It's Christmas time! As Christians, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
If we're honest, our understanding of The Story of Christmas has been somewhat colored, clouded, and even crowded out by the secular world.
Many church-goers still passionately celebrate the season, but give tepid devotion to the reason.

Last week we looked at one of the key characters in The Story of Christmas. A man by the name of Joseph. As the husband of Mary, he modeled faithfulness in his loyalty to the will of God, the woman who was pledged to him, the boy he would adopt as his own, and the mission that God had given to each of them. Faithfulness to God brings His blessings!

Much of the Christmas music we listen to, both scriptural and commercial have the idea of travel, movement, and places associated with it.
Think about some of the songs where we see this theme.

Our text this morning is found in Luke 2:1-4 [NLT].
This morning we'll give some thought to the journey that Joseph and Mary took as they sought to be obedient to the will of God for their lives.
As we've talked about many times in the past...if God has a mission for us, we will have to move from where we are, to get to where God wants us to be.
Numerous stories in the Bible illustrate this principle:
Abraham - had to leave the land of Ur to get to Cannan
Moses - had to leave the desert to go to Egypt and then leave Egypt to get to the Promised Land
David - had to stop being a shepherd of sheep so that he could be king of God's people
Jonah - had to leave the belly of a great fish to go to the walls of Nineveh

Question: What have you left in order to follow the will of God?

Mary and Joseph may have traveled 90-100 miles on a southward route. They began in Nazareth in Galilee and concluded in Judea, to Bethlehem.
Along this journey they passed a number of places and each of those places provides a learning experience.

Today we'll look at some of the places Joseph and Mary would have encountered on their journey and see what lessons we can learn:

Nazareth
This is their hometown where Joseph was a carpenter by trade.
They were both from the tribe of Judah and shared the lineage of King David, each of their ancestors were a different son of David.
Each of us has a hometown where we reside, went to school, have relationships, and a career that has contributed to making us who we are today. We also have a lineage that ties us to history.

Lesson: To follow God’s will and mission for our lives, we must see our Nazareth as a SENDING place and not just a HIDING place. Our prayer should be, “God this is where I am ... what do you want me to do and where would you want me to be?”

Valley of Jezreel
26 miles
Arrow shaped valley about 20 miles long and 12-15 miles wide. Is known as the Valley of Armageddon in Biblical prophecy.
An archaeologist has counted 34 battles fought in or near this valley and it has been said that it's the most natural battleground in the world.
If we set out and follow the will of God, we will quickly encounter the land of our spiritual enemies and we'll have to do battle.
1 Peter 5:8
Joseph and Mary didn't go alone. They were together and without a doubt they would have traveled with other people who were heading in that direction.

Lesson: We stay strong by aligning our thoughts with God through prayer, stabilizing our hearts through the reading and application of God’s Word, by developing both offensive and defensive skills through mentoring and Grace U classes, and committing to be part of a team with like-minded believers by our consistent involvement in H.O.M.E. Groups and Church attendance and ministry.

The Jordan River Valley
55 miles
This was the longest stretch of their journey and it was all downhill to the lowest spot on earth. An author wrote - "One of the most terrifying dangers in ancient Palestine was the heavily forested valley of the Jordan River… Archeologists have unearthed documents warning travelers of lions, cheetahs, bears, leopards, crocodiles, wolves, wild boars, and even hippopotamus who inhabited the woods, water ways, and marshy swamps throughout the valley.”

Lesson: Not everything that looks good and easy, is necessarily so. We must stay alert and be cautious as we go on our journey through life. It is very easy to become enslaved and deceived by our own appetites and the agendas of others. Spiritual discernment and practical wisdom don’t come easy. They must be learned through listening to the Spirit and by leaning on the mature people whom God places in our life.

Jericho to Bethlehem
25 miles
This involves a difficult uphill climb of 19 miles to the city of Jerusalem through the Valley of Death (Wadi Qelt) which is known for extremely hot temps, dangerous flooding, gangs of robbers, caves with wild animals, rockslides, and sudden flash floods. One of the greatest dangers was at the very top of the climb. The center of their religion and a place to rest...Jerusalem. This would have ended their journey 6 miles further south...the place where God was leading them. They could have looked at each other and thought, what difference does it make where the Messiah would be born? They were tired and had come so far. But their priorities were not centered on them. They have been given a mission and their love for God and humanity saw them obey in the end.

Lesson: It’s very tempting to settle for simple religion, to just rest, to grow comfortable, and to quit the spiritual journey and mission that God has given you...and even our church. To say “good enough, I’ve done my part,” and to be absorbed into the culture of religion and relaxation.

The Story of Christmas involved their obedient reaction to the places passed through on their journey. The story of our journey also requires obedience.