1. Bishop Justus Church of England School
Collect at least £1 for Friday’s “Own Clothes” Day
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Morning Worship
Mary and Joseph
Advent
15th December 2015
Mary was a young girl—pregnant outside of marriage. This would have been a serious disgrace to her and her family. The story of Mary shows us that God comes to the lowly and lifts them up. Throughout the Christmas Story God comes in the unlikely places. In the baby Jesus—God is born ‘poor ‘ and in scandalous circumstances… Joseph is often seen by many a a bit of a secondary character—often in the background of art works of the Nativity—yet Joseph is really a major hero of the story. Many people have thought that Joseph would have been an older man but we do not know this… in the Christmas story Joseph has to contend with the major difficulty that he has to share the woman he loves the woman he is engaged to with God. Joseph is described as a man who always did what was right and planned to dismiss Mary quietly—this was when he knew that Mary could have been condemned for being pregnant outside of marriage. But his courage in standing by Mary and being open to the unusual, surprising and the seemingly impossible is remarkable.
Bishop Justus Church of England School

2. Gather
The Lord be with you
And also with you

3. Receive
This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus — because he will save his people from their sins.”
From the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18-21
Mary visits Elizabeth and Joseph’s dream begin 2 mins in

4. Engage Discussion suggestions … How would you react if you were Mary?
Imagine this happening today…
How scandalous would it feel for
God to be born in these circumstances?
How might Mary being young, pregnant
and unmarried help young teenage mums today?
What do you think we can learn from Mary?
If you were Joseph how would you have reacted
to your fiancée being pregnant - and the baby not yours?
Would you have stood by your fiancée?
Have you ever had to ‘stick up’ for someone in a difficult circumstance?
Have you ever had a dream or a sudden idea, that’s made you change your mind?
Video suggestion - Nativity beatbox - another version of the nativity

5. Respond Amen. Gracious God, it is easy to judge others
by the way things appear.
May we look through Your eyes
as we strive to accept your truth in others,
Amen.

6. Go Mary said ‘Yes’ to God and Joseph accepted God’s will,
May we welcome the Christ Child
Don’t forget to collect at least £1 for Friday’s “Own Clothes” Day
Money raised for Demelza and WellChild