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Matthew 1:18-25
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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition & sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
  • Comparative primary texts about Purity and Social Relations (see esp "Woman With Child," "Reason for Divorce," and "Letter of Divorce,") from Mishna, Midrash, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud. Comparative primary texts about Sin and Justice from Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud. At Mahlon H. Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus, Rutgers University.
  • "Jesus Virginally Conceived," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C. Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation.
  • Chapter XVIII, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). (Longer version only - 4th cent interpolation.)
  • Chapter XXXIII, The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (c 150)
  • III.IX.2, 8, III.XVI.2, III.XXI.4, IV.XXIII.1, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180) 
  • IV.7, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 210)
  • Chapter XVII, Chapter XX, Chapter XXI, On the Flesh of Christ, Tertullian (c. 211)
  • Chapter XX, On the Resurrection of the Flesh,  Tertullian (c. 211)
  • Chapter XXVII, Against Praxeas,  Tertullian (c. 213)
  • Chapter IX, Scorpiace,  Tertullian (c. 213)
  • I.XXXIV, I.LXVI, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
  • II.1, V.8, Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesarea, (c. 320).
  • Part 33, On the Incarnation of the Word, Athanasius of Alexandria, c. 318.
  • Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Chrysostom (c. 380):
    • Matthew 1:22, 23
  • From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
  • Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, John Calvin: Matthew 1:18-25, 1558.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "The word "till", in the Hebrew language, gives us to understand that a thing will not come to pass in time to come: as Michal had no children "till" her death day, 2Sa 6:23.  And in the last chapter of this evangelist: Behold, I am with you "till" the end of the world."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "Let us look to the circumstances under which the Son of God entered into this lower world, till we learn to despise the vain honours of this world, when compared with piety and holiness."
  • The Observation of the Birth of Christ, the Duty of All Christians, or The True Way of Keeping Christmas (Matt 1:21): sermon by George Whitefield.
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "To be called, only means, according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, that the person spoken of shall really and effectually be what he is called, and actually fulfil that title."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "His birth, like his life and his resurrection, is a miracle."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25, Ron Allen, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016.
    • "Strictly speaking, the Fourth Sunday of Advent is the last Sunday in the season of preparation for celebrating the first advent (coming) and anticipating the second advent (apocalypse, second coming."
  • "God Really With Us," David Lose, ...in the Meantime, 2016.
  • Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2016.
  • The Center for Excellence in Preaching, resources from Calvin Theological Seminary: Comments & Observations, Textual Points, Illustration Ideas, 2016.
  • Lectionary Greek, Rob Myallis, Lectionary Greek, 2016.
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25 | Jennifer Chapman | Lead Pastor, Nexus Community Church of the Nazarene | A Plain Account, 2016
    • "Jesus' birth story in Matthew reminds us how often pregnancy, or more broadly, the being and becoming of families, can be a situation of strife, fear, or even scandal. It de-sanitizes the typical Christmas portrait of the holy family and their newborn child, reminding us of the messiness of it all."
  • "Staying in the Light," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer, 2016.
    • "The discipline of Advent calls us out of the darkness of this hopelessness, this bleakness, this frenzy, and this isolation into the light of hope, joy, peace, and love of Emmanuel, God with us."
  • "What Fresh Hell Is This?" Sam Portaro, Music, Liturgy and Leadership.
    • "We’ve no idea what the future holds for us, for the church. We forget (to our peril) that neither Mary nor Joseph could’ve anticipated the fullness of their child’s life, much less its enduring power in our own lives."
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25, Arland J. Hultgren, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
    • "The evangelist Matthew, in turn, who was a student of the Scriptures, saw the birth of Jesus to be the culmination of the hopes of the past, the fulfillment of the hopes of Israel, and for the sake of the world as a whole."
  • #firstcenturyproblems, Keith Anderson, ON Scripture, Odyssey Networks, 2013. Video: "Faces of Poverty: A Single Father."
    • "Jesus' earliest days were lived on the religious, political, and economic margins of his time – marked by homelessness, immigration, and oppression. This fledgling holy family lived a fragile existence."
  • "Matthew's Version of the Incarnation," David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, 2013.
    • "... preach this extraordinary story and promise, Working Preacher: that God comes through ordinary, mixed-up people in order to save ordinary, mixed-up people, and that God comes through a birth like all the millions of other births in the world to promise us freedom from sin, fear, and death and rebirth as the children of God."
  • "Betting on Salvation," Dan Clendenin. The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Journey with Jesus Foundation, 2013.
    • "So, whose birth, in the words of this ancient inscription, is 'the gospel for the whole world?' Is the Roman caesar lord and god or is the baby of Bethlehem? Is the 'good news' that of political power or of love incarnate?"
  • "Call Him Jesus. No, Emmanuel. Oh, Okay, Jesus," D. Mark Davis, Left Behind and Loving It, 2013.
  • "Joseph, Praise," Nancy Rockwell, The Bite in the Apple, 2013.
  • "Any News?" Alyce M. McKenzie, Edgy Exegesis, 2013.
    • "Let us embrace this child, this God with us. Let us embrace this Good news whatever bad news we may face today or in the days ahead."
  • "Quiet Dismissal," Michael Coffey, 2013.
  • "Unto Us a Child is Born," Robert Cornwall, Ponderings on a Faith Journey, 2013.
  • "You Didn't Hear that from ME!" Linda Fabian Pepe, Theological Stew, 2013.
  • "When is Righteousness Scandalous?" Nanette Sawyer, Question the Text, 2013.
    • "Amy Jill-Levine got me thinking in this direction by her commentary on Matthew in The Access Bible. These women all practiced a kind of righteousness that might appear scandalous. And Joseph is invited to do the same by accepting Mary, even though she is pregnant, not by him."
  • The Lectionary Lab, Advent 4A, the Rev'ds Dr. John Fairless and Delmer Chilton (aka "Two Bubbas and a Bible"), 2013. Lectionary Lab Live podcast.
  • Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2013.
    • "The family gathered at the manger are not each other's friends and neighbors, and there are no blood relations among them at all. Mary and Joseph, barely married; the shepherd cowboys, who've never heard of these two before; three foreign dignitaries, not Jewish, not local, and not to be seen ever again; an assortment of patient beasts."
  • "Joseph Models the Embrace of a Child Who Is Radically Unlike Him," Lauren F. Winner, The Hardest Question, 2013.
    • "If you want to welcome a stranger, have a baby."
  • "Just What a Dad Does..." Janet H. Hunt, Dancing with the Word, 2013.
    • "What is most surprising to you about the story of Joseph? Why do you think God chose to 'risk' in this way to come to us?"
  • "Emmanuel," sermon discussion from Frederick Buechner, Frederick Buechner Blog. Joseph, from Peculiar Treasures.
    • "What keeps the wild hope of Christmas alive year after year in a world notorious for dashing all hopes is the haunting dream that the child who was born that day may yet be born again even in us and our own snowbound, snowblind longing for him."
  • Comentario del San Mateo 1:18-25, Pablo R. Andinach, Working Preacher, 2013.
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25, Ben Witherington, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
    • "This lection is, of course, one of the prime passages used and preached on during the Christmas season. The challenge is to say something fresh but yet familiar and reassuring about it."
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25, James Boyce, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2007.
  • Commentary, Matthew 1:18-25, Jesse T. Williams, The African American Lectionary, 2009.
    • "A candid look at this text and all of its nuances raises a number of complex sociological questions when we look at it from our post-modern point of reference."
  • "The Birth of Jesus," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis. (scroll down)
  • Dylan's Lectionary Blog, Advent 4A, 2004. Biblical Scholar Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary of the Episcopal Church.
    • "Here's the rule about what happens if you think the woman to whom you're engaged is bearing someone else's child: both the woman and the man whose child it is get death by stoning -- assuming you know the identity of the father, and that the woman is seized in an area in which someone could have heard her screams if she cried out."
  • "First Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Advent 4, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "The Christmas stories always need connecting with the grown up Jesus if they are not to be sentimentalised. Don?t put tinsel around the cross at Christmas. The magic of angels and the virginal conception are the embellishments to enable us to celebrate that life of compassion and self giving."
  • "The Fear of Betrayal," Alyce McKenzie, Patheos, 2010.
    • "Oh, maybe it's just a legend.But I say Joseph is out and about this Advent, toolbox in hand, a model of faith in hopeful outcomes to hopeless dilemmas. Don't expect lots of conversation from him. Expect, rather, a demonstration of how to build a despair-defying staircase."
  • Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, Matthew 1:18-25, David Ewart, 2010.
  • "Joseph was indeed righteous. But more importantly, he was merciful, faithful, and courageous."
  • "Joseph the Righteous," Advent 4A, Elizabeth Morris Downie, Proclaiming Gospel Justice, The Witness.
  • "Clearly the most dangerous of our coping mechanisms is denying our own roles as Christians in the public arena."
  • Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
    • "Anyway, it seems to me that the translation "God is with us" doesn't completely capture the sense of the Hebrew. The words suggest that "God is in common with us people" -- or "God is one of us." In this sense, John captures the sense with "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14a)."
  • Matthew 1:18-25: Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Advent 4A, Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
  • "Do Not Be Afraid," Pilgrim Preaching, Keeping company with biblical texts and the people who hear and preach them, a weblog for preaching, by Mary Hinkle, Luther Seminary, 2004.
    • "...alongside the gift of a baby who bears the very presence of God to humanity is another gift, a gift that the one who is God with us will keep offering throughout his ministry: freedom from fear."
  • Matthew in the Margins, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
  • "Fourth Sunday in Advent: Matthew 1:18-25," The Matthean Advent Gospels, James Arne Nestingen, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1992.
    • "To be forgiven is to receive a future that is under the control not of the previous failure or offense, but which is in the hands of One who can actually effect a new condition."
  • Evangelio, Matthew 1:18-25, Osvaldo Vena, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
  • Wellspring of the Gospel, Advent 4A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
    • "What does Jesus? choice of the word 'abba' tell us about the relationship He had with Joseph?"
  • "God's Call to Joseph," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
    • "The birth of Jesus is primarily a redemptive act, rather than an incarnational act of God."
  • "Not in Control," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
    • "How has life turned out differently than you imagined it? Have you been disappointed or encouraged? Why?"
  • "The Origin of Jesus Christ: Matthew 1:1-25," by Herman C. Waetjen.
    • "Jesus therefore is the integration of both discontinuity and continuity.   As the child of Mary he is a new creation generated by the holy Spirit.  As the adopted son of Joseph he is a descendant of David and Abraham."
  • "Emmanuel: God-Is-With-Us," Advent 4A, Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from Sundays Into Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian Meditation. Claretian Publications.
    • "We are fairly willing to take responsibility for "our own thing" or our own project but are not very good about supporting what is started by others. But to be a Christian and a Christbearer is precisely to take responsibility for the work of the Spirit."
  • "God is a Grown-Up (Matt 1:1-25, Luke 2:40)," John C. Purdy. Chapter 1 of God With a Human Face (1993), republished at Religion Online.
    • "God not only knows what it is like to be born, God also knows the mystery of childhood. God is a grown-up. God knows the secret way that leads from infancy through childhood and youth to maturity."
  • "A Mishnaic Commentary on Matthew 1.19," Daniel B. Wallace, Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary.
    • "...had Joseph sent a bill of divorce to Mary it could not be retracted once it reached her because, as far as was evident to him, she had committed an immoral act. And although he desired to divorce her secretly, at least two other people had to know about the matter. But since he only desired to do this and did not actually go through with the act, her dignity was preserved intact."
  • "Nativity of Jesus," wikipedia.
  • Companion Pieces at Religion OnLine, adapted from The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, 1998.
    • "God's Way of Acting," N.T. Wright. 
      • "If the first two chapters of Matthew and the first two of Luke had never existed, I do not suppose that my own Christian faith, or that of the church to which I belong, would have been very different. But since they do, and since for quite other reasons I have come to believe that the God of Israel, the world's creator, was personally and fully revealed in and as Jesus of Nazareth, I hold open my historical judgment and say: If that's what God deemed appropriate, who am I to object?"
    • "Light in the Darkness," Marcus Borg. 
      • "Thus I do not see the basis of the birth stories as history remembered. Yet I think these stories are true. To use familiar terminology, I see these stories as history metaphorized, that is, as metaphorical narratives. And the history that is being metaphorized is not the birth itself but the Jesus story as a whole. With beauty and power, these symbolic narratives express central early Christian convictions about the significance of Jesus."
  • Virgin Birth: Child of the Holy Ghost, from And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible, by Ronald L. Ecker.
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below.Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
  • Alison, James, "Reading the Signs," The Christian Century, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Allison, Dale C., Jr., "Divorce, Celibacy, and Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25 and 19:1-12)," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Bauer, David R., "The Kingship of Jesus in the Matthean Infancy Narrative: A Literary Analysis," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1995.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Blaisdell, Barbara S., "Songs of the Season: Love Came Down at Christmas," Encounter, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Borg, Marcus, "Light in the Darkness," The Christian Century, 1998.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brown, Raymond E., "The Annunciation to Joseph," Worship, 1987.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brown, Rosalind, "Practicing Fidelity," The Christian Century, 1988.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Carlson, Richard, "Reading and Interpreting Matthew from the Beginning," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2007. See entire issue of Currents in Theology and Mission 34, image focus on Matthew's gospel.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Carter, Warren, "Evoking Isaiah: Matthean Soteriology and an Intertextual Reading of Isaiah 7-9 and Matthew 1:23 and 4:15-16," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2000.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Copenhaver, Martin B., "Jesus' Other Parent," Journal for Preachers, 2007. (Sermon)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Cousar, Charles B., "Disruptive Hope: New Testament Texts for Advent," Journal for Preachers, 2001. (Section begins on page 29.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Craddock, Fred B., "The Surprise and Joy of Advent," The Living Pulpit, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Crossan, John Dominic, "A Tale of Two Gods," The Christian Century, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Davis, Charles Thomas, "Tradition and Redaction in Matthew 1:18-2:23," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1971.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Dodson, Derek S., "Dreams, the Ancient Novels, and the Gospel of Matthew: An Intertextual Study," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2002.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Gaventa, Beverly R., "He Comes as One Unknown," The Christian Century, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Gnuse, Robert, "Dream Genre in the Matthean Infancy Narratives," Novum Testamentum, 1990.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • "Homiletical Helps," Concordia Journal, 2010. (Section on this text begins on page 365)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • "Homiletical Helps on LW Series A," Concordia Journal, 2004. (Section on this text begins on page 386.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Jones, David W., "The Betrothal View of Divorce and Remarriage," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Kingsbury, Jack Dean, "The Title 'Son of David' in Matthew's Gospel," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1976.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Klassen-Wiebe, Sheila, "Matthew 1:18-25, Expository Article," Interpretation, 1992.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Lagrand, James, "How Was the Virgin Mary 'Like a Man'? A Note on Matthew 1:18b and Related Syriac Christian Texts," Novum Testamentum, 1980.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Marty, Peter W., "Wake-Up Call," The Christian Century, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Mendenhall, Laura S., "Adoption," sermon, Journal for Preachers, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Menken, Maarten J.J., "The Textual Form of the Quotation from Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:23," Novum Testamentum, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Nestingen, James Arne, "The Matthean Advent Gospels," Word & World, 1992.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Niedner, Frederick, "What Child Is This?" The Christian Century, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Nolland J., "No Son-of God Christology in Matthew 1:18-25," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1996.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Repschinski, Boris, "'For He Will Save His People from Their Sins' (Matthew 1:21): A Christology for Christian Jews," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Richter, Kimberly Clayton, "The Advent Texts: Glorious Visions, Dogged Discipleship," Journal for Preachers, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Scott, Bernard Brandon, "The Birth of the Reader," Semeia, 1991.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Tatum, W. Barnes, "'The Origin of Jesus Messiah' (Matthew 1:1, 18a): Matthew's Use of the Infancy Traditions," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1977.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Via, Dan O., Jr., "Narrative world and Ethical Response: The Marvelous and Righteousness in Matthew 1-2," Semeia, 1978.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Vinson, Richard, "'King of the Jews': Kingship and Anti-Kingship Rhetoric in Matthew's Birth, Baptism, and Transfiguration Narratives," Review & Expositor, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wardlaw, Theodore J., "Preaching the Advent Texts," Journal for Preachers, 2007. (Section begins on page 7.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Weaver, Dorothy Jean, "Rewriting the Messianic Script: Matthew's Account of the Birth of Jesus," Interpretation, 2000.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wright, N.T., "God's Way of Acting," The Christian Century, 1998.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Young, Robert D., "Matthew's Christmas Allegory," Journal for Preachers, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Sermons:
  • "Expecting Christmas," the Rev. Maxwell Grant (UCC), Day 1, 2013.
  • "Believe in the Dreams of the Person You Love," the Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Day 1, 2007.
  • "The Birth of Christ and the Birth of Christmas," Advent 4A, B, C, Rev. Edward F. Markquart, Sermons from Seattle.
  • "Joseph and the Virgin Birth," Advent 4A, Rev. Edward F. Markquart, Sermons from Seattle.
  • Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist". Commentary and Homily
    • Advent 4, 2010
    • Advent 4, 2007
    • Christmas Eve, 2006
    • Advent 4/Christmas Eve, 2001
    • Advent 4/Christmas Eve, 2000
    • Advent 4/Christmas Eve, 1999
• With Children:
  • Worshiping with Children, Advent 4A, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2013. 2010.
  • "Storypath Lectionary Links: Connecting Children's Literature with our Faith Story," December 22, 2013, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Isaiah 7:10-16 and Waiting for Noel by Ann Dixon, Romans 1:1-7 and First Year Letters by Julie Dannenberg, Matthew 1:18-25 and The New Baby by Mercer Mayer. 2010.
  • Living Love, Anna Shirey, Anna's Hosannas, Children's Lesson for Advent 4A, 2010.
  • "Jesus' Birth," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
  • "Jesus Is Born, and Our Wonderful Story Begins," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
  • Crossword on Matthew 1, Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
  • "Figures of Faith: A Series of Children's Messages for Advent," Laura Venhuizen, Reformed Worship.
  • The Christmas Story Crossword Puzzle, downloadable and interactive online, based on the NRSV Christmas stories from Matthew and Luke. Bruce Gillette, Limestone Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, DE.
• Drama:
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art, Matthew 1:20, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
  • Clip Art Images: Matthew 1:18-24, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
  • Matthew 1:18-23, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
  • Matthew 1:18-23, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Joseph Heard the Troubling News,? Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM 7.6.7.6 D (?Gentle Mary Laid Her Child?), The Presbyterian Outlook magazine.
  • O Jesus, You Were Born to Be,? Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: TRURO (8.8.8.8) (?Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates?)
  • I Believe (The Apostles' Creed),? Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: AUSTRIAN HYMN 8.7.8.7 D (?Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken?)  This hymn celebrates The Apostles' Creed and includes this verse: "Jesus, by God's Holy Spirit, was so wondrously conceived, Born unto the Virgin Mary, who your promises believed."
  • Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Matthew 1:20, 21, 23. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • Hymn Selections, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
  • "Can We Pledge Our Lives Today?" TEXT: Mark Ryman (2004) based on Matthew 1:18-25. TUNE: "Canterbury," by Orlando Gibbons (1623). New Hymns for the Lectionary.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
  • St Joseph
  • Nativity
  • Madonna and Child/Holy Family
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Matthew