This is the 3rd of 4 parts from our Lessons and Carols service at St. Stephen’s UMC on Dec. 31, 2017. For more information about why they’re being posted like this or what in the world they are, check the first post. Hope you find it an engaging way to hear the story of Jesus!

So here’s how it all happened: You see, Mary was engaged to Joseph. Things were going along in the normal way, but then something happened. Mary got pregnant. But this was not an ordinary pregnancy. Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph was an honest man and a really good guy, but I wouldn’t say he was thrilled with this new arrangement. If he had wanted to, he could have had Mary put to death. But, like I said, he was an honest and good man, so he started working on arrangements to end their engagement quietly. In his defense, that was a pretty reasonable response to the situation, what with nobody in history ever having been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

But then another incredible thing happened, and Joseph saw an angel, who explained the situation. The Angel explained that, yes, really and truly, Mary would bear a son who would be truly special. The Angel also told him that he was supposed to name this special child Jesus.

This was certainly a lot to take in, but Joseph was up to the task. He raised that boy as his own — it was through Joseph, after all, that Jesus was a part of the line of David — and the world hasn’t been the same since.