December 18, 2022 • Pastor Josh Kee • Matthew 2:19–23
Passage: Matthew 2:19-23
Title: "Nazareth: Disrupted and Despised"
Contextual Note: Matthew is carefully presenting evidence proving that Jesus is the Messianic King who was announced by the prophets and longed for by the people of Israel. God’s Word had disrupted the long silence, along with the people’s expectations and assumptions about the Savior.
Outline:
Joseph’s fourth dream (2:19-21)a) Herod (the illegitimate king) died and Jesus (the legitimate King) lived (19)
b) God divinely initiates the preservation of Jesus (20)
c) God divinely guides the preservation of Jesus (20)
d) God divinely ordains the destination of Jesus (21)
Joseph’s fifth dream (2:22)a) God meets Joseph in his fear to direct his steps (22)
b) Fear and worry are not beyond the scope of God’s sovereign control
c) God uses wicked people to accomplish his divine purposes
Settling in obscurity (2:23)a) Nazareth was a despised village of low esteem (John 1:43-46; 7:42, 52)
b) Contrasted with Bethlehem (the city of David)
c) Obscurity & apparent insignificance are no hindrance to God’s purposes
d) Jesus came to be identified with the lowly and despised (cf. Pss 22:6-8, 13; 69:8, 20-21; Isa 11:1; 49:7; 53:2-3, 8; Dan 9:26; Phil 2:5-10)
Main idea:
God purposefully disrupts in order to fulfill his every promise, so that sinful humanity might experience his grace through Christ.
Application:
Lay down your idolatrous desires to be glorious apart from Christ and receive the lifegiving Word of affirmation that shatters the chains of insignificance and irrelevance that keep us clinging to the false realities of manmade saviors.
Discussion Questions:
1. If God has numbered our days (Ps 90:12; 139:16) and promised to care for us (Matthew 6:25-33; Romans 8:32), why are we so prone to fear, anxiety, and worry? Where are you wearing yourself out trying to preserve your safety and security?
2. How would your life look different if you relinquished fear and entrusted your present and future to God’s good (and promised) care?
3. PARENTS: Talk to your kids about how God used Joseph to care for Jesus so that God’s plans would be accomplished. Help them see that God uses parents to care for and lead children to accomplish his plans in their lives.
4. Your fears are potential doorways of intimacy with God. Rather than stuffing them, take them boldly and honestly to the Lord and ask him to meet you in the midst of them with his comfort, his guidance, and his provision.
5. Our pride is a greater threat to our joy and peace than obscurity. God does not need you to elevate yourself to accomplish his purposes in your life. Are you striving to gain an identity, or resting in the identity you have been given in Christ? Where are you not “simply obeying” what God has made clear?
6. Who do you considered “lowly” and “despised”? How might you identify with the outcast and neglected (Romans 12:16)? Read 1 Corinthians 1 and rejoice that God has chosen to glorify himself through that which is low. Rest in his ability to glorify himself in and through your life as you live in humble faith and simple obedience.
December 11, 2022
December 11, 2022 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • Matthew 2:13–18
Theme: “Out of Egypt I Called My Son”
Passage: Matthew 2:13–18
Main Idea: In a world of suffering, opposition, and death, God produces life through the faith and obedience of His followers.
Trusting and Obeying God will ...
1. Make things physically uncomfortable.
a. It will disrupt your ideal plans.
b. It will alienate you from this world.
2. Face spiritual opposition.
a. It enrages those who reject God.
b. They will attempt to stamp out truth.
3. Be used by God to accomplish His saving purposes.
a. He permits suffering.
b. He works through the suffering and opposition to bring about His plans.
Application Questions:
· If you were to use one word to describe your current feelings about the state of things in this world, what would it be? Why?
· From scripture as well as your own experience, how does God use suffering to accomplish his purposes? Can you see Him using suffering in your own experiences? What have you learned as a result?
· Why do people become so enraged and even at times lash out at God’s will and plans?
· Going back to the first question, why and how can you as a believer remain hopeful despite the state of things?
December 4, 2022
December 4, 2022 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • Matthew 1:18–25
Theme: Joseph’s Trust in God
Passage: Matthew 1:18–25
Joseph’s Dilemma (18–19)
God’s Plan Revealed for Joseph (20–23)
Joseph’s Obedience (24–25)
Joseph’s trust in God challenges us to:
1. Act Mercifully
2. Bear Shame to Love
3. Obey God’s Word ...
a. Even at a young age
b. Despite pressures from others
c. Laying aside your own desires
d. In line with His clear directives
Main Idea: God works His plan of salvation through those willing to lay aside their agenda for His.
Application Questions:
· Considering the situation described here, how did Joseph, as one who was righteous, face a difficult decision? In what ways may we face similar dilemmas today as we seek to live righteously?
· Why do you suppose God brought about the conception and birth of Jesus this way? What may this tell us about God’s plan of salvation?
· What does Joseph’s example teach us about loving others?
· How might God call us to bear humiliation or shame today as we live out His plan for our lives? Have you seen this in your own life? How so?
· Of the four applications to 3. Obey God’s Word, which one challenges you presently?
November 27, 2022
November 27, 2022 • Pastor Phil Burggraff
Theme: Joseph’s Lineage
Passage: Matthew 1:1–17
Theme: Joseph’s lineage tells us more about God than Joseph.
1. God providentially works to accomplish his purposes.
2. God faithfully does what he promises.
3. God miraculously intercedes to save his people.
4. God inexplicably includes the least expected in His plans.
He uses
a. Sinners
b. The Weak
c. The Outcast
d. The Mundane Carpenter
How this applies to us:
Þ God works through those willing to give Him their heart.
Þ God works through those willing to serve as godly examples.
Main Idea: Our lives are to reflect what God is doing.
Application Questions:
· Why do you think Matthew structured his genealogy around the highlighted figures of Abraham and David (vv. 1, 17)? What does this indicate for us?
· Of the four statements concerning what God is doing, which one seems most appropriate for you presently? Explain why. How do these truths encourage you currently?
· Of the names in the genealogy, which shock you the most? What does it indicate about God’s plans, purposes, and works?
· Why would God choose a carpenter to raise His Son?
· How has God used the actions and life of your own father to teach you how or how not to live?
