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December 15, 2013

WELCOME!
WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE

We are a group of believers who simply try to follow the Bible as a guide for all we do. Everything done in our worship service is something for which we have a Bible basis. You are welcome to participate as much or as little as you wish. We will sing hymns together and we will observe the Lord's Supper or Communion together. We will also have an opportunity to give to the work of God in this area. This collection is for the members here, and if you are visiting you should not feel and pressure to give. Our lesson time will be divided into two groups. The young children will go to our classroom area in the basement where they will be taught the Bible at a level they can understand. The adults will stay in the auditorium for a lesson at an adult level. We do try to serve the community, and if you have some needs that we can help you with, mention it to one of the members. Thank you for worshipping with us.

FAMILY NEWS

NILES CHRISTMAS POTLUCK: The Niles congregation has invited us to a potluck and Christmas carol singing after this morning services. A number of us will be hurrying out right after services this morning to participate in this fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Niles. If you would like to go and need transportation, let one of us leading worship know.

XMAS: We have had some public reaction to the use of Xmas on our sign in connection with the Dowagiac parade. “X” is a Greek symbol for Christ when used in religious contexts and our use was to reduce the space on the sign so as not to endanger people driving by. See The Back Page below.

NO CLASSES DECEMBER 25: A large number of our members are going to be out of town for Christmas Day, so we will not have midweek classes on December 25.

COATS: Our thanks to those of you who have found children who needed coats, and to Bill and Patty for making the arrangements to get the coats. We will have more on this later.

TODAY'S LESSON

THE JEWISH SIDE OF CHRISTMAS

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Matthew 1:2 – 17

John Clayton

INTRODUCTION
A.Not understanding Judaism is to miss much.
1. Mary and Joseph were devout Jews
2. They followed Jewish laws and rituals.
I. THE MARRIAGE RITUAL — a two part procedure
A. Bride was pledged to her “husband to be.”
1. Verbal declaration was made — with a gift.
2. Two witnesses, legal marriage — took a divorce to break, but they lived apart for a year.
3. Then groom took bride to family home — had feast.
a. Matthew 25:1 – 6 and Cana wedding feast
II. THE DILEMMA OF JOSEPH – Mary has a baby bump.
A. Major disgrace — proved Mary was not faithful.
1. Matthew 1:18 – 19; John 8:39 – 41
2. Jesus was accused of being the son of a prostitute.
B. Verse 19 — Joseph is righteous = just = man of principle
1. Could not marry Mary — Deuteronomy 22:20 – 21.
2. What do you do when law conflicts with mercy?
C. Jesus teaches love that produces mercy.
1. John 8:3 – 5
D. Joseph obeys law but with great gentleness and love.
III. THE SOLUTION FOR JOSEPH — Matthew 1:20 – 25
A. Afraid of what? Breaking God's law.
B. God's plan — Holy Spirit — God's creative agent.
IV. JOSEPH AS A MODEL FOR CH RISTIANS TODAY
A. Do not look for worldly solutions to life's problems.
1. What do you do when a brother or sister falls.
2. Matthew 18:15
3. 1 Corinthians 6:1ff
4. Mark 2:23 – 27 —  God's laws are for our benefit
a. Matthew 23:23
B. Being supportive is as important as taking the lead.
1. Where would Mary be without Joseph?
a. Matthew 2:21; Luke 4:22; Luke 2:41 – 48
C. Joseph is the classic example of obedience.
1. Given tough things to accept.
a. Did not understand Luke 2:49 –50
2. Did not argue
a. Did not say “I don't see why … .”

THE BACK PAGE

THE “HERESY” OF CHRISTMAS SERMONS

Over the years there have been those who reject the Catholic tradition who also reject anything that is predominantly Catholic in origin, and included in that has been a resistance to Christmas. It is true that much of what we see being done in the Christmas season had its origins in the Roman and Greek Catholic churches. The name “Christmas” came from “Cristesmaesse” meaning Christ's mass. The Greeks used “X” (the first letter in the Greek word for Christ) as a symbol for Christ and thus Xmas came into being. Nativity comes from the Latin “nativitas” and natitivity scenes were started by St. Francis of Asissi in 1223. Many of our symbols come from the same Greek or Catholic tradition. Red is used to symbolize the blood of Jesus. Green symbolizes life, and the use of evergreens symbolizes life eternal, while gold indicates royalty. Catholic scholars picked December 25 partly because it was nine months after Christ is claimed to have been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and partly because it fell close to the winter solstice which camouflaged Christians worshipping when the pagan world was celebrating the solstice in various worship acts.

This morning's lesson and next Sunday's lesson are connected to the Christmas season. Because our minds are stimulated by the secular world around us and religious imagery is all around us, it is an ideal time to talk about lessons to be gained by looking carefully at the circumstances of Jesus' birth and childhood. This is not an endorsement of the errors that might be a part of denominational or secular use of the season. It is a good time to teach and focus on the events that changed our world when “God became flesh and dwelt among us.”

In Romans 14 Paul warns the church not to allow division to creep in because some members celebrated special days. Verses 5 – 7 specifically says that considering one day more sacred should not be a source of conflict or irritation. He even goes so far as to say to make an issue on such things is sin. Let us enjoy the season and learn from it, and let us not be known only for what we are against.

— John Clayton