Jesus, the Christmas Confirmation (Luke 2:1-38)

Jesus lives up this his name. His name means Yahweh Saves. Jesus enters history to save his people from their sins. This is why Christ has to be born an infant in order to live a perfect life to be presented as the perfect sacrifice.

King Redeemer of the Kinsmen Redeemer (Matthew 1:18-2:12)

Joseph considers his legal recourse regarding his pregnant fiancé. He thinks that she loves another man because Joseph knows that she is not carrying his child, and so Joseph desires to quietly break off their relationship by appealing to Deuteronomy 24. An angel appears to him and reveals that Deuteronomy 24 is not going to be used, but rather Deuteronomy 25. Joseph will be the levirate redeemer establishing the legality of Christ's line. Why is it so important that Joseph takes Mary to be his wife?

Our Jesus Emmanuel (Matthew 1:18-25)

Joseph is to be the father of Jesus.  He is to find his significance in Christ’s advent.  How does Joseph finding his significance in a baby demonstrate the beauty of this kingdom?  How does Joseph finding his significance in Christ demonstrate our call to humility? 

Sojourning Under the Sun: Our Sabbath Jesus (Matthew 1)

The name Jesus is a name that we have heard before in this series because it is the same name as Joshua.  Joshua was a great military leader and reformer in the midst of Israel.  He called Israel to look to their God, to serve their God exclusively, and to set the tone for their houses to serve the Lord.  Israel fell pretty far from this as a new people.  Their priests lost sight of their God, and the people lost sight of the priest’s significance.  The priest was supposed to bring them to God rather than being some sort of good luck charms to manipulate the true God.  So, is the Lord able to redeem such a people?  If the Lord can redeem such a people then who has to be the redeemer?

The Star of Christmas (Numbers 24:10-25)

Balak has been paying Balaam to manipulate and to change the promises of the Lord.  They have offered the Lord the highest and greatest offerings to win the favor of God.  The Lord has responded to the sacrifices, but not in the way that Balak had hoped.  The Lord has continued to restate His promises to this man.  Now, in this fourth oracle something that changed.  There are no sacrifices, but the Lord reminds these men, and us today that his battle plan is fixed.  What is the significance of this oracle?  What does this tell us about the Christmas story?