Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[b]—which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:19-25
Activity Advent: Read a Christmas Story!
Now, to be completely honest, I stole, borrowed, whatever... this idea from a very special family I know ;) The idea is that we'll read the book each Christmas. We are only part way in and we've read it for a couple nights and I'm not sure if we'll finish it this year. It has quite a bit of reading so we can only do a couple chapters at best in one sitting with our kids. The book is called One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham. It has the most amazing photos, which I adore! But, in somewhat of the same idea of the Jesse tree, it tells more than just the "Christmas Story." It starts at creation and hits a number of the 'big' stories, gets to the Christmas story and then goes on to Jesus on the cross and his resurrection. The book ends with this:
"God did not send [Jesus] to deliver them from unjust rulers, from illness or unpleasant situations. He was born to die, to die for the sins of mankind. Those who were sorry for their sins, even the worst of people, could be forgiven. And they once more would know the joy of companionship with God lost so long ago in Eden.
Through His death and resurrection, the baby born that night in Bethlehem had become Lord of all.
This is the real meaning of Christmas, the joy and glory of it!"
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