God's plan is amazing!
Your plans and dreams may have been ruined, but God has a far greater plan for your life! There is the nitty gritty, hard work you may have to face for God's plan to be fulfilled in your life, but it's still better than anything you could have done! And we are being brought by God into that plan. Each and everyone of us is part of God's plan to bring salvation to the world.
God alone fills us and brings us into that plan.
The Service:
I chose songs to reflect on what it must have been like for Joseph and Mary that first Christmas. What was it like for them trying to hear from God and understand the plan God had for them. how difficult was it for them to actually carry out their part in God's plan? How does their experience relate to our own struggles to hear from God and do what God is guiding us to do?
During the times when Joseph and Mary lived, all of Israel was looking for their Saviour to come. They were oppressed by the Roman Empire. It was hard times for them. They were looking for their deliverer to come from God. They were looking for the Messiah.
Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
In relating to Joseph, I was thinking that he couldn't always hear God and struggled to understand God's will for him. So- God spoke to Him in a dream. I know that in my life, there have been times when really important things came quickly and clearly, but, most other times I have to seek God, really search for God to get the answers I need for my life. Joseph was facing a real crisis, feelings of betrayal and fear of rejection. It was an issue of honour and he was afraid for Mary's life. It looked like his hopes and dreams were ruined and his reputation.
But God was always there for him and had a wonderful plan for his life.
Song: Speak To Me
Hearing from God can be both exciting and frightening.Sometimes there is responsibility in what you hear and you may have to face resistance from others who aren't open to God's will. It must have been both exciting and frightening for Joseph.Think about it. Everyone was looking for the Messiah to come and free them from their suffering and here God was choosing Joseph to be a part of the plan to deliver Israel! Joseph would have known what resistance he would have to face from his family and friends and the village he lived in. But when you have that deep conviction in your heart, you know god will take care of everything, including you. like Mary, Joseph had to surrender and trust God.
Think again of God's plan. How amazing! The Messiah was now coming, the one who would deliver them forever, and He was coming- as a baby!!
Song: Amazed
You may think it was so spiritual, so glorious for Mary to be visited by an angel, like - WOW! But the bible says that Mary was confused at the angel's greeting and the angel told her to not be afraid. It must have been exciting for Mary to hear the plan of God and know that she was the one to give birth to our saviour, but what about the implications? She faced so much adversity in her village, rejection, people talking badly of her. If Joseph rejected her, she could face death! She kept trusting and we know that Joseph did take her as wife, being obedient to God. But it was a difficult journey for them both. And then when Mary was nine months pregnant, she had to endure a long ride on a donkey to Bethlehem! I can't imagine how hard that was for her! And then when they got to Bethlehem, there was no place to stay, so she gave birth in a cold, smelly stable! That was tough!
But think of how wonderful it must have been to finally hold that precious little baby in her arms, seeing the promise of God fulfilled right before her eyes! And knowing this baby would become the Saviour of the world!
How does that relate to us? What trials, what crisis must we face in our lives. But God is with us to help us get through them and the plan that God has is far greater than anything we could ever have come up with!
How do the decisions we make affect the big picture? The people around us, or those in the future? We must trust God for everything! God's plan is the only one that will really work. God is brilliant!
So we may be thinking, oh, what can God do?!
Through Joseph and Mary, just an average couple of people in a tiny village in the desert, God brought us our Lord, the one who would save us forever!
How brilliant is That?!
Song: What Child Is this?
Giving into God's will, yielding your heart and soul, that's when real revelation comes, wisdom and understanding from God comes. That is very exciting even if you must face adversity from others because you realize that God's answer is the only way.
In the story of Joseph and Mary, God's plan was the only way for all of us to be saved. God's plan was brilliant beyond anything we could have imagined!
And we are being brought into that plan. Each and everyone of us is part of God's plan to bring salvation to the world. God alone fills us and brings us into that plan. God brings us into the rhythm of that plan.
Songs: I Adore You, Nothing Can Trouble
Thought from Katherine Brittain's message:
How appropriate that God came as a baby, to remind us that we should never take our eyes off of Him! If you take your eyes off a baby for even a second, they can get into all kinds of things and create quite a mess! If we take our eyes off of God for just a second, we could find ourselves in a mess and have to quickly turn our attention back to find the way out!
Songs: O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Hope Of The Nations.
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