Bold & Obedient Series

Boldness A-Z

O- Obedience

Once again we find ourselves in our a-z of spiritual Boldness. Last week we considered the letter "N" and we looked at the Good good news of Luke chapter 2. The angel of the Lord delivered the news of the Messiah's birth. "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Since it was a newsworthy event we looked at it from a reporters stand point, asking the hard questions , who, what, where, when, and why. We saw who the source of the news was, as well as who it was for "which shall be to all people" We also discovered what the good good news was. Christ the Saviour had come. We answered the question of where it happened, Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah. We found out when the event took place "this day " We discussed how according to the scriptures Jesus came at just the right time. And of course we answered the question why, For God so loved the world not to condemn the world but to save it.

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"

"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."

"But I'm starved," the governor said.

"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."

Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. "Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."

"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister."

This week we will consider the letter "O" and once again God has provided for us a Christmas theme for the letter "O". This was a little more difficult to think of for me, and it's a good thing I don''t have to come up with these sermons on my own. This week we will look at being bold in the spirit by being Obedient to the Lord. There are a few examples of obedience in the Christmas story. Every day we have a choice to make whether or not to be Obedient to God. Sometimes it's a big thing and sometimes it appears to be a small thing. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it is difficult. This morning we will look at three examples of Obedience concerning the events around Christ birth. We will look at the Obedience of Mary, The Obedience of Joseph, and the Obedience of the Wise men.

1. The Obedience of Mary

Luke 1:26-38 "26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."