The Characters of Christmas Week 3 • Faith Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast.

We're so glad you chose to listen today.

Today, we reflect on Joseph's pivotal role in the Christmas story

and the lessons his life teaches us about faith, obedience, and compassion.

Faced with the unimaginable news of Mary's pregnancy,

Joseph chose patience, justice, and trust in God's plan.

Through his journey, we explore the person of Christ as Savior

and the promise of Emmanuel, God with us.

Join us as we uncover how Joseph's faithfulness points us to the hope we have in Jesus.

Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

It is good to be here with you guys today.

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do,

I want to invite you to join us in Matthew chapter 1 is where we will be.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

If you're our first-time guest, I want to echo what Pastor Dave said.

We're so grateful and so glad that you were here.

One small favor that I would ask of you is at the end of the service,

my wife and I will be back here at this table.

If you wouldn't mind stopping by, we would love to meet you

and to thank you for being here to worship with us.

And if you have any questions about our church, it would be a wonderful opportunity for you to get those questions answered.

Also, as you guys know, on a lot of our Thursdays since Hurricane Helene came,

we've been going out and doing some work.

And this Wednesday, we will have two different locations set up that we are going to work at here in West Columbia.

And so if you would be able to serve that morning, we would greatly appreciate it.

Ideally, we got kind of a unique situation, the tree removal that we're doing,

and we may need a couple of dump trailers.

So if you have access to that and you can volunteer that day, that would be great.

If you could let me know if you'd like to volunteer that day,

we'll be back in the back and you can share that with me.

Also, Pastor Dave will be sending out an email this week, and you can respond and let us know.

We will be doing some cutting, but we also will be doing just some hauling off

and picking things up and moving those.

So if you're ready to get a good bicep and back workout that day, we would love to have you with us.

Also, we are in the final stages of our budgeting process that we've been working on since this past August,

or even Joel's been working on it into the summer months,

and there are copies of the budget that are back here as you walk through the doors.

And we'll have our vote on that for membership in a couple weeks.

The whole schedule is there to kind of walk you through the process of what we're doing with the budget.

However, our budget looks a little different this year with a cover letter on the front of that.

And so I want to explain to you why we are doing what we're doing with that cover letter,

but it shares all of this information as well.

One of the largest increases that we have in our budget, percentage-wise,

which is a little bit different than how we've done things here in the last several years,

is in our personnel.

And so kind of how we have our budget broken out is personnel, and that's the staff.

Then our operations, which is the usage and the things that take place in our buildings,

our ministries, what we do inside with you guys in our congregation,

and then our missions, what we do outside of the walls, both locally and across the globe.

And so because that has not been a budget line item that has jumped like it has,

I want to kind of explain the reason why.

We're still operating in under what is recommended for church of our size to operate in personnel.

But what we are doing is we are taking a position that has been part-time,

and we are moving it to a full-time status.

And that new position will be our director of facilities and young adult ministries,

which is led by Josh Nix.

And so Josh has been working for the church part-time,

and so the increase in that budget is to move that to a full-time position.

And so we just wanted to give some clarity and explanation of why you would see that.

But we will have a budget meeting that you guys can come and ask questions.

If you have any questions between now and the time of vote, please feel free to ask.

We would love to answer all of those for you.

Well, as we get into our message this morning, as we're looking at the different characters

and individuals that we meet in this Christmas story,

I want to read to you a verse from our passage this morning.

Matthew 1.23 says this,

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.

Would you pray with me?

God, we thank you for the beauty of this time together.

We thank you for our time of worship through song.

Lord, and we eagerly anticipate to hear you through the teaching and preaching of your word.

God, may all that is said bring glory and honor to your name.

And Lord, may we respond as the Spirit leads us.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So we have been largely in Luke, but now we are moving to Matthew.

We'll kind of go back and forth and the gospel writers and talking about the birth and the early days of the life of Jesus.

Luke largely tells the narrative of the birth of Christ through the perspective of Mary.

And Matthew will largely tell the birth of Jesus from the perspective of Joseph.

You know, guys, you know, I love to tell a story at the beginning of a message.

And I particularly love to tell a story oftentimes about my family.

And I promise that most of the time, some of the time, rarely do I get permission to tell these stories.

This story, though, is one that I got permission to tell this weekend.

You remember, so if you don't know, I've got two kids.

They're twins.

They're 16 years old.

They'll be 17 in February.

I love them.

God has blessed us with them and love to see them grow up and see all that God is doing in their life.

But, you know, like when your kids are really little and they mispronounce words and you kind of embrace it because it's just adorable.

Like if it were a 35-year-old, you'd be like, come on, man.

But in a five-year-old, it's awesome.

So Emma was our child that mispronounced words all the time.

We'd go to the Mexican restaurant and she would love to order broccamole.

Instead of guacamole.

When something frustrated her, she would say, that's being ridiculous.

And when speaking of the character in the Bible that we are going to read this morning,

there was Mary and Joseph.

But for Emma, and we don't know why,

it was always Mary and Jovus.

So this morning, the precursor is that if all of a sudden I'm in the midst of preaching and going through

and you hear me talk about Jovus,

I haven't lost my mind.

I'm just reverting back to what we commonly would refer to in our house

as the parents of Jesus, Mary and Jovus.

Before we look at our passage this morning,

I want to ask you this question.

How do you process new information?

How do you process new information?

I was going through a box of things that I've had since my childhood a few weeks ago

and it was stored up in the top section of my closet.

And it's the part that had all of my sports memorabilia in it.

And I was looking through and I had baseball cards and I had different things.

And then at the very bottom, I had a stack of newspapers that were saved.

Some of the newspapers were newspapers about the football team that I played on at the time.

But most of them were the front page picture when things in the sports world happened

that I thought meant something that I wanted to cling to.

I don't know why, but I do remember this event being very specific in my life.

But if you remember, I forget the year that it was,

but the battle between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa

for who was going to have the most home runs in a season.

And going through that box, on the bottom of that box

were all of the newspapers that had that as the front picture.

And I remember there was a point in time where the news came on at 5.30,

the news came on at 7, and if you missed either one of those,

to find out what's happening in the world,

you had to wait until the morning and you would walk by the newspaper stands

and there would be the picture of the information of what's there.

But you and I are constantly getting,

we're constantly receiving,

we're constantly being sent new information.

I put my phone on airplane mode

before I walk up on to the stage to preach

so that it doesn't vibrate in my pocket.

But I am a little anxious,

and guys, do not go to your phones,

but ESPN just released

their projected bowl schedule, all right?

We want to keep the focus on God,

and all of us have good places in our hearts.

But we're given new information constantly.

24-hour news,

text messages to give us the updates,

emails that can be sent out in a moment's notice

so that everything in the world that's going on

can come to us.

You and I cannot necessarily overly remove ourselves

from the fact that we're going to be bombarded with new information.

But the question that I have for you

and I to contemplate this morning

is how do we process new information?

I think the question that you and I as followers of Jesus Christ

should continually wrestle with in our lives is this,

is how do we process the new information that we have received,

whether it's globally, politically, or personally,

very specifically in light of the gospel?

How does the impact of the gospel of Jesus Christ

impact how you and I respond and process

the new information that we receive?

Here's what I would plead with you

and with your heart this morning.

That every piece of information

that you and I receive

should always be filtered to the truth

that Jesus knows

and He knew before you did.

That Jesus is in control

of every moment

and every situation.

that Jesus loves you.

And as a follower of Jesus Christ,

no matter what happens to you

in the light of the information

that you just received,

you are a child of God.

And that's the hope that we have.

Our hope is not found

in the means

and in the leaders

and in the stories of this world.

But our hope is found

in a God

who holds the world in His hands.

In the narrative that He is writing,

He is good

and He is loving

and we are children of God.

The Christmas story so far

has been filled

with individuals

finding out information.

Maybe a better word.

Individuals finding out good news.

In our first week,

we looked

and the angel

communicated some news

to Zechariah

and it was news

that he couldn't believe.

We saw an angel last week

communicate to Mary

and we saw that

in the mind

of this young girl,

it was news

that her mind

could not fully comprehend.

but it was news

that she could obey.

Now this morning,

we're going to see

about the news

that comes to Joseph.

So let's read his account

of Joseph

starting in Matthew 1 verse 18.

Matthew 1:18

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

Emmanuel,

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.

So there's some

overlap

of what we read

last week in Luke

and what we're seeing

this week

in Matthew.

We see

Mary

hearing

from the angel

while she is

betrothed

to Joseph

and we're seeing

Joseph

processing

information

before

he hears

from an angel.

Now it's important

for us to know

and begin

to wrap our minds

around

the state

that Joseph

and Mary

find themselves

in

in this setting

and it's

their betrothal

and for you

and I

in our culture

and in our day

I'll be honest

with you

there's nothing

that we do

that compares

to what this

is.

There's nothing

because it's

more

than engagement

but it's

less than

marriage

so let me

kind of explain

because this will

help us see

and understand

why Joseph

is doing

what Joseph

is doing

and how we

can draw

from this

how we

process

the things

of God

even when

we don't

have

all of the

information

of the

working

of God

so

they're

betrothed

so a

Jewish

couple

in the

time of

Christ

would become

engaged

and after

a time

of engagement

they would

be betrothed

and then

after the

time of

betrothing

they would

be married

or the time

of betrothal

they would

be married

so that's

the timeline

that they

would follow

engagement

betrothal

marriage

and betrothal

required

a ceremony

right now

this wasn't

and not

Aaron I talk

about this

often like

man we were

glad that we

got like

engaged

before

social media

because I

feel like

man you've

got to

coordinate that

with like a

Hollywood

production team

to make

everybody

aware

right

but for

in here

betrothal

required a

ceremony

that was

both

legally

and

spiritually

binding

during their

day

so they

would have

gone through

their engagement

they would have

gone through

a betrothal

a ceremony

would have

happened

it probably

would have

looked a lot

there's

commitments

it's before

God

there's

vows

there's

people who

are there

that are

witnessing

this account

that's there

it's before

the Lord

it's before

your friends

it's before

the family

this is the

process

that they

would go

through

and you're

like well

that sounds

a lot

like a

marriage

so why

was this

not

marriage

well

in the

betrothal

the couple

was pledged

to one

another

in every

area

of their

life

emotionally

in

responsibility

financially

but

they were

not allowed

to live

together

and

they were

not

to engage

in sexual

activity

so it's

the

responsibilities

it's

the

relational

commitment

it's the

spiritual

commitment

it's the

financial

commitment

but you

don't live

together

you don't

sleep

together

and

betrothal

lasted

for one

year

and then

the marriage

would take

place

you see

this level

of commitment

you see

this level

of investment

so how

do you

process

new

information

Zachariah

and

Mary

found out

their

information

through an

angel

the

information

they

received

and the

spiritual

validity

of the

message

happen at

the same

time

how does

Joseph find

out

how does

Joseph find

out

we don't

know

where we

see

how he

will get

the

fullness

but how

does that

initially

take place

look back

at verse

18 and

19

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

let's pause

right there

in the

timeline of

his life

verse 18

and verse 19

happens

there is no

angel

there is no

special message

from God

you've got a

man

betrothed

to a

woman

who's

pregnant

and he

knows

that's not

mine

that's

not

mine

I don't

know

and it

would do

us no

good

to try

to

assume

how

that

conversation

took

place

but I

can only

imagine

and I

will

assume

that in

the

conversation

because of

what we

see in

these

actions

that there

was a

confrontation

between

Joseph

and Mary

I

would

find it

hard to

believe

that this

would be

a

light

hearted

conversation

between the

two of

them

like I

think we

can feel

the weight

of that

here today

I

would

imagine

that she

maintained

the fact

that she

was a

virgin

why

wouldn't

she

and I

can only

imagine

that he

didn't

believe

her

and it's

easy

standing on

this side

of the

narrative

to judge

that

and I'm

not going

to speak

for you

I'll

speak

for me

I

wouldn't

have

believed

her

either

we're

engaged

we're

betrothed

and you're

telling me

that you're

pregnant

but you

haven't

been

with a

man

that's

that's

insanity

to the

mind

of a

human

so

what

does

Joseph

do

with this

information

what

would

you

do

with

this

information

for a

moment

put

yourself

in his

shoes

someone

you

love

hurt

you

betrayed

you

humiliated

you

and now

as a

victim

what

do

you

do

now

imagine

this

specific

situation

I think

it's

fair to

say

has never

happened

to you

and it's

never

happened

to me

but have

you ever

been betrayed

by someone

you love

have you

ever been

hurt by

someone you

care for

have you

ever been

humiliated

by someone

close to

you

have you

ever been

victimized

sure

we all

have

how did

you

respond

maybe

not

great

but the

question

this morning

for us

remember

it's not

how do

we

respond

but

how

do

we

respond

in light

of the

gospel

knowing

Jesus

knows

knowing

that he

knew

before

knowing

that he

is in

control

knowing

that he

loves you

and knowing

that you're

a child

of God

I want

us to

look at

some things

as we

look at

these

characters

we're

calling

them

the

faith

lessons

that

we're

learning

I want

to look

at

Joseph

because

I think

there's

some

wonderful

aspects

of his

godly

character

of his

faith

and who

God

is

that

even

though

he

does

not

know

yet

what

he

will

know

he

responds

in a

way

that's

godly

the

first

thing

that

we

see

and

that

we

want

to

understand

with

Joseph

is

that

Joseph

was

just

Joseph

was

just

what

does

that

mean

that

he

was

just

he

was

a

carpenter

he

wasn't

a

judge

he

wasn't

a

magistrate

he

wasn't

a

lawyer

he

wasn't

a

person

that

we

think

of

when

we

think

of

that

their

ruling

would

be

just

but

yet

the

Bible

says

very

clearly

in

verse

19

and

her

husband

Joseph

being

a

just

man

this

word

it

implies

here

something

spiritual

that is

going

on

something

spiritual

that has

been

going

on

in

the

life

and

in

the

heart

of

Joseph

that

not

only

does

he

know

the

law

and

the

knowledge

of

the

word

of

God

but

that

Joseph

in

being

just

not

knowing

what

is

just

but

that

in

being

just

knows

and

applies

the

word

of

God

so

what

we

can

read

into

this

very

beginning

of

verse

19

is

we

can

take

the

implication

of

this

word

just

and

say

that

her

husband

Joseph

being

a

godly

just

desiring

to

glorify

God

man

this

is

who

he

is

that

in

spite

of

his

emotions

in

spite

of

what

he

feels

in

spite

of

his

motives

in

spite

of

his

perspective

Joseph

is

going

to

desire

in

all

things

the

rule

and

reign

of

God

and

I

believe

that

what

we

see

of

his

actions

in

verse

19

and

20

point

to

this

and

that

the

steps

he

will

take

even

before

he

understands

even

before

all

the

information

is

given

to

him

is

done

so

with

an

intent

that

God

will

be

glorified

that

God

will

be

glorified

the

Bible

says

that

being

a

just

man

the

second

thing

is

Joseph

was

compassionate

you

see

the

gospel

in

your

heart

and

in

your

life

works

you

into

a

place

of

the

truth

of

God

and

the

mercy

of

God

these

things

that

work

together

and that

become

the grace

of God

in this

being

just

knowing

and

desiring

for the

truth

of God

to rule

and reign

but the

compassion

the mercy

of God

of what's

there

and

while

Joseph

was

in a

bad

spot

terrible

spot

spot

that I'm

sure

he woke

up

every

day

in

these

moments

and thought

why me

why now

but he

had options

and he

had options

that were

legal

he had

options

that would

have

been

acceptable

commonly

Joseph

had

four

different

options

that he

could do

the first

option is

he could

have had

Mary

executed

the law

would have

allowed

for this

to happen

he could

have brought

the charge

the charge

would have

been

proven

Mary

could have

been

executed

second

thing

he could

have had

Mary

punished

this

punish

could have

been

a physical

punishment

a beating

or jail

time

the third

option

you see

in betrothal

when you

dissolved

a betrothal

it was

referred to

as divorce

and so

in the day

he could

have

divorced

Mary

through

the court

system

he could

have sought

to expose

her

the foolishness

through his

mind

of her

story

the crazy

that she

was embracing

and trying

to commit

him to

he could

have

exposed

her

or

there was

one other

way

there was a

way that

they called

a quiet

divorce

and Joseph

could have

gone to

two

individuals

Joseph

could have

written

a letter

of

divorce

and in

the privacy

of his

home

the betrothal

could have

been dissolved

and that's

what Joseph's

plans were

he

believed

incorrectly

all right

incorrect

belief

but based

off of the

information

of the

moment

that Mary

had sinned

and this

is what got

them in the

situation

and instead

of allowing

vengeance

instead of

allowing him

to expose

her

Joseph

said you

know what

in the

quiet of

the moment

I'm going

to show

compassion

and I

can't

follow

through

with this

so this

is what

I'm going

to do

but it's

it's

divorce

it was

allowed

it would

have been

acceptable

even though

he would

have been

wrong

in the

eyes of

everyone

around

he would

have been

right

sometimes I

find that

when we

show

compassion

to those

that have

hurt us

we find

ourselves

in that

situation

as well

the world

around us

tells us

we're wrong

but when we

show compassion

before God

we are right

but then

there's this

third thing

and I love

this but

we can miss

this if we

just read

through this

story quickly

it's that

Joseph was

patient

Joseph

was

patient

so

Joseph

was

just

Joseph

was

compassionate

Joseph

had a

plan

but

look at

verse 20

but as

he

considered

these

things

see he

wasn't

in a

rush

he

didn't

want to

act

rashly

but instead

he waited

and I

believe

he

prayed

why do I

believe that

because he

was a

just

man

why do I

believe that

because he

was a

compassionate

man

and I

believe

what I've

seen in my

own life

and seen in

the lives

of others

that prayer

is what a

godly man

and a

godly woman

do

when they

are just

and they

are compassionate

and they

are patient

and they'll

turn to the

Lord

God why

God help

God make

sense

of the

mess

of where

I find

myself

what do

you pray

about

what do

you pray

about

I mean

this week

I examined

my prayer

life and

quite honestly

in full

transparency

often times

the

selfishness

of my

prayer

life

I find

that my

prayer

life can

be centered

around more

of what I

need God

to do

for me

instead

of my

prayer

life

being

focused

around

what I

need

to do

for

God

and I

believe

as we

look at

this

that

Joseph

prayed

God

what

do

you

have

me

to do

I believe

he would

have prayed

for his

actions

his heart

his mind

his testimony

I believe

being just

and being

compassionate

he would

have prayed

for Mary

I believe

being just

and being

compassionate

he would

have prayed

for the

baby

in her

womb

and why

do I

believe

this

not just

simply

because of

who he

is

because of

what God

did

Joseph

considered

these

things

I've

got the

plan

I'm

good

I've

got the

story

it

makes

sense

I've

got the

affirmation

of others

why not

move

forward

God I

don't need

you

about this

to pray

about

God my

way

seems

clear

and good

and right

but not

Joseph

but as

he

considered

these

things

he was

patient

and then

what we

see

from

Joseph

is

Joseph

was

obedient

Joseph

was

obedient

the

angel

appears

the

angel

comes

to

him

in

a

dream

Joseph

son

of

David

addressing

him

from

this

poor

carpenter's

lineage

to the

king

addressing

him

in

the

way

that

Jesus

will

be

addressed

as

the

Messiah

the

weight

of

the

word

that

is

going

to

come

to

him

in

this

moment

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

has

spoken

by

the

prophet

behold

the

virgin

shall

conceive

and bear

a son

and they

shall

call

his

name

Emmanuel

which

means

God

with

us

and

the

Bible

tells

us

that

when

he

awoke

church

may

we

never

miss

that

moment

of

the

sweetness

of

the

instant

obedience

of

God

to

God

that

when

he

woke

from

his

sleep

he

did

as

the

angel

of

the

Lord

commanded

him

hey

let's

forget

the

divorce

hey

Mary

I'm

sorry

hey

I

need

to

repent

hey

I

get

this

I

understand

Joseph

didn't

need

to

seek

counsel

he

didn't

need

to

process

he

didn't

need

to

try

to

understand

Joseph

simply

did

what

he

was

commanded

to

do

what

causes

that

type

of

faith

what

causes

in

the

moment

to

not

sit

there

and

ponder

to

not

sit

there

and

wonder

to

not

sit

there

and

doubt

to

not

sit

there

and