Bulletins - Spring City Fellowship

- - Psalm 150:3NIV2011
Forever
Because He Lives
Miracle Maker
Blessed Assurance
Breathe
Glorify Thy Name
Hymn Of Heaven
Here I Am To Worship
Our Theme for 2025 is “Live Like Jesus”
It comes out of a simple desire to follow Jesus - and to learn better what that means.
We are spending the entire year in the Gospel of Matthew.
We have covered just about everything that Matthew tells us about the renewed life and living like Jesus - including what Jesus says about how the story will end.
I’ll give you a hint - its going to be a surprise ending, but not entirely for those who have been following closely..
By the way, Jesus’ second coming is part of what we celebrate in Advent.
Advent simply means coming...
And now we are in this season of Advent what do we do? - we go back to the beginning!
Now that we know how the story ends, we can better appreciate the beginning.
Last week, my wife Karie talked about Matthew’s genealogy.
It’s a family tree filled with stories of grace and people with transformed lives.
It reminds us that God’s work of transformation, even extending to the nations beyond Israel, is not a new thing.
It is what God has been doing all along!
So when we look at the story of the first coming of Jesus the Messiah, we are going to see the same elements of surprise, redemption and transformation that we see all through Matthew’s gospel.
It’s the story of the virgin birth and how God brought the Messiah into the world through unexpected circumstances.
Historically, the virgin birth sets Christianity apart from other belief systems. When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate something that defies the norm! Just like how myths and legends have their heroes, the humility of Jesus' origin teaches us that greatness often comes from unexpected places. How profoundly joyful is it that divine potential can arise from the seemingly impossible?
It’s also a story of redemption.
Biblically, the virgin birth signifies that God intervened directly in humanity. It’s like a divine ‘plot twist’ in our favorite stories! Just as we cheer for the twist of fate that reshapes the narrative, the virgin birth reminds us that God's plan is often far beyond our understanding. His ways are not like ours!
And it’s a story of transformation.
Not only are the characters in the story of Jesus’ birth transformed through their participation in God’s plan but the stories told by prophets of old are seen in a different light as they align with the circumstances surrounding the birth of Messiah. Everything that they thought they knew about Messiah is suddenly changed, made clearer, by His coming.
As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the first coming, and look forward to His second coming we should prepare to be surprised, redeemed and transformed.
It is all going to become clearer as we see God’s plan unfold!
Surprise! You’re having the Messiah!
Where do baby Messiahs come from?
Maybe you remember having “the talk” with your parents, or as parents with your children. Where do babies come from?
We try to keep the answers simple and age appropriate. Well, it takes a mommy and a daddy. And when they love each other so much they come together in a special way. And that’s where babies come from.
That’s the usual explanation - there’s just one exception - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Here is how baby Messiahs are made...
Matthew 1:18 ESV
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.
So it starts out like the normal explanation - there is a mommy and a daddy.
Except the Bible is clear that they had not yet come together in that special way.
But Mary had a baby in her tummy and it was from the Holy Spirit.
I have seen lots of strange things happen when the Holy Spirit as the very Presence and power of God comes upon people.
Some people laugh, other people cry.
I have seen people fall down because they can stand up in the glory of God’s presence.
I have heard of people being instantly healed or delivered from oppression.
I have know people to have visions and supernatural revelation.
Some of these things I have experienced myself.
But I have never heard of anyone getting pregnant...except just this one time.
However, God knew what He was doing.
When the Holy Spirit comes He brings us into alignment with God’s plan.
John 16:13 NLT
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
What God does by His Spirit is not arbitrary but purposeful.
We might think it odd that people behave the way they do when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
It might not fit what we thing is normal or appropriate - but we are thinking in human terms.
When I see God moving someone, I don’t look so much at what they are doing - I look for what is God doing?
And we can see God at work in this story...
Mary and Joseph were betrothed.
What does betrothed mean?
Is it like being engaged? Yes and no.
In our culture, an engaged couple is not legally married - they can still get out of the relationship if they want to.
In fact, most people in our culture view engagement as a kind of testing period.
Sure, it’s a greater level of commitment but if they break up - everyone says, “Oh well, at least they weren’t married!”
Betrothal isn’t like that - the marriage has already been decided - usually by the parents.
You are already legally married - there’s no getting out of it without a formal divorce.
Betrothed means they are married but they are not yet living together as a married couple.
A couple reasons for this.
One is practical - they need to work out where they are going to live and how they are going to provide for a family.
This may mean that the husband has to build a room onto his parents house or perhaps even build a new house before he can go and get his bride.
It also gives the couple a chance to get to know each other socially and emotionally before they come together physically.
During that time they are going to live separately in the home of their parents.
The may send messages back and forth.
And they may have the opportunity to spend some time together but with others always present.
The focus is on preparing a home and a future together.
All of this culminates in a multi-day wedding feast which is includes the wedding ceremony, the reception and the honeymoon.
The wedding signals that the preparation is complete.
The newlyweds get to start life together will all of their relatives around celebrating and giving them advice.
Yeah, there are some thing about the way that we do it today that I like better!
The important point about betrothal is that Jesus was born into such a union that was preparing to become a family.
There was a mommy and a daddy who loved each other.
That is what every child needs for a good start in life.
Except this mommy and daddy had not come together yet.
Baby came first… and mommy and daddy adapted to the new circumstances.
But they were circumstances that they were already preparing for and anticipating.. just not yet.
On one hand, Mary and Joseph would, for the rest of their lives, bear the stigma of friends and relatives suspecting or assuming that something happened that shouldn’t have happened… at least not yet.
On the other hand, God had prepared and appropriate setting for His Son to be born into the world as a normal human baby with both a mother and a father.
Every thing looked normal - or mostly normal.
And that sets us up for the surprise.
Jesus’ birth was a miracle!
In one sense every birth is a miracle - but this one was even more so!
Both Mary and Joseph had angelic visits attesting to the supernatural nature of Jesus birth.
There is also the consistent witness of New Testament writers and the Early Church was that this was a unique kind of birth accomplished sovereignly by God through the Holy Spirit.
Even a verse like John 3:16 alludes to the virgin birth.
John 3:16 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The King James uses the word “only-begotten” instead of “born” because the Greek word refers, to not only a singular kind of birth, but something that is totally unique in all creation.
Jesus is “one-of-a-kind”
He had a human mother, making him 100% human.
But he had divine patronage, making him also 100% divine.
Not a demigod which is the result of divine-human interbreeding-
Jesus is not a mythological hybrid like the Nephilim.
But a unique act of creation by God through willing human parentage.
He is the God-man, the only one in all of human history!
Thus Jesus birth becomes a model for divine-human partnership and participation.
After all, that is how God is going to redeem the earth.
Redemption: Turning a bad situation into blessing.
The virgin birth is a core doctrine of Christianity because it speaks of God’s direct intervention in human affairs.
I mentioned mythological hybrids because first century Jews would have been familiar with stories of the god’s producing offspring either through humans or in a ritual conception.
Such stories are normally boastful and so exaggerated that they don’t even sound real.
The offspring that are produced are monsters - not at all like other humans.
Even if the stories do involve people who are supposed to have really existed - they invoke a lot of imagination and lack verifiable facts.
But this story was different...
Matthew 1:19–21 ESV
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
First of all, Matthew tells us that Joseph had a problem with all of this.
That’s the kind of detail that makes this story real, not imaginary.
Of course Joseph had a problem with it - who wouldn’t!
If you marry a woman and find out that she’s already pregnant and you know it’s not yours… that would be a problem!
Joseph had a dilemma.
Matthew tells us that Joseph has resolved to divorce Mary quietly.
That was actually a very honorable thing to do.
Here’s the problem for Joseph - not only is Mary going to be presumed guilty of sin, but he is the prime suspect!
“What’s the matter there Joseph, you could wait, could you?”
If Joseph wanted to protect his own reputation, he would get out ahead of the accusation and blame her first.
Make a big deal about it, perhaps even have her stoned to death.
The everyone can share his outrage and he gets to play the victim.
But he didn’t do that.
If he doesn’t do anything and just goes through with the wedding, everyone is going to assuming he’s guilty and "doing the right thing”.
That might be the right thing to do if he were guilty - but Joseph is too honorable to lie, even to save Mary.
The most honorable thing to do is end the marriage agreement without attracting any more attention than is necessary.
Those who want to talk will talk, but at least they won’t blame him.
So God intervened with Joseph, just as He did with Mary.
God didn’t take away the problem - He gave Joseph the resources to navigate the situation.
God gave him courage.
God spoke to Joseph in a dream.
Not all of our dreams are messages from God.
I believe 90% of our dreams are simply our unconscious mind processing things while we are asleep that we have been unable or unwilling to think about during the day time.
Dreams bypass the conscious mind and express our unconscious thoughts, feelings and intentions.
That’s why God sometimes chooses to reveal Himself to us in dreams, because we are open to considering things that are outside of what we would normally think or feel.
Dreams are rarely predictive of what is going to happen but they show us what can happen or what might happen if we make the right choices - or the wrong ones.
So it’s not unusual that Joseph would be dreaming about the situation with Mary.
How do we know this was a dream from God?
Because what comes out in the dream is contrary to what Joseph is already thinking and feeling.
By the way, when interpreting dreams, pay attention to thoughts and feelings that they evoke.
Joseph saw an angel in his dream - not surprising, Mary probably told him about the angel visiting her and he’s wrestling with whether or not its true.
An angel appearing to him in a dream would feel like confirmation - Mary really did see and angel.
What is he feeling? - afraid- for a lot of reasons the least of which is the angels appearance.
The angel tells him not to be afraid - that’s the central message of the dream, to impart courage.
The angel calls him “son of David” a reminder that he is part of the Messianic line - it all fits - this child will be the promised Messiah from the proper family.
Joseph sees himself going through with the wedding but now with courage instead of fear.
Mary is not guilty - He is not guilty - God is behind all of this.
One more problem - what does he name the child.
If he gives him his name, which would be the proper thing to do, he is claiming that the child is his - normally not a problem.
But it doesn’t seem right in this situation.
First, because he’s not the real father.
And second because for those who know, it will appear as an admission of guilt.
So God gives him a name- Jesus.
It’s a common name - same as Joshua Moses’ successor.
This name would have also reminded Joseph of what God said to Joshua.
Joshua 1:9 ESV
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
In fact there are seventeen different mentions of variations of the name “Yehoshua” in the Old Testament - nobody will question it.
And it means “Yahweh saves” a clear Messianic reference, but not too obvious.
And the very name evokes courage, a constant reminder of “God with us”.
Do you see how God redeemed what would otherwise be a crisis?
He didn’t take away the problem but He showed Joseph how to walk through it.
He gave Joseph courage instead of fear, hope instead of despair,
And even though Joseph and Mary had to endure some whispers and stares, they knew that they had conducted themselves honorably
and that they were honored to be chosen by God.
Even before Jesus was born, their participation in God’s plan was beginning to change them.
Transformation: What if a old story is actually prophecy?
I’m sure Joseph had to have spent a lot of time thinking about how he was going to explain Mary’s situation to those who are entitled to an answer.
How do you explain something no one has ever heard of?
Virgin birth? Are you out of your mind?
Matthew 1:22–25 ESV
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Joseph knew his Bible - he would have had the Old Testament in Greek a book called the “Septuagint” which was published a little more than a century before this time.
Which was just enough time to become widely circulated.
The Septuagint contained the scroll of Isaiah the prophet who wrote primarily to the Southern Kingdom of Israel.
He prophesied during the reigns of four, possibly five kings.
He confronted corruption in the royal household and prophesied the exile over a century before it happened.
He was a frequent advisor to the Kings of Judah whom he reminded constantly of their obligation to Yahweh as their primary covenant partner.
This message became very urgent when King Ahaz learned that the Northern Kingdom of Israel had entered into an alliance against them.
Armies were gathering probably conducting joint military exercises.
They were probably just waiting for the right season and favorable weather to mount their assault.
Ahaz is terrified and everyone feels the heaviness of impending doom.
Isaiah tries to give them perspective...
Isaiah 7:7–9 CSB
7 This is what the Lord God says: It will not happen; it will not occur.... If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.
Faith in this context is not just simply believing in God - it is trusting in covenant with God - that God will stand by His covenant if we stand by ours.
Ahaz was having a crisis of faith, he needed proof...
Isaiah spoke of a child as an illustration.
Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign from God - and make it a hard one!
Ahaz is like, “oh no - I’m not going to test God by asking for a sign!”
He was that far gone!
So Isaiah tells Him what sign God will give him:
Isaiah 7:14–16 ESV
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.
Wow, there it is!
Except in the original Hebrew, it doesn’t say “virgin” - the Hebrew word simply means “young woman.”
So if you are trying to convert a Jew by showing them this verse, they will probably laugh at you and say - “it doesn’t say that in my Bible.”
And they’re right - Isaiah was probably referring to one of Ahaz’ many wives - so not a virgin.
The point that Isaiah was making is that you watch a child grow and you expect them to change - but you can’t conceive of your present situation that it will ever change.
“Ahaz, if you can envision change and a future for your own household, then you can also believe what God wants to do through you for your kingdom.”
That is what Isaiah 7:14 means in its original context.
But as you have heard me say before, prophecies can have more than one meaning and more than one fulfillment.
Joseph recognized it as a prophecy.
So here is Joseph contemplating what he is going to do about Mary.
God is speaking to him and giving him courage.
But he still has this dilemma - how do I explain a virgin birth?
Has anything like this ever happened before?
Then the words of Isaiah come to mind - not in Hebrew but in Greek.
You see the Greek Septuagint translated the word that means “young woman” to a word that more typically means “virgin”
So Joseph would have remembered Isaiah as saying, “The virgin will conceive and give birth!”
There is it, right in Joseph’s Bible!
You can say it was a coincidence, but there is no such thing if you believe in the sovereignty of God.
You can say it was an accident - or you can say that the Bible is so inspired that even the errors are inspired by God to communicate His truth.
I’m sure for Joseph who need a sign from God in more ways than one - this was no accident and no coincidence!
The scripture says a virgin will conceive and give birth - Unheard of! But not unheard of!
Oh, and it gets even better - what should his name be called...?
Sorry, not Jesus or Joshua - that would be too easy....
But God’s words to Joshua - “Immanuel” - God is with us.
Joshua 1:9 ESV
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Is that confirmation, or what?!?
God confirms Joseph’s dream from His Word to the prophet Isaiah.
Don’t be afraid Joseph, “I got this.”
If God can can conceal a personal message to a first century Jew in a thousand year old manuscript which was translated only a century earlier - I don’t think there is anything that God cannot do!
Including a virgin birth.
Or whatever dilemma you may be facing at the moment.
When Jesus comes to us he doesn’t take all of our problems away.
For Mary and Joseph, Christ’s birth brought problems - big problems!
But they were still blessed despite everything.
God showed them a way through the problems.
And He gave them strength and courage.
Every time they said their son’s name they would be reminded of God’s promise to save His people.
And of His words to Joshua - God is with you!
And also that calls to mind Isaiah - “Immanuel”
The promise has come!
Surprise! God does it again!
He redeems, He transforms and He restores His people.
Questions for reflection:
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation? Are you hoping God will take away the problem? What if he is giving you the resources to navigate through it? Could this possibly be your sign to trust Him?
As we think about Mary and Joseph we usually only think about the honor and the blessing it is to be chosen by God. Does it help to put yourself in their shoes? Can you then believe that God will also turn your situation to honor and blessing?
What does this story tell us about God keeping His promises? What does it tell us about Jesus who both came and is coming again? What have you learned about yourself an your place in the story? Does it give you courage to know that God is with us?
- - Matthew 1:18NIV2011
- - John 16:13NIV2011
- - John 3:16NIV2011
- - Matthew 1:19–21NIV2011
- - Joshua 1:9NIV2011
- - Matthew 1:22–25NIV2011
- - Matthew 1:22–25NIV2011
- - Isaiah 7:7–9NIV2011
- - Isaiah 7:14–16NLT
- - Joshua 1:9NLT
There Is Power In The Blood

Psalm 150:3NIV2011

Surprise! You’re having the Messiah!

Mary and Joseph were betrothed.

Jesus’ birth was a miracle!

Redemption: Turning a bad situation into blessing.

Joseph had a dilemma.

God gave him courage.

Transformation: What if a old story is actually prophecy?

Isaiah spoke of a child as an illustration.

Joseph recognized it as a prophecy.

Questions for reflection:

Maybe you are facing an impossible situation? Are you hoping God will take away the problem? What if he is giving you the resources to navigate through it? Could this possibly be your sign to trust Him?

As we think about Mary and Joseph we usually only think about the honor and the blessing it is to be chosen by God. Does it help to put yourself in their shoes? Can you then believe that God will also turn your situation to honor and blessing?

What does this story tell us about God keeping His promises? What does it tell us about Jesus who both came and is coming again? What have you learned about yourself an your place in the story? Does it give you courage to know that God is with us?

Matthew 1:18NIV2011

John 16:13NIV2011

John 3:16NIV2011

Matthew 1:19–21NIV2011

Joshua 1:9NIV2011

Matthew 1:22–25NIV2011

Matthew 1:22–25NIV2011

Isaiah 7:7–9NIV2011

Isaiah 7:14–16NLT

Joshua 1:9NLT