” When Bad News Is Good News”

Upside Down Christmas Series Lesson 2

Sermon Notes

December 10, 2023

I. When The Best of Times Turns Into The Worst of Times…

A. If it is stressful to plan a wedding, can you imagine how stressful it would be to “un-plan” a wedding! (Matthew 1:18)

B. Joseph is a

man! (Matthew 1:19)

1. They did marriage a little different back then. Once you entered into the “pledge” period that lasted one year, it was absolutely binding even though you had not had the wedding or were physically intimate. That is why in the Jewish law, we find the phrase “the widow who was a virgin.”

C. Bad things can happen to

people. And the best of times became the worst of times when Mary was found to be pregnant. At that point, Joseph’s desired future gets turned upside down! (Matthew 1:19-20)

1. As far as Joseph is concerned, Mary had done wrong. But Joseph didn’t believe that two wrongs make a right!

D. While Joseph is asleep, an angel appears to him and encourages him to make a decision that everyone thought was a big mistake. (Matthew 1:20-25)

1. For Joseph, this was the beginning of a lifestyle of
   Reveal Answer
   and dying to self! (Matthew 1:24-25; 2:13-15; 2:19-21)

E. Life Group Discussion Question: What do you think most men would do if they faced a situation similar to Joseph? What does Joseph’s response to the angel’s appearance and instructions tell us about Joseph and his faith?

II. How Can Bad News Turn Into Good News?

A. Joseph came to believe that God is

us! (Matthew 1:21)

1. Deep within all of us, there is a bent toward rebellion, selfishness, and

   Reveal Answer
   . And Jesus came to earth because our sin was going to keep us out of heaven! (Romans 6:23)

2. Somehow, Joseph understood that just being a good man was not good enough. “Us for God” saves nobody, but “God for us” can save anybody! (Romans 8:31-32)

3. Life Group Discussion Question: If you were to survey a cross-section of adults in America today, how do you think they would respond to these questions: What is sin? Do most people in America have a “sin” problem? Why did Jesus come to earth?
   

B . God is not only for us, but He is also

us! (Matthew 1:23)

1. The promise of Christmas is the presence of the Holy Spirit of God even in the worst of times! (Hebrews 13:5-6)

2. Good news is not the absence of

   Reveal Answer
   , but the abiding presence of God! What the angel was doing that night was turning Joseph’s perspective right side up!

3. Life Group Discussion Question: Think of some seasons of difficulty and stress in your life. In what ways did you sense that God was with you during those difficult seasons? What difference does it make to believe that “God is with us” during those seasons of our lives?
   

C. God is also working

us!

1. Reveal Answer
   to God cost Joseph the future he had planned, but it gave Joseph a future in the plan of God. What the angel was really asking was: “Joseph, will you cooperate with God’s mission?” (Matthew 1:20-22)

2 . Upside down Christmas is offering a way to find meaning that you can’t get at a mall, or wrap and put under a tree. (Matthew 16:25)

3 . Good always trumps bad when your life’s mission is to help bring

to our world.

4 . We live in a world full of bad news, and Christmas is calling us to live upside down because we know that God will work through us to bring Jesus to our world! (Romans 8:28)

5 . Life Group Discussion Question: Looking back over your life, in what ways has God worked through you, even in difficult circumstances, to help bring Jesus to our world? How does embracing God’s redemptive mission in the world change how we see and think about “bad news” and our problems?