Joseph's Dream

12/11/23 • 28 min

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 1:18-25
The story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew’s gospel is seen through the eyes of a troubled Joseph. While Luke narrates the story through an excited Mary. Matthew paints the sober picture of a man who just found out that his fiance is pregnant. Would Joseph follow the expected path and divorce Mary? Or would he exercise faith and overcome his fear of shame and believe the unbelievable. Advent requires us to ask the same questions of our own lives. Is salvation possible and are we willing to risk everything to believe that it comes through the miraculous birth of Jesus?

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John the Baptist's Voice

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Luke 3:1-10
John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was the last of the “Old Testament” prophets. His words challenged those who heard him as he sought to prepare their hearts for Jesus’ arrival. Advent is a season, in the words of Fleming Rutledge, that “is designed to bring us face-to-face with reality—reality about sin and death, reality about the human race, reality about God. Something ultimate has entered our world, something or Someone that calls us to attention, calls us out of our daily preoccupations and our routine points of view.” That was the role of John the Baptist, and the task before us over the next five weeks.

Next Episode

Mary's Song

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Luke 1:39-56
Luke narrates the story of Jesus’ birth through the story of Mary, who in this passage breaks into what is one of the most famous songs in all of Christendom. For Mary the news that God had seen her and her people caused her to burst into song. Jesus’s birth, as we will see in Herod’s story, is a threat to those already in power and a source of joy to those longing for liberation.