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Prayer Tip: “The Joy We Can’t Yet See”
Scripture: Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
23 “The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and they will call him ‘Immanu El.”[Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14]
(The name means, “God is with us.”)
24 When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife,
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Questions in this GPS marked with Ø are particularly recommended for group discussion. Group leaders may add other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
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"Prayer Tip: The Joy We Can’t Yet See"
Daily Scripture
Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
23 “The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and they will call him ‘Immanu El.”[Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14]
(The name means, “God is with us.”)
24 When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife,
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A couple of years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Rome. My first destination was the Sistine chapel. I had heard from several friends and colleagues that it was a sight to behold. I remember vividly when I saw Michelangelo’s famous painting The Creation of Adam, a beautiful depiction of God’s determination to draw close to humanity.
If you have a chance this week, study the painting. (You can even see it online.) It’s one of many things that reminds us that God is so much closer to us than we think. God is active and on the move, just as he was with Mary and Joseph, speaking through burning bushes, sending messages through storms and earthquakes, and even in the still small voice we sometimes hear in a quiet moment.
As we head into the final week of Advent, preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus, rest in the word Immanuel. God is with us and for us.
Loving and merciful God, the one who draws near to us,We rejoice because you have chosen to be with us in the busyness of our lives. Continue to reveal yourself to us, embracing us with your love, and sustaining us with your spirit. May we turn to you this season, filled with hope, giving us the strength to fully trust in your truth, that you are with us. Amen. (Tino Herrera, Congregational Care Pastor)
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- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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"Joseph accepted the hard call to parent his Savior"
Monday, 18 December 2017
Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
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Matthew, to say the least, didn’t swamp his readers with facts about Joseph. Matthew just wrote that “before they were married,” Joseph’s fiancé Mary “became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” The fact was
terribly painful at first; the story she told was incredible. Joseph was going, sensibly, “to call off their engagement quietly.” Then, in a dream, an angel from the Lord verified Mary’s story. Even more, Mary’s child would “save his people from their sins.”
Ø Matthew concisely reported one other key fact about Joseph: “Joseph her husband was a righteous man….he didn’t want to humiliate her.” What do you learn about Joseph’s inner qualities from his
measured response (“he decided to call off their engagement quietly”)? Cloud and Townsend’s book Safe People * helped identify Biblically based qualities of “safe people.” How safe are you for others? Like Joseph, do you choose not to humiliate others?
• Joseph was “a devout Jewish man willing to give up what was often perceived to be a Jewish father’s greatest privilege—siring his first-born son—in order to obey God’s will.” ** Have you ever had to give up or alter some cherished dream to obey God, or might you have to? If so, how are you and God working to bend that loss to produce good results?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, the story of your miraculous conception pointed to the fact that your life would upend business as usual in our broken world. Fill me with the courage to let you reshape all the parts of my life that need it. Amen.
* Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995. The book provides much greater depth, but on p. 143 it identifies three broad traits of safe relationships: “1) Draws us closer to God, 2) Draws us closer to others, 3) Helps us become the real person God created us to be.”
** B. Witherington III, article “Birth of Jesus” in Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight, ed. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992, p. 63.
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Donna KarlenDonna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
This past weekend in worship services we heard Resurrection’s choir or band sing “Mary, Did You Know?” * I wondered what the lyrics would look like for a song written about Joseph.
Joseph, did you know when you asked for Mary’s hand
Your home would someday be Holy Land?
Did you know when Mary broke your heart,
and you made your plans to depart,
an angel’s voice would calm your disgrace,
and you would choose to show her grace?
You felt the pain,
betrayal’s stain –
but God had a plan for you:
to love the one who makes us new,
to pour into and shape his life
with Mary as your wife.
Joseph, did you know the journey you would take
on donkey’s back as Mary felt the ache?
Did you know the baby born that night
would become the world’s one true light?
That you would raise God’s only son,
and he would save you and everyone?
You loved him as your own
on a path with much unknown.
God said to you, “Don’t be afraid!”
as in the manger the baby laid.
You bravely set your fears aside –
and poured into Him in whose love we can abide.
* You can catch the beautiful performances of "Mary, Did You Know?" along with entire worship services at rezonline.org.---
"How Matthew led the story to Joseph"
Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Avraham:
2 Avraham was the father of Yitz’chak,
Yitz’chak was the father of Ya‘akov,
Ya‘akov was the father of Y’hudah and his brothers,
3 Y’hudah was the father of Peretz and Zerach (their mother was Tamar),
Peretz was the father of Hetzron,
Hetzron was the father of Ram,
4 Ram was the father of ‘Amminadav,
‘Amminadav was the father of Nachshon,
Nachshon was the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon was the father of Bo‘az (his mother was Rachav),
Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved (his mother was Rut),
‘Oved was the father of Yishai,
6 Yishai was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Shlomo (his mother was the wife of Uriyah),
7 Shlomo was the father of Rechav‘am,
Rechav‘am was the father of Aviyah,
Aviyah was the father of Asa,
8 Asa was the father of Y’hoshafat,
Y’hoshafat was the father of Yoram,
Yoram was the father of ‘Uziyahu,
9 ‘Uziyahu was the father of Yotam,
Yotam was the father of Achaz,
Achaz was the father of Hizkiyahu,
10 Hizkiyahu was the father of M’nasheh,
M’nasheh was the father of Amon,
Amon was the father of Yoshiyahu,
11 Yoshiyahu was the father of Y’khanyahu and his brothers
at the time of the Exile to Bavel.
12 After the Babylonian Exile, Y’khanyahu was the father of Sh’altiel,
Sh’altiel was the father of Z’rubavel,
13 Z’rubavel was the father of Avihud,
Avihud was the father of Elyakim,
Elyakim was the father of ‘Azur,
14 ‘Azur was the father of Tzadok,
Tzadok was the father of Yakhin,
Yakhin was the father of El’ichud,
15 El’ichud was the father of El‘azar,
El‘azar was the father of Mattan,
Mattan was the father of Ya‘akov,
16 Ya‘akov was the father of Yosef the husband of Miryam,
from whom was born the Yeshua who was called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations from Avraham to David,
fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian Exile,
and fourteen generations from the Babylonian Exile to the Messiah.
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You might feel like saying to Matthew, “Really? You’re going to start Jesus’ story with 17 verses of genealogy? How boring!” But family records were a key source of identity in Jesus’ day (even without mail order DNA kits available). King Herod the Great, despised by most Jews because he was half Edomite, ordered official registers destroyed so no one could prove a purer ancestry than his own! In verse 1, Matthew named three key points he meant his genealogy to show: Jesus was “Christ,” the “son of David,” and the “son of Abraham.”
• The Greek word “Christ,” like the Hebrew word “Messiah,” meant “anointed one.” It was widely used to identify the deliverer God had promised to send. What do you believe made Jesus’ link to Abraham and King David so key for Matthew? In what ways does it matter to you that, in Jesus, God kept the ancient promises made to those men, albeit in ways different than many people expected?
Ø In a male-dominated culture, Matthew named five women (including Mary) in Jesus’ genealogy. The other four (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and “the wife of Uriah”—i.e. Bathsheba) had all, like Mary, faced
obstacles, even scandals, in their lives. Yet God had worked with each of them to advance God’s redeeming mission in the world. What kinds of people do we ignore or undervalue in our culture? Does God still work through people like that? In what ways is God at work through you?
Prayer: O God, you have always been willing to work with anyone willing to work with you, no matter what their past. I want to be a part of your big redeeming story in the world. Please work through me. Amen.
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Brandon GregoryBrandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at Vibe, West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
I read the Bible a lot as a teenager. Many passages, I enjoyed; there were some that bored me to tears, though. Any time I hit a genealogy, like the first seventeen verses of Matthew, my eyes glazed over. I’d never considered family heritage to be important. Yes, it was important to the Jewish believers at the time, but what was the relevance now?
It took me years to realize this. I don’t think it’s important to know the genealogy of Jesus in order to believe. What is important to know is that Jesus coming to earth was always the plan. Faith fathers like David and Abraham laid a foundation of theology and tradition for us. Think of that like Star Wars IV: A New Hope. It was great, but it laid the foundation for something greater: The Empire Strikes Back. Christianity is one of the few instances of the sequel being better than the original.
This Christmas, remember that your faith is part of a story much greater than you, or even the people who led you to faith. Your faith is a part of a story that goes back many generations, planned in antiquity and still being written today. What’s more, the chapters you write in your life will likely be the opening chapters in someone else’s story. You’re part of a story that’s growing and branching, becoming more amazing every day, and others may someday trace their faith lineage back to you.
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"Fulfilment, marriage and birth"
Wednesday, 20 2017
Matthew 1:22 All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
23 “The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and they will call him ‘Immanu El.”[Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14]
(The name means, “God is with us.”)
24 When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife, 25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Yeshua.
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After he quoted Isaiah 7:14, Matthew interpreted the Hebrew word “Emmanuel” for his Greek readers: Emmanuel means “God with us.” Scholar William Barclay summed up Matthew’s message: “Jesus is the
one person who can tell us what God is like, and what God means us to be. In him alone we see what God is and what man ought to be.” * Joseph “did just as an angel from God commanded,” reaching beyond what seemed logical or understandable.
• Jesus would later tell his disciples, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). In what ways have you chosen to make the person of Jesus central to your understanding of what God is
like? Has that helped you to set aside some of the negative, frightening images of God that limit too many people’s willingness to relate to God? If so, how has that worked?
• Joseph followed the angel’s instruction (in Matthew 1:21) to name the child “Jesus” (the Greek form of the Hebrew “Joshua,” which meant “Yahweh is salvation”). Many Hebrews wanted salvation from
the occupying Roman army. But the angel didn’t talk about the Romans. This child, he said, would save people from humanity’s greatest enemy: sin, missing God’s path for living a fully human life. How confident are you that Jesus can in fact save you from any life missteps, that he is the savior from sin that we all need?
Prayer: Lord, Matthew wrote that “When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded.” Awaken my heart, and give me Joseph’s willingness to live my life as you direct me to.
Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Matthew—Volume 1, Chapters 1–10 (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 21.
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"Joseph’s life beyond Christmas"
Thursday, 21 December 2017
Luke 2:41 Every year Yeshua’s parents went to Yerushalayim for the festival of Pesach. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up for the festival, as custom required. 43 But after the festival was over, when his parents returned, Yeshua remained in Yerushalayim. They didn’t realize this; 44 supposing that he was somewhere in the caravan, they spent a whole day on the road before they began searching for him among their relatives and friends. 45 Failing to find him, they returned to Yerushalayim to look for him. 46 On the third day they found him — he was sitting in the Temple court among the rabbis, not only listening to them but questioning what they said; 47 and everyone who heard him was astonished at his insight and his responses. 48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked; and his mother said to him, “Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you!” 49 He said to them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be concerning myself with my Father’s affairs?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant.
51 So he went with them to Natzeret and was obedient to them. But his mother stored up all these things in her heart., Matthew 13:54 and went to his home town. There he taught them in their synagogue in a way that astounded them, so that they asked, “Where do this man’s wisdom and miracles come from? 55 Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Miryam? and his brothers Ya‘akov, Yosef, Shim‘on and Y’hudah? 56 And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them, “The only place people don’t respect a prophet is in his home town and in his own house.”
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*** Did You Know?
Resurrection will welcome thousands of worshippers for 27 different Candlelight Christmas Eve services—10 at the Leawood Campus, 7 at the West campus, 6 at the Downtown campus and 4 at the Blue Springs campus. Plan now to be among them. Visit cor.org/Christmas and then select the campus or campuses for which you wish service times and information.
We’d love to quote in the GPS even a short speech by Joseph about the glory and challenge of being Jesus’ earthly father. But, as Pastor Hamilton wrote, “Unlike Mary, Joseph has no ‘lines’—we don’t read a single word he speaks in the Gospels…. He is the patron saint of those who serve and do the right thing without seeking any credit.” * We do get a few more glimpses of his influence on Jesus. We see him as a worried parent looking for a missing boy in Luke 2. And we see that Jesus’ hometown looked down on him for being a carpenter’s son.
Ø His worried parents asked Jesus why he was in the Temple, not with them. Jesus replied, “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” “My father’s house” clearly didn’t
refer to Joseph. Pastor Hamilton wrote, “Did you ever wonder how Joseph felt when Jesus spoke those words?” ** Skip Ewing’s song “It Wasn’t his Child” said that “like a father [Joseph] was strong
and kind and good…. But it wasn’t his child; it was God’s child.” *** Are you, like Joseph, able to set aside your own ego needs to serve others at God’s call?
• The texts mention Jesus’ mother and siblings, but not his father. Most scholars believe Joseph died sometime before Jesus’ public ministry began. (The gospels simply don’t say.) Joseph apparently
had a 12 to 30-year window to help protect and shape Jesus growth. What opportunities do you have to serve, bless or shape people and events? Are you ever tempted to think those opportunities will
last forever?
Prayer: Lord, the gospels suggest that you and your earthly father were carpenters. Sadly, many people in your day added the word “just” before carpenter. Help me to value all people, not only the ones who are like me or impress me. Amen.
* Adam Hamilton, The Journey: A Season of Reflections. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011, p. 45.
** Adam Hamilton, Faithful: Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2017, p. 131.*** “
It Wasn't His Child” – songwriter: Skip Ewing, Lyrics © SUSSMAN & ASSOCIATES. You can watch Mr. Ewing sing the song by clicking here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwxRCEhPwsY)
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"The unwanted, important journey to Bethlehem"
Friday, 22 December 2017
Luke 2:1 Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. 2 This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria. 3 Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y’hudah,
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Caesar Augustus’ purpose was purely earthly and pragmatic: to collect more taxes for his far-flung empire. But God “bent” Caesar’s decree to divine purposes, using it to bring Joseph and Mary to
Bethlehem, a difficult trip for pregnant Mary. That the trip was necessary also cast light on Joseph’s family connections being in Bethlehem, and not in Nazareth where Mary lived.
• The Christmas story shows God’s Great Reversal. Augustus, a human who thought he was a god, forced Mary and Joseph to make a hard trip with just a decree. That night Jesus, God become human, was a helpless baby born to two poor peasants. Two millennia later, Jesus is revered around the world, and Augustus nearly forgotten. Where do you see God’s power in the Christmas story? How does that redefine our sense of how “power” works?
• Micah was a prophet in Jerusalem about 700 years before Christ. As the armies of the mighty Assyrian Empire threatened Jerusalem, he wrote that God would send a deliverer, born in the small town of Bethlehem. Hebrew scribes quoted Micah 5:2 to tell King Herod the Messiah’s birthplace (Matthew 2:4-6). When have you seen God do something big through something “little”? Bethlehem meant “house of bread,” and Jesus, born there, later told his followers: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). How will you allow Jesus to nourish your soul this Christmas season?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I don’t live anywhere near Bethlehem, but your love and grace nourish my soul. Thank you for being a God who does big things even through the small things of earth. Amen.
We’re sharing the Family Activity earlier this week, so you can be ready for it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day:
Many Christmas movies include selfish, self-centered characters such as Scrooge or the Grinch. However, toward each movie’s end, those characters have learned to be more kind, giving, joyful and
Christ-like. Choose a Christmas movie and identify a character who grows more loving, kind and joyful throughout the story. Discuss what qualities the character had in the beginning, which ones they showed at the end and the event(s) that caused the change in their behavior or attitude. Ask each family member to share one behavior or attitude they can work to change this Christmas season. How can they be more joyful all year? How can they share this Christ-like love and joy with others? Ask God to grow your heart to be more like Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.
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"God came to earth as a baby in a manger"
Saturday 23 2017
Luke 2:5 to be registered, with Miryam, to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth; 7 and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.
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We know this story so well: the crowded town, the heartless inn-keepers, the wooden barn full of animals. Or do we? “Notice that there is no mention of an old wooden barn. It doesn’t state that they arrived just as Mary was going into labor….the word inn does show up in most English translations, but this is largely due to tradition. In these verses, the Greek word kataluma is more accurately translated as “guestroom,” as we find it in the Common English Bible. The kataluma was the equivalent of a spare bedroom….it’s likely that putting Mary and Joseph in the stable was an act of compassion…so that Mary could have privacy as she gave birth.” *
Ø Inn or guestroom, Jesus’ birth took place in an animal shelter because the other options were too crowded for Mary to be able to give birth in them. Year round, and particularly at holiday seasons like Christmas, many of us live very crowded lives. What role is Jesus playing in your Christmas celebration this year? How are you making room in your heart, and in your life, for him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you were born in an animal shelter, and laid in a feeding trough. Be born in my messy, yearning heart this Christmas, Lord, and dwell in me forever. Amen.
* Adam Hamilton, Faithful: Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2017, p. 107.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Praise for the births of: Rosie Courtney Martin, 12/6; Grayson Gregory Hultgten, 12/7
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Lou Akright and family on the death of her husband Bill Akright, 12/13
• Lori Mulhern and family on the death of her mother Carol Owings, 12/8
• Anita Owings and family on the death of her mother-in-law Carol Owings, 12/8
• Donna Rhinesmith and family on the death of her sister-in-law Donna Epperson, 12/7
• Cindy Ash and family on the death of her mother Aileen Gieringer, 12/7
• Tina Waymire and family on the death of her father Anggi Widjaja, 11/23
• Janet Roush and family on the death of her cousin Jared Boorigie, 11/16
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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