Joseph...he Da Man ! Series

Slide #1

Video…

Welcome…guest cards.

Happy FATHERS’ DAY.

I begin today with a quick story that I found while studying for my message…

Father’s Day Humor…A Story about David…

After David’s first year of college…he returned home during his summer vacation and asked his dad if he could take the family car back with him to college.

After thinking about the request…His dad agreed to David’s request… but only under these conditions.

1st)… he must continue to have good grades in all his classes’…2nd)…he must work a part time job while he is in school to cover the expenses that go along with owning a car… and 3rd)… he has to get and keep a decent haircut.

The summer quickly passed before David had to return to school David and his father talked about the car.

David had followed two of the three things that he had promised his dad he would do… except for getting his hair cut.

When the father saw that his son had refused to get a haircut… he asked David for an explanation.

David quickly said, "Hey dad, even Jesus had long hair."

His Father replied quickly back,

"Yes, son, you're absolutely right. And remember that…Jesus also walked everywhere he went."

Fathers always seem to have the right things to say don’t they?

Since today is father’s day I would like to talk to you about a father from the bible…who is often overlooked because of the story that took place around his life.

In my opinion this father was one of the most important role models in the history of mankind.

We’ve all heard the saying “when the going gets tough…the tough get going” I think that this quote could have been written from this man’s character.

The father I’m talking about this morning is Joseph... the husband of Mary and the adopted father of Jesus.

Most people have heard the story about Mary and Jesus.

But not many people even take time to think about the influence that Joseph…the father of Jesus…made in his child’s life as He was growing up.

Being a father is a very difficult thing to do.

There are a lot of responsibilities that go along side of being a father…

Dads feel the pressures of being the provider…and the protector…

But can you imagine the added pressure that Joseph felt… when an angel sent from God Himself… revealed to Joseph in a dream that he was being chosen to help raise the prophesized and much anticipated Savior of the world.

Slide #2 Read Matthew 1:18-21…

Prayer

After reading this story over and over again from my Bible…I couldn’t help but think about how important the fathers’ role is in a child’s ’life.

What was so special about Joseph…We read that he was “a just man”. (What does that mean?)

Obviously he was a man that lived his daily life by Jewish laws and traditions. He was a man with strong beliefs.

He was a man who was prepared to do what was right…despite the pain he knew it would cause.

He was a man who loved God…and his heritage…How did this dream affect his life?

A little History about this story…about Joseph and Mary both...

Although we don’t have any official records about their correct age…as close as one could guess…Joseph was approximately 18 years old…where Mary was thought to be around 15.

Both of these kids resided in the town of Nazareth…a town located approximately 80 miles north of the Holy City of Jerusalem…15 miles east of the Sea of Galilee.

Joseph was employed as a craftsman…(a carpenter) and Mary was a homemaker.

And just to make life a little more exciting…Joseph and Mary’s marriage (like many of Jewish tradition) had been prearranged.

But what was different about their union was their marriage was united by God well before… (Gabriel) An Angel of the Lord… visited Joseph in a dream… (Read vs. 20)

Gabriel explained to Joseph that the child that Mary was carrying was the long awaited redeemer of the world…sent from God and He (Joseph himself) had been chosen to be the earthly father of the child.

The Bible doesn’t really tell us much about Joseph…but I believe that Joseph was a believer of God well before the visit from the angel in a dream.

But here is what was so cool about Joseph… Not only was he a Godly man before the visit…but after the visit he shows greater responsibility by becoming a man of integrity and character.

Men…dads…integrity and character is established when you are being called to do something that seems out of your reach…and you step up to the challenge.

“Leaders are born when integrity and character are established…”

So what can we learn from Joseph today?

The first act of obedience we can learn from Joseph was…