Today, we learn about the angel’s visit to Joseph.
Our memory verses are coming along nicely. Today we are adding the last part of that tricky sentence. This is the dependent clause, which means it can’t stand alone as a sentence in its own right. The good news is it is only four words long.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
My 6-year-old is doing a phenomenal job and I’m impressed. Not only does she have it memorized, but she wants to do it. Occasionally she’ll ask me to listen to her recite it, it’s great! My 5-year-old is also doing very well. She isn’t as excited about it, but she’ll recite it if I ask her to. She loses her way after the second sentence, but with some prompting she gets there.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:22-25, NIV
What should you teach them?
As usual, here’s my breakdown of the scripture:
- Yesterday we got to hear more about Mary’s husband, Joseph. An angel of the Lord had come to him in a dream and confirmed Mary’s side of the story.
- Matthew pauses the story to let us know why it is important that Mary’s story was true. He quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14) to show us that Jesus was fulfilling a promise from God by being born of a virgin.
- We also learn that Immanuel means “God with us.” This brings us back to some of our lessons from the book of John. Jesus is God and Jesus came to live with us as a human person. Jesus really is Immanuel!
- When Joseph woke up, he did exactly what the angel told him to do. He did not secretly break off his engagement with Mary, instead he married her.
- Mary gave birth to a baby boy, just like the angel told them. They named him Jesus, which was the name that Gabriel gave to Mary and the name that the angel told Joseph in the dream. (As I’ve said before, if your kids are asking you what consummation means, then it’s your job as a parent to tell them what they need to know. I wouldn’t deign to tell you how you ought to broach such topics with your kids.)
Here’s a song from my childhood that I think is appropriate. If you were listening to Christian music in the 90s then I’ll bet you know this one. If not, allow me to introduce you to Michael Card:
And if God is with us, who can stand against us? (Romans 8:31) Our God is with us. Immanuel!
It gets me every time.