Rev. Tom Hathaway - December 7, 2025
Joseph and a Better Way to Be a Man
In a culture flooded with alpha male posturing and influencers who equate manhood with dominance, the Christmas story quietly hands us a very different model in Joseph. This sermon explores the crisis he faced, the choices he made, and how his self-giving strength shaped the boy who would become Jesus. Along the way we confront what our boys are being taught about masculinity today and imagine how the church can help raise a new generation of men who carry the fingerprints of Joseph and the heart of Jesus.
Scripture References: Matthew 1:18-25
From Series: "The Characters of Christmas"
As we enter the holiday season, we're spending time with the ones who first felt the shockwave of Jesus’ birth. A teenage girl brave enough to say yes. A bewildered carpenter learning to trust what made no earthly sense. Shepherds who lived on the edges of everyone’s attention. Magi who followed a strange star beyond the borders of their own traditions. Each one found the same truth rising in their lives like early light creeping over a horizon: this good news of great joy is meant for all of us.
