In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

God does not command us to be successful, but he does command that we be faithful. He commands that we have no other gods, that nothing and no one be considered more important than God in our hearts. He commands that we be faithful in our station in life too. Inside today’s bulletin, you will find the “Table of Duties.” Take a moment to examine if you have been faithful. God wants pastors to firmly hold to his Word of truth. I hope and pray that I prove to be faithful. I strive for that, but God is my judge. Have you been faithful? God wants members to support his called servants. God commands citizens to obey the government. He commands husbands to be considerate, and to love and respect their wives. He commands wives to submit to their husbands in love. He commands parents to train their children in the Lord. God commands children to obey their parents. He commands employees to serve faithfully, and employers to treat their employees fairly. He commands young people to be submissive, and widows to be faithful in prayer. He commands all of us to love one another and pray for one another. How faithfully have you done these things?

The Bible tells us that we have sinned. Let us all repent! We have not been perfectly faithful. But God is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (NKJV). You can be sure of this:

1. HE KEPT HIS PROMISE TO SEND A SAVIOR.

God promised to send a Savior way back in the Garden of Eden. Through the centuries of the Old Testament, God declared this promise to many Old Testament believers. Then, when the right time came, God kept his promise. Let us review our gospel reading from Matthew chapter one to see how God fulfilled his promise. {18} This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. These words tell us how Jesus was conceived and born. Joseph and Mary were “pledged” to be married in a legal process called a betrothal. Betrothal was a legally binding contract, but Mary and Joseph could not live together or sleep together until they were actually married. Before they were married, Mary became pregnant. She was “found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” This was a problem for Joseph!

{19} Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Joseph knew that Mary was pregnant, and that he had nothing to do with it. He could only assume the worst! He had to conclude that she must have been unfaithful to him. He was going to legally end the betrothal. Yet, Joseph was going to do this “quietly” because he “did not want to expose her to public disgrace.”

{20} 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..." God knew what Joseph was thinking and sent an angel to clear it all up. The angel told Joseph that the baby was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary had not been unfaithful to him. A miracle had happened! This must have been very difficult for Joseph to understand! Never before had such a thing happened, that a girl became pregnant without having any relations with a man. It would never happen again either! But it happened! We confess this in the Creed. The angel went on.

{21} She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." The virgin Mary would give birth to a son. Joseph was to name him, “Jesus.” Jesus was a common name back then. It meant “The LORD saves.” In other boys with that name, it meant that God saves. But in this baby, the name meant that this Jesus would “save his people from their sins.”

Jesus came to save people from their sins, from the consequences of their sins. Jesus did not come to say that our sins are okay with God. He came to pay for them. He came to live a pure and holy life for us, and to die on the cross to atone for our sins, and the sins of the whole world. [+] He rose from death because he had saved us from our sins! Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved in the final judgment. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

So, we have learned that the virgin Mary would give birth to a son, God’s Son, and he would save us all from sin. Joseph would serve as legal foster father for the Son of God.

{22} All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. {23} "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" -- which means, "God with us.” Long before this, through the prophet Isaiah, God had promised that the virgin would conceive and give birth to our Savior. He would be “God with us” in the flesh. God kept his promise. God is faithful.

2. MAY WE SERVE HIM FAITHFULLY.

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (NKJV). Let’s hold on tight to what we believe on the basis of God’s Word. Let us hang on tight to our confession of faith without wavering, because God is faithful! Today, people tend to waver about clear doctrines of Scripture. We find doubt and uncertainty all over the place. We can be sure! God has spoken clearly in his Word. May we be faithful to what God has said in his Word! May we hold to the truth faithfully! May we confess the Creed boldly, realizing that these Scriptural statements are true and correct.

We have no reason to waver. In the past, many believers were persecuted and put to death. Yet the martyrs remained faithful and entered eternal glory. May we remain faithful to our faithful God. Jesus said, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” We can be sure that he will keep his promise!

It is important to hold to the truth, and make a clear confession, but there is more to serving the Lord than just saying the right words. Let us serve God faithfully here in church as we worship regularly. Let us serve God faithfully outside these walls too by using the ability he has given us to serve in our station in life. Paul wanted to be a faithful apostle. He wrote, (1 Cor 4:2) “Those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” How faithful have we been in our station in life? Take another look at the Table of Duties printed in today’s bulletin.

These words are meant for pastors and members, for citizens, for husbands and wives, for parents and children, for employees and employers, for young people, for widows, and for all. Note carefully how God wants you to serve in your station in life. God has been so faithful to us. He saved us. He calls upon us to serve him faithfully. May we be his faithful servants. May we strive to obey out of thankfulness to our faithful God.

But, no matter how hard we try, we will fall short of perfection. Yet, God picks us up again, and reassures us of his love and forgiveness. That makes us want to keep striving to obey his will.

God is faithful. He promised a Savior and kept that promise. He promises that he will take those who believe in Jesus to heaven! He will keep that promise too! We can be sure of it! Our faithful God always keeps his promises.

May we faithfully serve our faithful God! Let us gather here often for worship. This week, we have a number of opportunities to gather in God’s house and worship. This week, we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s many promises to send a Savior. So many believers only knew the Savior as a promise waiting to be fulfilled. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Isaiah, and Micah all waited for the promise to be fulfilled. We know the fulfillment. We know the baby’s name: Jesus! When we think of that baby in the manger, may we remember all of those promises and think: God is faithful. He kept his promise. That baby in the manger was a promise kept. Amen.