Merry Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25 NIV
"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."

Joseph's decision to obey the angel that day wasn't the easiest one. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Joseph's worries, pride, & insecurities were all put at ease by one name, "Immanuel". God is still with us today. He was born and lived a sinless life only to die a death meant for me and you. This is the reason we celebrate the amazing birth of Jesus. 

What's in a Name?

Get you some water, clear your throat... read fast and with confidence. Ready,
set, Go!! 

Matthew Chapter 1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the
father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by
Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the
father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father
of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed
by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father
of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,
and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and
Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the
father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of
Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and
Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation
to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and
Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father
of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and
Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the
father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and
from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the
deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Did you make it through all those names??  I doubt that any of these names will
be on 2014’s most popular baby names…they probably haven’t made the list for a
few millenniums!  What does each name stand for? And why is this Matthew Chapter
1?  Well, each name represents a generation, a link in the chain.  Each link was
necessary to fulfill what was written in the Old Testament that Jesus, the
Savior, would come through the line of David.  Christmas is upon us and it is oh
so easy to get caught up in the conundrum of all the carols and lights, food and
gifts and skim over the details of our great God.  Take a moment and praise God
for some very specific things that He is doing in your family. How is God’s
favor upon you?  Well, the excitement is building, Jesus is coming…and I can’t
wait to see what happened next week in Chapter 2!!