Family Formation & Faith Development: Lessons from Mary, Joseph, & the Birth of Jesus

A Chapter a Day

• Sunday, December 6, Luke 5
• Monday, December 7, Luke 6           
• Tuesday, December 8, Luke 7
• Wednesday, December 9, Luke 8
• Thursday, December 10, Luke 9
• Friday, December 11, Luke 10
• Saturday, December 12, Luke 11

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Luke 1:26-38

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (ESV)

1. Jesus was no baby; he was the Son of God. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

“only” = The Greek word underlying “only,” monogenēs, means “one of a kind, unique,” (ESV Study Bible, p. 2020)

KJV, NASB95 – “only begotten”

NIV84, HCSB, NLT, MSG – “one and only”

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)

2. God chose to place his son in a with both a (female) and a (male).

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
        in the image of God he created him;
        male and female he created them.
²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:27-28, ESV)

Healthy family formation is foundational to God’s plan.

3. Preparation for building a healthy marriage and family begins with the pursuit of while you are .

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, ⁵ not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷ For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. ⁸ Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, ESV) 

4. A healthy family is the place where occurs best.

Notice the spiritual investment Mary and Joseph made in Jesus:

• Circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21)

• Presentation and dedication in the temple in Jerusalem with a sacrifice (Luke 2:22-24)

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. (Luke 2:39-40, ESV)

• Annual trips to Jerusalem for Passover.

⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. (Luke 2:41, ESV)

• Weekly participation in the synagogue in Nazareth.

¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. (Luke 4:16, ESV)

5. In a healthy family , . . .

⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

. . . spiritual formation occurs in .

. . . as children mature, parents should give them more and .

. . . as children mature, expect there to be some times of tension and .

. . . as children mature, they should continue to honor and their parents until they are on their own. 

. . . as children mature, we should work and pray for their – mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.

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