This Sunday, we continue our look at a couple of Christmas messages from the early part of Matthew’s gospel.  This week we look at chapter 1 verses 18-25.  Here Matthew now begins to tell us who his entire gospel will be about: Jesus.  This One, Jesus, will save His people from their sin, and he is also called Emmanuel, God with us.  Matthew also tells us about Jesus by sharing about the major characters used to bring into the world the most important person ever.  Joseph and Mary are used early on in their adult (teen) lives even before they were married.  And what happens in this text is a problem, a major, life changing, problem and dilemma for Joseph.  It also involves Mary his espoused wife who is now expecting the Messiah through the Holy Spirit.  So, what do these two young people do about this problem that they are facing?  Character is an important quality when faced with the difficulties in life.  And both Joseph and Mary show a lot of Christian character in dealing with this issue in their lives as they listen to God, who always has the answers and who we can and ought to obey.  There are some important things we can learn here in this passage which can encourage and bless us in this Christmastime and teach us about building character.  Look at the examples He puts before us in this text!