Mary Was Favored Among Women (Christmas Sermon)

But the Bible also shares with us many of the great women in the scriptures.

Such as:

• Sarah: Mother of the Jewish Nation

• Rachel: Wife of Jacob

• Leah: Wife of Jacob

• Jochebed: Mother of Moses

• Miriam: Sister of Moses

• Rahab: Ancestor of Jesus

• Deborah: Influential Female Judge

• Ruth: Virtuous Ancestor of Jesus

• Hannah: Mother of Samuel

• Esther: Influential Persian Queen

There are many women of the Bible that God’s Word shares with us.

But Mary the mother of Jesus stands out above all the women in the scriptures because she gave birth to God’s Son!!!

The Bible makes that clear…

Gabriel said: "Blessed are you among women!" - Lk 1:28

Elizabeth said: "Blessed are you among women!" - Lk 1:42

Mary herself said: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." - Lk 1:48

Mary recognized being FAVORED AMONG ABOVE ALL WOMEN because God chose her as a virgin to give birth to His Son.

During the Christmas season all across the world Mary is mentioned more than any individual in the scriptures.

This is GOOD AND BAD!!!

HOW CAN IT BE BAD?

It is bad because even though Mary is favored among all women, some religious groups have made her into something God has never intended for her to be.

Let me explain…

The Bible tells us when Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus, she was a virgin.

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Being a virgin means before she married Joseph, she never had an intimate relationship with Joseph or any other man.

As a virgin she was favored by God to give birth to the Lord Jesus.

But the Catholic church teaches some things about Mary that the Bible does not each.

For example, they teach the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY.

WHAT IS THIS FALSE TEACHING?

They teach Mary was conceived without sin. SHE IS PERFECT!!!

The Catholic Church believes God made Mary immune from imputed or inherited sin. And because of the immaculate conception, she remained sinless.

Pope Pius IX first declared the doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception” to be infallible in 1854. He stated: “We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854]

Also, the Bible teaches Mary was a virgin, but the Catholic church teach in PERPETUAL VIRGINITY...

1. From the second century A.D. the Catholics taught that Mary remained a virgin

2. That Jesus' brothers and sisters were either cousins or stepsiblings (children of Joseph from a previous marriage)

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION IS A FALSE TEACHING AND SHOULD BE DENOUNCED AND REJECTED BY ALL CHRISTIANS BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD

Bible definitely teaches Mary was a virgin and she is favored among all women. But Mary was born in sin like everyone else and she had to get saved just like everyone else.

I felt the need to take this time to expound on the VIRGIN MARY because of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION that is being taught during the Christmas season.

But let’s move on talk about MARY AND JOSEPH.

One thing that gets us upset, is when we have things all planned out in our lives and someone comes along and ruins our plans.

Illus: For example, suppose you had plans for Saturday. You were going to take the family to the lake and have a nice family picnic. You had all the details worked out, and then the boss man comes up to you on Friday, before you leave to go home and says, “I hate to do this to you, I know you had plans for tomorrow, but I am going to insist that you come in tomorrow and work. We have a shipment going out, and I cannot get along without you.” (Isn’t this when we stick our tongue out at the boss man as he walks away?)

This is what I am talking about, we do not like anyone to mess up our plans.

However, did you know that not only do people mess up our plans, SO DOES GOD!

For example:

• We might have a young Christian man here who has made all the plans to be a doctor or a lawyer, but yet the Lord continues to deal with you about becoming a Minister of the Gospel. GOD IS MESSING UP YOUR PLANS!