Opening Prayer
Beloved one, whom Jesus taught us to call Father, we praise you today that you intervened in human history, first among the Israelites, and now among us. That you did not demand a glorious temple in the days of David, but that you were willing to reside where the people were. And when you were born among us, it was not in a palace, but in a simple stable, of a woman who was not yet married. You came as ordinary, that we might find your message extraordinary. You came as simple, so that we might better see your glory. Be with us this morning as we worship that we might find your peace. (Prayer Requests prayed for)
Lord’s Prayer
Call to Worship and Lighting of Advent Candle (Psalm 89)
We sing of your steadfast love, and proclaim your faithfulness.
As it has been, as it is, as it always will be.
You have made a covenant with us, through your Son, descendent of David.
Your steadfast love endures forever, your kingdom will have no end.
We belong to the anointed one, who will live forever.
You are our Father, our God, the Rock of our Salvation.
(We light this candle as a symbol of the peace you have brought to us)
* Hark the Herald Angels Sing 93/119
Confession (Based on Luke 1)
When Mary met Elizabeth, they sang together of your glory.
Sometimes we forget that there is a song to be sung.
We see the problems instead of the promise.
We are afraid of what will happen.
Restore us today, bring a song to our heart.
Help us to sing with Mary that we might have peace. Amen
Declaration of Forgiveness (Based on Luke 1, Romans 6)
In the Annunciation, the angel told Mary, “Nothing shall be impossible for God.” That command you didn’t think you could follow? God has made it possible. That sin you think is impossible to overcome? God has already done so. Know that with God all things are possible. You have been forgiven, be at peace.
Gloria Patri
Children’s Time (What is your name? Who named you?)
Prayer for Illumination
Reading of the Word: Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”which means, “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;[ and he named him Jesus.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear 90/123
Sermon: “You Will Name Him Jesus” (Yeshua)
The name that was given by Joseph to the child born of Mary was Yeshua. It means God, Yahweh is Salvation, or Yahweh saves. So when Scripture says he will be called “Emmanuel, God with us,” the names match more closely, and the Scripture makes a bit more sense.
If you were to translate the name directly from Hebrew or Aramaic into English, the name we know as Jesus would be Joshua. This is the same name of the leader who God assigned to bring the people into the promised land and would have been understood among the Israelites as an appropriate name for the Messiah. After all, remember the battle of Jericho?
So why does our New Testament call him Jesus?
Unlike the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew, then translated to Greek in the Septuagent, the original texts of the New Testament were written in the common language of the day. While the Romans used Latin for legal proceedings and declared it to be the official language of Rome, the common language among the people was Greek. In Greek, Yeshua is Jesus.
So, Mary and Joseph never once called him Jesus, they called him Yeshua. So did the people. God is salvation. God’s name in the Bible is Yaweh, or I AM, and the name of Jesus is actually Yeshua. If this changes the name you use to pray, that is OK.
So let’s get back to this man who called his son Yeshua. Joseph.
Joseph, like Mary, had a plan. He was marrying this beautiful young maiden and they would have a family together and would spend their lives caring for that family. He would take them to the temple on Holy Days, and they would look and sound just like him.
Joseph didn’t find out from an Angel about the Christ child. It says in scripture, “Mary was found to be with child.” It doesn’t say who told him, it just said he found out.
Did she start showing? Did her parents confront him as her betrothed, accusing him of this deed? Did he hear about it in the marketplace as gossip? Was he taunted by his friends? We don’t know. We do know Joseph found out and was devastated.
It is here that Joseph made his first choice, which shows his character. While not accepting responsibly for the child, he did not want Mary hurt. It is a way of saying that in spite of her pregnancy, Joseph still loved Mary.
The second indicator that Joseph loved Mary came from the angel’s message in his dream. It does NOT say, do not be angry, or do not divorce her, it says, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” And it explains the fact that she was not unfaithful.
So, while Joseph and Mary’s lives were turned upside down by this pregnancy, they both made a commitment – in spite of their lives having this unexpected turn, they would still have a family together. Their first child would be Yeshua.
Joseph wouldn’t only teach him carpentry, as a father would teach his son, he would teach him about his faith as his father taught him. He would teach him about the one he was named after Joshua.
When the Israelites first arrived at the promised land, they would send in 12 spies. They would find a land filled with Milk and Honey, and they would return. If you remember ten of those spies would tell how large the people living there were. Only two would see how large God was, Joshua and Caleb.
He would tell him all of the stories that we tell our children. He would speak of the God who created the world, of Adam and Eve and the fall, of Noah and the Ark, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would tell of another Joseph, a young man sold into slavery by his brothers, who went down to Egypt and would save his family from the Famine.
He would be taught about Moses, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the 10 commandments and the 40 years in the desert.
He would have learned everything he needed to know about his faith from a single person, his father. Because that is how young Hebrew sons were raised. Their fathers taught them everything they knew.
And we know that Joseph did that, claimed Yeshua as his own son and taught him these things because here in this passage it is clear that Joseph claimed him as his. He might be the son of the living God but he would also be Joseph’s son.
How do I know this for certain? Because it was the custom at the time Jesus was born that only one person had the right to name the child, his own father. The mother and father might agree ahead of time, but it was the father who named the child.
The moment Joseph did so, he told the whole world that Jesus was his son. Which is why this passage is so critical. It tells us everything we need to know about Joseph. He loved Mary, and he would claim her son as his.
Like Mary and Joseph, this year has not been the year we had in mind.
I remember back in January, I made a plan to retire at the end of the year. I planned out every month what I was going to preach, and how I would lead you to this point in time. You may not remember, but I also went off lectionary as we began Lent for my “rock” series. I wanted to help you build your house upon a rock, the rock of salvation.
And then our lives changed. The doors of nursing homes closed. We closed our doors for awhile, and when we returned it was not the same. We cannot safely do things the way we have always done them. We have lost people we loved. And we are still in the middle of this pandemic. There is hope, but these last months will still have to play out.
And I turned my focus to helping us find a way through the darkness. Instead of worrying about making sure you will be ready for my retirement, I have tried to give you hope that this is not forever. That God is still in control.
But as I looked at that message, that God is in control, I realized that this was the message that God had for me to give you here in this last year.
Here on the Sunday we light the Peace Candle I go back to the verse I printed in the Bulletin in January, to build upon.
Isaiah 54:10 (NRSV)
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
I did not know, but God knew what this year held.
Scripture tells us little about what Joseph did, and nothing about what he said. He usually has a non-speaking part in the Christmas pageant. He just accompanies Mary. If he is given a voice, it is actually a statement that is totally non scriptural when he asks the innkeeper for a room for his wife.
Joseph was like most Dads. He just did his job, took care of his family, and didn’t say much. He just followed God through the circumstances and let God lead him.
Joseph is an awesome example of how we can be believers. We can trust in God’s plan when our own falls apart. We can do the things God calls us to do. We can be faithful in the tasks which God has given us to do. And while our roles might be quiet ones, we can do them with honor.
Apostles Creed
Dedication of Offerings/Doxology
* Silent Night 85/122
* Benediction/Passing the Peace (Based on Luke 1)
Go forth! Celebrate. God has come and will walk among his people as he promised. He walks with you – He walks in you. Be his hands and feet to the world. As you go, feel the peace that only God’s presence with you can bring.
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you
Pastor: Rev. Bobbie Karchner
Ministers: The Congregatiion
Beloved one, whom Jesus taught us to call Father, we praise you today that you intervened in human history, first among the Israelites, and now among us. That you did not demand a glorious temple in the days of David, but that you were willing to reside where the people were. And when you were born among us, it was not in a palace, but in a simple stable, of a woman who was not yet married. You came as ordinary, that we might find your message extraordinary. You came as simple, so that we might better see your glory. Be with us this morning as we worship that we might find your peace. (Prayer Requests prayed for)
Lord’s Prayer
Call to Worship and Lighting of Advent Candle (Psalm 89)
We sing of your steadfast love, and proclaim your faithfulness.
As it has been, as it is, as it always will be.
You have made a covenant with us, through your Son, descendent of David.
Your steadfast love endures forever, your kingdom will have no end.
We belong to the anointed one, who will live forever.
You are our Father, our God, the Rock of our Salvation.
(We light this candle as a symbol of the peace you have brought to us)
* Hark the Herald Angels Sing 93/119
Confession (Based on Luke 1)
When Mary met Elizabeth, they sang together of your glory.
Sometimes we forget that there is a song to be sung.
We see the problems instead of the promise.
We are afraid of what will happen.
Restore us today, bring a song to our heart.
Help us to sing with Mary that we might have peace. Amen
Declaration of Forgiveness (Based on Luke 1, Romans 6)
In the Annunciation, the angel told Mary, “Nothing shall be impossible for God.” That command you didn’t think you could follow? God has made it possible. That sin you think is impossible to overcome? God has already done so. Know that with God all things are possible. You have been forgiven, be at peace.
Gloria Patri
Children’s Time (What is your name? Who named you?)
Prayer for Illumination
Reading of the Word: Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”which means, “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;[ and he named him Jesus.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear 90/123
Sermon: “You Will Name Him Jesus” (Yeshua)
The name that was given by Joseph to the child born of Mary was Yeshua. It means God, Yahweh is Salvation, or Yahweh saves. So when Scripture says he will be called “Emmanuel, God with us,” the names match more closely, and the Scripture makes a bit more sense.
If you were to translate the name directly from Hebrew or Aramaic into English, the name we know as Jesus would be Joshua. This is the same name of the leader who God assigned to bring the people into the promised land and would have been understood among the Israelites as an appropriate name for the Messiah. After all, remember the battle of Jericho?
So why does our New Testament call him Jesus?
Unlike the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew, then translated to Greek in the Septuagent, the original texts of the New Testament were written in the common language of the day. While the Romans used Latin for legal proceedings and declared it to be the official language of Rome, the common language among the people was Greek. In Greek, Yeshua is Jesus.
So, Mary and Joseph never once called him Jesus, they called him Yeshua. So did the people. God is salvation. God’s name in the Bible is Yaweh, or I AM, and the name of Jesus is actually Yeshua. If this changes the name you use to pray, that is OK.
So let’s get back to this man who called his son Yeshua. Joseph.
Joseph, like Mary, had a plan. He was marrying this beautiful young maiden and they would have a family together and would spend their lives caring for that family. He would take them to the temple on Holy Days, and they would look and sound just like him.
Joseph didn’t find out from an Angel about the Christ child. It says in scripture, “Mary was found to be with child.” It doesn’t say who told him, it just said he found out.
Did she start showing? Did her parents confront him as her betrothed, accusing him of this deed? Did he hear about it in the marketplace as gossip? Was he taunted by his friends? We don’t know. We do know Joseph found out and was devastated.
It is here that Joseph made his first choice, which shows his character. While not accepting responsibly for the child, he did not want Mary hurt. It is a way of saying that in spite of her pregnancy, Joseph still loved Mary.
The second indicator that Joseph loved Mary came from the angel’s message in his dream. It does NOT say, do not be angry, or do not divorce her, it says, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” And it explains the fact that she was not unfaithful.
So, while Joseph and Mary’s lives were turned upside down by this pregnancy, they both made a commitment – in spite of their lives having this unexpected turn, they would still have a family together. Their first child would be Yeshua.
Joseph wouldn’t only teach him carpentry, as a father would teach his son, he would teach him about his faith as his father taught him. He would teach him about the one he was named after Joshua.
When the Israelites first arrived at the promised land, they would send in 12 spies. They would find a land filled with Milk and Honey, and they would return. If you remember ten of those spies would tell how large the people living there were. Only two would see how large God was, Joshua and Caleb.
He would tell him all of the stories that we tell our children. He would speak of the God who created the world, of Adam and Eve and the fall, of Noah and the Ark, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would tell of another Joseph, a young man sold into slavery by his brothers, who went down to Egypt and would save his family from the Famine.
He would be taught about Moses, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the 10 commandments and the 40 years in the desert.
He would have learned everything he needed to know about his faith from a single person, his father. Because that is how young Hebrew sons were raised. Their fathers taught them everything they knew.
And we know that Joseph did that, claimed Yeshua as his own son and taught him these things because here in this passage it is clear that Joseph claimed him as his. He might be the son of the living God but he would also be Joseph’s son.
How do I know this for certain? Because it was the custom at the time Jesus was born that only one person had the right to name the child, his own father. The mother and father might agree ahead of time, but it was the father who named the child.
The moment Joseph did so, he told the whole world that Jesus was his son. Which is why this passage is so critical. It tells us everything we need to know about Joseph. He loved Mary, and he would claim her son as his.
Like Mary and Joseph, this year has not been the year we had in mind.
I remember back in January, I made a plan to retire at the end of the year. I planned out every month what I was going to preach, and how I would lead you to this point in time. You may not remember, but I also went off lectionary as we began Lent for my “rock” series. I wanted to help you build your house upon a rock, the rock of salvation.
And then our lives changed. The doors of nursing homes closed. We closed our doors for awhile, and when we returned it was not the same. We cannot safely do things the way we have always done them. We have lost people we loved. And we are still in the middle of this pandemic. There is hope, but these last months will still have to play out.
And I turned my focus to helping us find a way through the darkness. Instead of worrying about making sure you will be ready for my retirement, I have tried to give you hope that this is not forever. That God is still in control.
But as I looked at that message, that God is in control, I realized that this was the message that God had for me to give you here in this last year.
Here on the Sunday we light the Peace Candle I go back to the verse I printed in the Bulletin in January, to build upon.
Isaiah 54:10 (NRSV)
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
I did not know, but God knew what this year held.
Scripture tells us little about what Joseph did, and nothing about what he said. He usually has a non-speaking part in the Christmas pageant. He just accompanies Mary. If he is given a voice, it is actually a statement that is totally non scriptural when he asks the innkeeper for a room for his wife.
Joseph was like most Dads. He just did his job, took care of his family, and didn’t say much. He just followed God through the circumstances and let God lead him.
Joseph is an awesome example of how we can be believers. We can trust in God’s plan when our own falls apart. We can do the things God calls us to do. We can be faithful in the tasks which God has given us to do. And while our roles might be quiet ones, we can do them with honor.
Apostles Creed
Dedication of Offerings/Doxology
* Silent Night 85/122
* Benediction/Passing the Peace (Based on Luke 1)
Go forth! Celebrate. God has come and will walk among his people as he promised. He walks with you – He walks in you. Be his hands and feet to the world. As you go, feel the peace that only God’s presence with you can bring.
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you
Pastor: Rev. Bobbie Karchner
Ministers: The Congregatiion