This Christmas sermon challenges the romanticized view of Christ's birth by examining the real hardships, inconveniences, and suffering that Mary and Joseph endured. Pastor Joe Fant emphasizes that God orchestrated every difficult detail of the nativity—from the forced 70-80 mile journey to Bethlehem while Mary was nine months pregnant, to the rejection at the guest house, to giving birth among animals—to accomplish His divine purpose. The message reveals that God works through our suffering and inconveniences for our ultimate good and His glory, just as He used 60 million people's inconvenience during Caesar Augustus's census to position Christ exactly where He needed to be born. The sermon calls believers to view their own hardships through eyes of faith, trusting that God is working a bigger picture than we can see, developing steadfastness and endurance in our lives while accomplishing His redemptive purposes.
Key Points:
- God works through hardship and inconvenience to accomplish His divine purpose for our good and His glory
- The Christmas story was anchored in real history with real suffering, not a romanticized fairy tale
- Mary and Joseph endured a forced journey of 70-80 miles while Mary was nine months pregnant
- God orchestrated 60 million people to travel during the census so Christ could be born in Bethlehem
- Mary gave birth in a stable, rejected from the guest house, experiencing isolation from family and friends
- The humble circumstances of Christ's birth demonstrated He came as a servant-king who understands the outcast
- The shepherds—society's outcasts—were the first to worship, emphasizing Christ came for the lowly
- All suffering in our lives is for a reason: to test our faith and produce steadfastness
- God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves
- If God can redeem the murder of His own Son, He can redeem any hardship we face
- We must look at our circumstances with eyes of faith, trusting God's bigger picture
Scripture Reference:
- Luke 2:1-21 (primary passage)
- 1 Chronicles 24 (referenced regarding Zachariah's temple service)
- James 1 (referenced regarding trials testing faith and producing steadfastness)
