1. BELONGING TO THE FAMILY - An Undeserved Privilege Matthew 1:18-20, 24; Luke 2:1-7, 22

2. Matthew 1:18-20; 24 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

3. Luke 2:1-7, 22 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

5. Where Do I belong? Me?!

6. Do You Come From A Family That Sticks Together…

7. Or Do You Feel Stuck?Or Do You Feel Stuck?

8. MARY AND JOSEPH: An odd couple who became a family before they were even married. Do you see a problem there already? In that culture (where genealogies and the family’s reputation were especially important) it was dreadful for a girl to become pregnant outside marriage. It could mean death (by stoning), being sold into slavery or being banished from your home. This came with a social stigma and rejection that both Mary and Joseph had to deal with throughout their marriage.

10. Perhaps you don’t (even remotely) fit the picture we paint here. Or maybe you do. But if all of us would be honest, the truth of the matter is that we have, at one point or another, had a sense of not belonging or we’ve out rightly been excluded from belonging on account of what we believe and profess. Or, like Mary and Joseph, we really had nothing to do with it. Do you feel excluded or do you belong? Belonging is many things to many people but when we accept God’s invitation, we truly belong to the family.

11. Ephesians 2:19 (The Message) Sums it up well; You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building.

12. AND THAT'S THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS: God inviting us to relationship, to family. We belong. Regardless. We don't know about you but it is liberating for us to know that we belong to an eternal family and that is not dependent on our performance or even how we score on the "cool factor" scale.