This morning we look at the unexpected, the strange, the unbelievable way that God worked the Christmas story. And we do it from the standpoint of Joseph, the husband of Mary. This is Joseph's perspective on this story. If you want Mary's perspective, then you go to Luke one, mainly in Luke two.

And we really don't know much about Joseph. This passage before us today is probably the one that tells us the most about who he is, the man and what kind of man he was and what kind of life he lived. So, in his dilemma, which we'll face this morning, we see that in his dilemma is a nightmare situation. What we're going to see is that God favors those who trust his word, even when it's costly to do so.

God works in unexpected ways and sometimes they're mysterious ways and following God and in his ways and following his word can be and often is a risky proposition. It's filled with difficult choices for us. Trust in the Word of God puts us often at odds with the values of the world. And there is an inherent risk in that. We are often tempted to go our own way, to do our own thing, to not follow the way of the Lord because of that. So there's inherent risk in following God, but this kind of trust that we talk about today will demonstrate the salvation of God. It demonstrates the engaged presence of God, that He is God with us.

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