Children’s Sermon

Matthew 2:13-23

Joseph’s Dream

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Matthew 2:13-23
Joseph’s Dream

By Dell Smith Klein

Have you ever had a dream? (Give children time to answer.) I have too. You might dream of running and no matter how fast you run, you never reach your goal. You might dream of a Christmas or birthday present as you wait for a special day to come. Dreams are interesting.

Our story from the Holy Bible was about a dream, but it was a very different kind of dream. This dream was a warning.

Joseph, the husband of Mary, had a dream of an angel talking to him. Joseph had this dream after the visit by the wise men who had given expensive gifts to Mary’s child, Jesus. In the dream, the angel said,

“Arise and take the young child and his mother,
and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you,
for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” (v. 13)

Joseph realized that his family was in danger and he needed to hurry and take his family away from Bethlehem. Egypt was a long way from Bethlehem and Joseph wasn’t a rich man. But, he did exactly what the angel told him to do. He and Mary quickly packed and left for Egypt.

King Herod was a truly wicked man. He was afraid of the baby Jesus, because the Wise Men had said that they were looking for a baby who was born to become king of the Jews. King Herod was the king, and he was afraid of anyone who might try to take his place––so he sent his soldiers to look for the baby Jesus.

But, because Joseph obeyed an angel in a dream and took Jesus and Jesus’ mother far away from their country, they were safe.

PRAYER: God, thank you for sending an angel in a dream to warn Joseph. We are glad that Joseph was obedient and took his family to safety. Amen.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2014, Richard Niell Donovan