The Courage of Christmas

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

Religion & Spirituality, Religion, Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Christianity, Spirituality

4.8 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jesus was about to come into Joseph’s life, and Joseph thought he was doing the right thing to arrange things so it wouldn’t happen. Joseph was going to dismiss Mary quietly. But the angel comes to Joseph and says, “Your problem is you’re a coward. Do not be afraid.” This passage shows us that you can’t be a Christian unless you have courage. Or put another way, to let Jesus into your life, to receive Jesus into your life, takes courage above all. Another way to put it is you will not receive Jesus into your life unless you have the courage to accept three other things. They’re all here: three things Joseph had to accept. You can’t receive Christ unless you have 1) the courage to accept the world’s disdain, 2) the courage to accept the adventure of his lordship, and 3) the courage to admit you’re a sinner. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 21, 1997. Scripture: Matthew 1:18-24. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for listening to Gospel and Life.
0:06.2	Today, Tim Keller is teaching on the surprising expectation-defying and surpassingly hopeful meaning of the Christmas story.
0:14.0	After you listen, we invite you to go online to gospelandlife.com and sign up for our email updates.
0:19.8	Now here's today's teaching from Dr. Keller.
0:28.9	The scripture this morning is from the book of Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 to 24.
0:38.5	This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
0:44.2	His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found
0:52.0	to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
0:55.8	Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
1:03.4	he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
1:07.6	But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said
1:14.3	Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived
1:25.7	in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1:30.7	She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
1:37.3	because he will save his people from their sins.
1:43.9	All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the
1:49.0	prophet, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
1:58.0	Emmanuel, which means God with us.
2:04.0	When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
2:10.2	and took Mary home as his wife.
2:15.2	This is the word of the Lord.
2:19.1	Oh, my, there's so much, but let me show you.
	...

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