"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Keeping watch over their flock by night.That's what the shepherds were doing when joy arrived. Ordinary work. Unglamorous duty. They weren't seeking a spiritual experience. They weren't at the temple praying. They were doing what they always did.Watching sheep in the dark.Can I just say this? T...  Read More

"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" We are looking for joy in all the wrong places.So many of us think joy comes after we get it right. After the kids behave. After the marriage improves. After we finally become the people we think we should be. We treat joy like a paycheck. Something we earn at the end of hard w...  Read More

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate." In Matthew chapter 23, we see that Israel was given the same chance Joseph had. They were offered the same choice. True peace arrived. It ...  Read More

"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." Now listen, this is the key to the whole passage. When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He did not argue. He did not negotiate. He did not try to figure out how to make God's plan fit into hi...  Read More

"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.'" I want you to see three statements in the angel's words to Joseph. Three t...  Read More

"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly." Now I want you to understand something about Joseph. This man was righteous. Scripture calls him a just man. That is not a throwaway phrase. That is a description of his character, his reputation, his track record of faithfulness. Joseph had built a righteous life. He knew how to please G...  Read More

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way." Rome had a phrase for it. Pax Romana. The Roman Peace. And here's what I need you to know about that so called peace. It was not peace at all. It was survival. It meant if you submitted, if you obeyed, if you paid your taxes and kept your head down, Rome would let you live. They would allow you to go about your business as long as you remembe...  Read More

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We've spent this week looking at the family tree of Jesus. We've seen murderers and compromisers. We've seen prostitutes and deceivers. We've seen people doing their best in broken situations and living for God in godless places. All of it has led us here.Here's what I need you to know: no situation is too small and no probl...  Read More

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. Nazareth was not a place you wanted to be from. It was a small town on the way to somewhere else. Roman soldiers were stationed there, and with them came all the false gods of the Roman Empire. The culture was pagan. The environment was spiritually hosti...  Read More

And Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Joseph knew his family history. He knew about David's adultery. He knew about Abraham's compromises. He knew about the scandals and the failures and all the brokenness that ran through his bloodline. And yet Joseph was doing his best to break the pattern. He was a just man. A righteous man. A man who l...  Read More

And Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth. Matthew does something incredible in his genealogy. He lists four women by name. In that culture, women were rarely mentioned in family records. The family line was traced through the fathers. So why break the pattern? And more importantly, why these four women?Tamar pretended to be a prostitute and seduced her father-in-...  Read More

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. We call him the father of faith. Abraham is held up as the gold standard for believing God. Hebrews 11 celebrates his trust in the Lord. He left his homeland without knowing where he was going. He believed God for a son when it seemed biologically impossible. He was willing to sacrifice ...  Read More