We did make a second attempt to engage more members in the Transformational Church process without them committing more time to “churchy” things, when Sunday School classes were given the opportunity to do the study. One of the classes that chose to do so is just now finishing the study. Also, several Transformational Church books are still available for individuals to read. Reading the book will give you the information, but without dialogue and application it will be mildly useful to you and of little value to the church process.

Also, I did talk about doing a Transformational Church Survey. That has not been done yet. There is a $200 dollar cost for the survey. The survey is completed by church members on computer and compiled by our Lifeway consultant. The survey will give us information about where our church is in relationship to possessing the seven characteristics of a Transformational Church. The decision to do the survey has not been decided.

Already, many that has been involved in the Transformational Church process see weaknesses that need strengthening. We need a real mission mentality that takes the church into our community deeper then we currently are. We need more leaders that are selflessly devoted to God. Our members need to become intentional about creating relationships with people that need Jesus. We need to see prayer not as a program, but being humbly dependent on God for the vitality of the church. Our worship must actively embrace Jesus. To create community, we must find more ways to connect people with people and we must show Jesus to the world by both Word and Action.

“Transformational churches make disciples whose lives are being transformed by the gospel, so that people engage the culture around them for its ultimate transformation. Deeply committed to the essential foundations of discipleship (worship, community, and mission), transformational churches practice their faith and make disciples through vibrant leadership, prayerful dependence upon God, and relational intentionality. And they do so paying mind to their unique context and with a missionary mindset.”

This DVD driven study will highlight nine subject areas that included worship, evangelism, discipleship, small groups, prayer, leadership, how new people are connected, the quality of life within a congregation, and level of engaging a lost and hurting world.

Participants can chose one of two time slots each week for the Transformational Church Study – Sunday afternoons at 4:00pm or Wednesday Evenings at 6:00pm. Sessions begin September 11 and conclude October 19th. The Transformational Church study is a must for current church leadership (program leaders, committee chairs, Sunday School teachers, small group leaders and deacons); strongly suggested for members currently enrolled in or having completed one of our church discipleship Journey groups or Life groups; and open to anyone else interested in attending.

The study is a prelude to the church completing its own Transformational Church Assessment later this year. The study will attempt to get all church members on the same page by helping them understand the process, the results and the necessity of change to become a vibrant church influencing the culture that surrounds us.

Joseph was a loving man. He was loving toward Mary. Look at MATTHEW 1:19 for example. “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.”

The penalty for adultery in the Old Testament was death by stoning. And this penalty applied to infidelity during betrothal as well as marriage. Now by New Testament times things had changed somewhat, but the matter was still treated as a grave offence. Upon discovery that Mary was pregnant, Joseph would have been obliged to divorce her (DIVORCE WAS REQUIRED TO BREAK OFF A BETROTHAL ENGAGEMENT), and this would expose Mary to public shame and humiliation.

BUT, even before God spoke to Joseph – Joseph didn’t have any vengeance or bitterness in his heart. The Bible says: “he had in mind to divorce her quietly”. Joseph was already considering the best way to handle the situation without harming Mary.

Joseph was also loving toward Jesus. When the child came along – the child he had not conceived – there was no attitude in Joseph that “THIS BOY ISN’T MY FLESH AND BLOOD”. There was no resentment or indifference toward Him; no lack of love at all. JOSEPH ADOPTED JESUS AS HIS OWN. He protected Him from the hatred of Herod. He nurtured Him and cared for Him. Evidently he taught Jesus his own trade of carpentry. HE ADOPTED THE ONE THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD WOULD REJECT.

Joseph was also a Devout Man.  He was a man who OBEYED God. He did everything that God told him to do. He was a man of FAITH. He would step out without knowing the outcome, but trusting God. He was a man who was FAITHFUL IN SPIRITUAL DUTY. This is noted in Luke 2:41 “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.” Joseph was regular in going to God’s house.

Joseph was a Wise Man. Because he lived as one who REDEEMED THE TIME.

By all accounts it seems that Joseph had a SHORTENED LIFE. We don’t read of him after Jesus’ childhood, and at the Cross Jesus charged John with the care of His mother – so it seems that Joseph was taken from them prematurely. But JOSEPH HAD USED WHAT TIME HE HAD BEEN GIVEN WISELY! He had provided for his family. He has set an example for them that they would remember. He had raised them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

Jesus was not the only child he had; he raised other boys for the Lord also, and possibly daughters as well. He had other sons – TWO OF THEM (at least) WERE GREATLY USED BY GOD. They wrote books of the Bible (James and Jude). James was also the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

Joseph raised his children in the ways of the Lord, and He left behind him a legacy after his lifetime.