouldn't we be ruled by our obedience to Him rather than the butterflies in our stomach, or very nervous & excited about something?
c) Searching a partner. Shouldn't we be looking for someone who hears and obeys Him as well?
d) Good crowd. Shouldn't we be in a community that will help us make wise choices, including the choice of whom to marry?
2. A message to everyone. Husband and wife, your love story will be a blessing to many if only the Lord Jesus Christ rules your heart as your lives be a part of God's:
a) Redemptive plan. God is still in the business of redeeming the world, and He chooses to do it through us & our future children. If we fail to share this precious plan, meaning the fire from the HS is gone, then our kids suffers a lot, as we have no fire to share it to them.
b) Coming generation. That is why God wants to be involved in our love stories. We can trust Him when He interrupts our ideal love story, so that we can make room for one that would accomplish His purpose for generations to come. Not a boring kids but a Youth On Fire.
III. Conclusion: Obedience and faithfulness should pretty much sum up a believer's walk with God. God does not require us to be extraordinary in the eyes of men. He tells us to trust Him, obey Him, thank Him, and be faithful to Him. Believe me; living this way will not only bring peace to your life, but to your marriage. When both marriage partners love God and serve Him faithfully, the other circumstances often fall gently into place.
The husband & wife who are faithful to God will naturally be faithful
to each other. They will nourish and keep the fire burning to their children. AMEN!
ALLELUIAH! PTLGA & TGBATG