SEPTEMBER 28-30, 2009 MONDAY-WEDNESDAY
TEXT MATTHEW 3 http://www.biblica.com/bible/verse/index.php?q=matthew3&niv=yes
PARAPHRASE
“The Preparer”
In the days of Jesus, John the Baptizer lived off locusts and wild honey in the desert of Judea in the tradition of the prophet Elijah who lived in the desert conditions that resulted during his day after he told King Ahab it wouldn’t rain for a long time because he was sinning by worshiping the fertility god, Baal. Prophesied by Isaiah as one like Elijah, a lone voice in the wilderness calling out to prepare the way for the Messiah by making people morally and spiritually aware of how they were living, John preached to those who came out from the surrounding regions to the desert to see him about their need to confess and turn away from their sin because the kingdom of God was so near they would begin experiencing it at any moment. And, as many confessed their sins and repented, John baptized them in the Jordan River.
But John had strong words for the Pharisees and Sadducees who came as agents of the religious establishment to check on what he was doing out in the desert. Calling them a pack of snakes because they had no intention of confessing their sins, repenting or changing their righteous way of living, John sarcastically asks who warned them to flee God’s coming wrath by appearing in the desert alongside those of genuine repentance. He tells them that being genealogically related to Abraham isn’t the basis for entering God’s kingdom, that God’s kingdom transcends culture and race, and that the Judgment has already begun for those who refuse to confess, repent and change because they think they are so good they don’t need to.
John then tells the crowd that while his baptism is with water for repentance, one more powerful and holy than him is coming who will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire – a baptism that will go way beyond repentance of sin to purify their souls of its sinful nature. He tells them the one who is more powerful and holy than him, the Messiah, on Judgment Day will separate those with the Holy Spirit into the kingdom of God from those without the Holy Spirit into the fire of Hell where they will suffer eternally.
“God’s will”
When Jesus, the one more powerful and holy came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John, John told him he thought the baptism should be conducted the other way around. However, Jesus told John that it was proper for him to baptized by John this way now in order to fulfill God’s will for his life - God’s will that he identify with the sinful human race and God’s will that he take on the role of the suffering servant. And as Jesus came out of the water, heaven was opened, the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove and God’s voice proclaimed that Jesus was His son, whom He loved, and with whom He was very pleased.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer Matthew told his first century readers (as he tells us today) that the kingdom of God was so near they (we) would soon be experiencing it.
How did Matthew tell his first century readers (as he tells us today) that the kingdom of God was so near they (we) would soon be experiencing it?
-through John living the life of the prophet Elijah
-through John preparing the way of the Messiah
-through John preaching the repentance of sin
-through John baptizing those who genuinely repented
-through John warning the Pharisees and Sadducees of their self-righteousness
-through John declaring the Messiah’s preeminence
-through John announcing the Messiah’s baptism with the Holy Spirit will be
purifying to the soul
-through John proclaiming the Messiah as the Judge of who enters the kingdom of God
-through John baptizing Jesus as heaven opened
-through John baptizing Jesus as the Spirit of God descended upon Him
-through John baptizing Jesus as God proclaimed He was His Son, whom He loved and with whom He was well pleased
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for Your Prophets, who like Elijah and John have prepared the way for Your Son, the Lord, the Messiah to come into the world and into our hearts.
Our Father, We praise You for Your Prophets, who like Elijah and John have spoken Your Word and by doing so have made us aware of how we morally and spiritually live so that we have been led to a confession of our sins, repentance, and a decision that we need to change and that this change requires a Savior in our life because of our inability to transform and change our sinful nature on our own.
Our Father, We praise You for Your Son who followed Your will in identifying with our sinful nature by going through John’s baptism with water – a washing away of confessed and repented sins as our suffering servant.
Our Father, We praise You for the heavens opening as Your Son came out of the water and for Your Spirit descending upon Him and for Your proclamation that He was your Son, that You Loved him and that You were pleased with him for fulfilling Your will.
Our Father, We praise You for Your Son’s preeminence and the preeminence of His baptism by the Holy Spirit and fire which doesn’t just wash away our confessed and repented sin, but purifies our soul of the sinful nature we are unable to do anything about on our own.
Our Father, We praise Your Son as the Judge of who enters Your Kingdom based on whether their soul has been purified through His baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire or whether their soul has been purified through a baptism of self-righteousness.
Our Father, We ask that You use us as prophets today in this world. That You help us to prepare the way for Your Son to enter into the lives of many people by helping them see why the road of their lives is not straight and what they need for it to be.
Our Father, We ask that You use us as prophets today in this world to speak of the preeminence of Your Son above all other gods and the preeminence of His baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire because of how this purifies the soul of our sinful nature that we are otherwise powerless to do anything about and as a result otherwise remain eternally separated from You.
Our Father, We thank you that Your Kingdom has come, that we have experienced it in our lives and that we can do Your will by pointing others to Your Kingdom Come as well.
We pray all of this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, AMEN.
PRAISE Listening to 'Kingdom Come' by Hillsong United @imeem http://x.imeem.com/leTuoybMQy
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS / FULFILLMENTS
SEPTEMBER 21-27, 2009 MONDAY-SUNDAY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 2
TEXT http://www.biblica.com/bible/verse/index.php?q=matthew2&niv=yes
PARAPHRASE
“Messianic Star”
Wise men from the east, come to Jerusalem after Jesus is born in Bethlehem during the reign of King Herod. Having seen the star signifying his birth in the east, they follow it so they can come to worship him. However, when Herod hears about this, it troubles him, as well as the rest of Jerusalem when the news spreads of why the Wise Men have traveled so far and what has guided them. Herod asks the religious leaders where the Messiah is prophesied to be born and is told the Prophet Micah’s words about Bethlehem, “…for out of you will come a ruler who will be a shepherd of my people Israel”, clearly indicates where the Messiah will be born. Under false pretense, Herod holds a private meeting with the Wise Men to find out when they had first seen the star announcing the Messiah’s birth before sending them on their way to Bethlehem to find the child, telling them to report back to him as soon as they find him so he too can go and worship him. Leaving for Bethlehem, the Wise Men continue following the star from the east until it leads them to where they find the child with his mother, Mary – which fills them with joy and leads them to bow down in worship and offer their treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. Then, having been warned in a dream not to report back to Herod as instructed to, they return to their country by a different route that bypasses Jerusalem.
“Exodus & Exile”
After the Wise Men leave, an angel appears in Joseph’s dream telling him he needs to take his family to Egypt to keep Jesus safe from Herod who is coming to kill him. Joseph leaves for Egypt with his family immediately during the night and stays there until Herod dies. Thus, Hosea’s prophesy, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”, about the nation of Israel as God’s son, being called out of Egypt in the Exodus, is now being fulfilled as God prepares to call His Son (as the son of Abraham and the son of David, a descendent of Israel) out of Egypt as the Messiah.
Enraged when he discovers he has been outsmarted by the Wise Men who have returned to their country by a different route, Herod orders the murder of every boy two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem based on the time he learned the Wise Men had first seen the star announcing the Messiah’s birth. Herod’s slaughter of these boys fulfills Jeremiah’s prophesy:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”,
in that the tears that began during the Exile during Jeremiah’s day have climaxed and ended with the tears of the mother’s in Bethlehem because the heir to David’s throne, the Messiah, the Son of God has come and with this, the Exile is now finally over.
“Despicable”
When Herod dies, an angel appears in another of Joseph’s dreams while still in Egypt, telling him it is now safe to return to Israel with his family because those who were trying to kill Jesus are now dead. Traveling back to Israel with his family, Joseph, hearing Herod’s son is now the king reigning in Judea is afraid to return there, but after being warned in yet another dream goes to the district of Galilee instead settling in the town he and Mary were from - Nazareth. This fulfills several Old Testament prophesies that foretell how the Messiah will be despised in that a “Nazarene” is someone “from Nazareth” - a place considered despicable even to other Galileans.
PRINCIPLES
Matthew tells his first century readers (as he does us today) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
How does Matthew tell his first century readers (and us today) that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God?
-through a star in the east announcing the Messiah’s birth
-through fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
-through fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy by God calling of His Son, the Messiah out of Egypt
-through fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the tears that began with the Exile will end in Bethlehem with Herod’s slaughter of baby boys with the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God
-through fulfillment of many prophecies that the Messiah will be despised
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for how You announced Your Son’s birth to the world – by a cosmic event that guided Wise Men from the east to Bethlehem to bow down, worship Him and present Him with their treasures even as a baby. We thank You that Your Holy Spirit is our eternal connection to Your Son and we pray that Your Holy Spirit as Our Counselor will be our guide as well and help us to stay in Your Will and walk in Your Ways so that we worship You with all of our being and in all that we do. We ask that Your Holy Spirit use us as guides to point others to Your Son. We ask that the lives that we live will be lives of light rather than darkness in this world and in this way reflect the light Your Son brought into this world onto others so that they will come to know Him as their Messiah.
Our Father, We thank You for all the prophecies that were fulfilled by the birth and life of Your Son and how the fulfillment of these prophecies provides assurance of who He is and from Whom He came. We thank You for calling Your Son out of Egypt, the place You Liberated Your people, to be our Messiah, to be our Liberator, to be our Savior. We thank You for liberating Your people from the oppression of their slavery in Egypt and we thank You for Liberating us in this world and eternally from the oppression of our Sin. We thank You for providing us the Messiah, the Liberator, the Savior who has made it possible to come back from Exile from You, who has made it possible to be reconciled to You, to have our relationship with You restored, to be redeemed from our Sin which caused us to be in Exile in the first place.
Our Father, We praise You for the Liberation we have through faith in Your Son who died and was resurrected giving us life and victory over a Sinful nature we are otherwise unable to do anything about. But we acknowledge we also need Your forgiveness each day for the sinful acts that we continue to commit because of the contaminating effects our Sinful nature has left in us. We ask You to help us grow in Your righteousness through Your Word, prayer, communion with others, through compassionate works, and through not pretending in this life but by being real in our relationships with others so that we do not sin by putting up false fronts or by trying to protect ourselves by doing things we don’t need to do because of past distortions in how we think and feel about ourselves. Help us to see ourselves clearly through Your Son, not through the lens of the past and not through the lens of this world.
Our Father, We thank You for Your Son taking upon Him our Sin. We thank Your Son for suffering in all the ways He did including accepting being despised by the world in the way He did. Help us to understand and accept that we too as disciples of Your Son will also suffer at times for our faith and be despised at times by others. We ask Your Holy Spirit to give us the power and strength we need to stand firm during these times. We ask that the way we respond to suffering and persecution be a witness to You Son and the Good News that He has come, the tears of Exile have ended, that the time for Liberation is now.
We pray all of this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus the Messiah, Amen.
PRAISE Listening to 'God with Us - The Magi' by Todd Agnew @imeem http://x.imeem.com/kutK2Bt8q-
TEXT http://www.biblica.com/bible/verse/index.php?q=matthew2&niv=yes
PARAPHRASE
“Messianic Star”
Wise men from the east, come to Jerusalem after Jesus is born in Bethlehem during the reign of King Herod. Having seen the star signifying his birth in the east, they follow it so they can come to worship him. However, when Herod hears about this, it troubles him, as well as the rest of Jerusalem when the news spreads of why the Wise Men have traveled so far and what has guided them. Herod asks the religious leaders where the Messiah is prophesied to be born and is told the Prophet Micah’s words about Bethlehem, “…for out of you will come a ruler who will be a shepherd of my people Israel”, clearly indicates where the Messiah will be born. Under false pretense, Herod holds a private meeting with the Wise Men to find out when they had first seen the star announcing the Messiah’s birth before sending them on their way to Bethlehem to find the child, telling them to report back to him as soon as they find him so he too can go and worship him. Leaving for Bethlehem, the Wise Men continue following the star from the east until it leads them to where they find the child with his mother, Mary – which fills them with joy and leads them to bow down in worship and offer their treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. Then, having been warned in a dream not to report back to Herod as instructed to, they return to their country by a different route that bypasses Jerusalem.
“Exodus & Exile”
After the Wise Men leave, an angel appears in Joseph’s dream telling him he needs to take his family to Egypt to keep Jesus safe from Herod who is coming to kill him. Joseph leaves for Egypt with his family immediately during the night and stays there until Herod dies. Thus, Hosea’s prophesy, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”, about the nation of Israel as God’s son, being called out of Egypt in the Exodus, is now being fulfilled as God prepares to call His Son (as the son of Abraham and the son of David, a descendent of Israel) out of Egypt as the Messiah.
Enraged when he discovers he has been outsmarted by the Wise Men who have returned to their country by a different route, Herod orders the murder of every boy two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem based on the time he learned the Wise Men had first seen the star announcing the Messiah’s birth. Herod’s slaughter of these boys fulfills Jeremiah’s prophesy:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”,
in that the tears that began during the Exile during Jeremiah’s day have climaxed and ended with the tears of the mother’s in Bethlehem because the heir to David’s throne, the Messiah, the Son of God has come and with this, the Exile is now finally over.
“Despicable”
When Herod dies, an angel appears in another of Joseph’s dreams while still in Egypt, telling him it is now safe to return to Israel with his family because those who were trying to kill Jesus are now dead. Traveling back to Israel with his family, Joseph, hearing Herod’s son is now the king reigning in Judea is afraid to return there, but after being warned in yet another dream goes to the district of Galilee instead settling in the town he and Mary were from - Nazareth. This fulfills several Old Testament prophesies that foretell how the Messiah will be despised in that a “Nazarene” is someone “from Nazareth” - a place considered despicable even to other Galileans.
PRINCIPLES
Matthew tells his first century readers (as he does us today) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
How does Matthew tell his first century readers (and us today) that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God?
-through a star in the east announcing the Messiah’s birth
-through fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
-through fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy by God calling of His Son, the Messiah out of Egypt
-through fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the tears that began with the Exile will end in Bethlehem with Herod’s slaughter of baby boys with the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God
-through fulfillment of many prophecies that the Messiah will be despised
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for how You announced Your Son’s birth to the world – by a cosmic event that guided Wise Men from the east to Bethlehem to bow down, worship Him and present Him with their treasures even as a baby. We thank You that Your Holy Spirit is our eternal connection to Your Son and we pray that Your Holy Spirit as Our Counselor will be our guide as well and help us to stay in Your Will and walk in Your Ways so that we worship You with all of our being and in all that we do. We ask that Your Holy Spirit use us as guides to point others to Your Son. We ask that the lives that we live will be lives of light rather than darkness in this world and in this way reflect the light Your Son brought into this world onto others so that they will come to know Him as their Messiah.
Our Father, We thank You for all the prophecies that were fulfilled by the birth and life of Your Son and how the fulfillment of these prophecies provides assurance of who He is and from Whom He came. We thank You for calling Your Son out of Egypt, the place You Liberated Your people, to be our Messiah, to be our Liberator, to be our Savior. We thank You for liberating Your people from the oppression of their slavery in Egypt and we thank You for Liberating us in this world and eternally from the oppression of our Sin. We thank You for providing us the Messiah, the Liberator, the Savior who has made it possible to come back from Exile from You, who has made it possible to be reconciled to You, to have our relationship with You restored, to be redeemed from our Sin which caused us to be in Exile in the first place.
Our Father, We praise You for the Liberation we have through faith in Your Son who died and was resurrected giving us life and victory over a Sinful nature we are otherwise unable to do anything about. But we acknowledge we also need Your forgiveness each day for the sinful acts that we continue to commit because of the contaminating effects our Sinful nature has left in us. We ask You to help us grow in Your righteousness through Your Word, prayer, communion with others, through compassionate works, and through not pretending in this life but by being real in our relationships with others so that we do not sin by putting up false fronts or by trying to protect ourselves by doing things we don’t need to do because of past distortions in how we think and feel about ourselves. Help us to see ourselves clearly through Your Son, not through the lens of the past and not through the lens of this world.
Our Father, We thank You for Your Son taking upon Him our Sin. We thank Your Son for suffering in all the ways He did including accepting being despised by the world in the way He did. Help us to understand and accept that we too as disciples of Your Son will also suffer at times for our faith and be despised at times by others. We ask Your Holy Spirit to give us the power and strength we need to stand firm during these times. We ask that the way we respond to suffering and persecution be a witness to You Son and the Good News that He has come, the tears of Exile have ended, that the time for Liberation is now.
We pray all of this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus the Messiah, Amen.
PRAISE Listening to 'God with Us - The Magi' by Todd Agnew @imeem http://x.imeem.com/kutK2Bt8q-
Saturday, September 19, 2009
CONFIRMING IMMANUEL
SEPTEMBER 16-20, 2009 WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 1
TEXT Just1Word http://www.just1word.com/view/the-family-history-of-jesus-(matthew)
PARAPHRASE
“Of Royal Sinners”
Matthew begins the writing of his Gospel by reviewing how Jesus Christ, as the son of David and son of Abraham, stands in the family line as fulfillment of the covenants God made with David (who was promised his kingdom would never end) and Abraham (who was promised he’d be a blessing to all peoples of the earth). Matthew does this by organizing his review of Jesus’ family line into three fourteen generational periods from the time of Abraham to David, from the time of David to the Babylonian exile, and from the time of the exile to Christ’s coming . Described in predominantly Jewish male terms, Matthew introduces four key women in Jesus’ family history (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, & Bathsheba) - three of whom were gentiles who had engaged in sexual sin.
"Angelic Counseling"
Next, Matthew tells his readers about how the conception of Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy as well. Pledged to Joseph, but before they were married, Mary found herself with child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not wanting to publically disgrace Mary, Joseph planned to discreetly divorce her, but while he was contemplating how to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him while he was dreaming, telling him to not fear taking Mary as his wife because she was with child because of the Holy Spirit. The angel informed Joseph, Mary would give birth to a boy and that he was to name him Jesus meaning he would save his people from their sins.
Matthew goes on to tell how all of this happened to fulfill a prophecy of Isaiah’s about a virgin being with a child, giving birth to him and his being called Immanuel – God with us. When Joseph woke up from his dream he obeyed the angel by taking Mary as his wife. He waited to consummate the marriage after she had given birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer, Matthew, tells his first century readers (and us)that when Jesus came he fulfilled prophecies that confirmed he was the Christ.
When Jesus came, what prophecies did Matthew tell his first century readers (and us) confirmed he was the Christ?
- He fulfilled the covenantal promise God made to David that his reign would
never end. (2 Samuel 7:16)
- He fulfilled the covenantal promise God made to Abraham that he would be a
blessing to all peoples on earth. (Genesis 12:3)
- He fulfilled the promised of a virgin birth and of Immanuel – God with us!
(Isaiah 7:14)
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise Your Name above everything else. We praise You as faithful to Your Word.
Our Father, We thank You for Your promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all peoples of the earth and that by raising up the people of Israel through him, we can see through the generations that Matthew records Your Son as being the One through whom all peoples are blessed.
Our Father, We thank You for Your promise to David so that there would be a King to rule eternally on his throne, not in earthly Jerusalem, but in heavenly Jerusalem by Your side, made possible by the power of Your Holy Spirit who raised Your Son from the grave to live and rule forever.
Our Father, We thank You for the virgin birth that made it possible for Your Son to suffer “death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” and through this be our Immanuel – God with us – healing us at the deepest level possible; rather than going on in broken relationship with You, in lives not reconciled to You, in lives that are otherwise spiritually dead.
Our Father, We thank You for women in Your Son’s family line – several of whom were outsiders and some who were exploited by the family. We thank You for their suffering, perseverance, and faith as examples for us in the midst of sufferings in our families.
Our Father, We ask that Your Holy Spirit assure us of any doubts we might have of Your Son’s authenticity based on his prophecy fulfilling descent. And in removing any doubts, strengthen out faith so that when we pray we do so expectantly, that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And help us with strengthened faith to pray persistently for those we know of who are suffering of mind, body and soul – for their healing by the power of Your Holy Spirit. We pray for anyone we know who has been bound and unable to get well to be released from whatever is holding them hostage, from whatever is keeping them ill. We pray if their medications are ineffective that more effective medications will be found. We pray that if their counseling is stagnant that there will be a breakthrough that will move them forward. We pray that if there is an unresolved spiritual issue that by the power of the Holy Spirit this will be overcome this weekend. And that by one or more of these means there will be a liberation of mind, body and/or soul.
Our Father, We thank You for Immanuel. We thank You as the source of all healing.
And, we pray all of this in the Name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.
PRAISE Listening to 'Immanuel (Card)' by Michael Card @imeem http://x.imeem.com/I7UdVtG64Q
TEXT Just1Word http://www.just1word.com/view/the-family-history-of-jesus-(matthew)
PARAPHRASE
“Of Royal Sinners”
Matthew begins the writing of his Gospel by reviewing how Jesus Christ, as the son of David and son of Abraham, stands in the family line as fulfillment of the covenants God made with David (who was promised his kingdom would never end) and Abraham (who was promised he’d be a blessing to all peoples of the earth). Matthew does this by organizing his review of Jesus’ family line into three fourteen generational periods from the time of Abraham to David, from the time of David to the Babylonian exile, and from the time of the exile to Christ’s coming . Described in predominantly Jewish male terms, Matthew introduces four key women in Jesus’ family history (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, & Bathsheba) - three of whom were gentiles who had engaged in sexual sin.
"Angelic Counseling"
Next, Matthew tells his readers about how the conception of Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy as well. Pledged to Joseph, but before they were married, Mary found herself with child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not wanting to publically disgrace Mary, Joseph planned to discreetly divorce her, but while he was contemplating how to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him while he was dreaming, telling him to not fear taking Mary as his wife because she was with child because of the Holy Spirit. The angel informed Joseph, Mary would give birth to a boy and that he was to name him Jesus meaning he would save his people from their sins.
Matthew goes on to tell how all of this happened to fulfill a prophecy of Isaiah’s about a virgin being with a child, giving birth to him and his being called Immanuel – God with us. When Joseph woke up from his dream he obeyed the angel by taking Mary as his wife. He waited to consummate the marriage after she had given birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer, Matthew, tells his first century readers (and us)that when Jesus came he fulfilled prophecies that confirmed he was the Christ.
When Jesus came, what prophecies did Matthew tell his first century readers (and us) confirmed he was the Christ?
- He fulfilled the covenantal promise God made to David that his reign would
never end. (2 Samuel 7:16)
- He fulfilled the covenantal promise God made to Abraham that he would be a
blessing to all peoples on earth. (Genesis 12:3)
- He fulfilled the promised of a virgin birth and of Immanuel – God with us!
(Isaiah 7:14)
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise Your Name above everything else. We praise You as faithful to Your Word.
Our Father, We thank You for Your promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all peoples of the earth and that by raising up the people of Israel through him, we can see through the generations that Matthew records Your Son as being the One through whom all peoples are blessed.
Our Father, We thank You for Your promise to David so that there would be a King to rule eternally on his throne, not in earthly Jerusalem, but in heavenly Jerusalem by Your side, made possible by the power of Your Holy Spirit who raised Your Son from the grave to live and rule forever.
Our Father, We thank You for the virgin birth that made it possible for Your Son to suffer “death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” and through this be our Immanuel – God with us – healing us at the deepest level possible; rather than going on in broken relationship with You, in lives not reconciled to You, in lives that are otherwise spiritually dead.
Our Father, We thank You for women in Your Son’s family line – several of whom were outsiders and some who were exploited by the family. We thank You for their suffering, perseverance, and faith as examples for us in the midst of sufferings in our families.
Our Father, We ask that Your Holy Spirit assure us of any doubts we might have of Your Son’s authenticity based on his prophecy fulfilling descent. And in removing any doubts, strengthen out faith so that when we pray we do so expectantly, that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And help us with strengthened faith to pray persistently for those we know of who are suffering of mind, body and soul – for their healing by the power of Your Holy Spirit. We pray for anyone we know who has been bound and unable to get well to be released from whatever is holding them hostage, from whatever is keeping them ill. We pray if their medications are ineffective that more effective medications will be found. We pray that if their counseling is stagnant that there will be a breakthrough that will move them forward. We pray that if there is an unresolved spiritual issue that by the power of the Holy Spirit this will be overcome this weekend. And that by one or more of these means there will be a liberation of mind, body and/or soul.
Our Father, We thank You for Immanuel. We thank You as the source of all healing.
And, we pray all of this in the Name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.
PRAISE Listening to 'Immanuel (Card)' by Michael Card @imeem http://x.imeem.com/I7UdVtG64Q
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
RISEN
SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2009 MONDAY-TUESDAY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 28
TEXT Just1Word http://www.just1word.com/view/jesus-rises-from-the-dead-%2528matthew%2529
PARAPHRASE
“Risen”
When Mary Magdelene and the other Mary went to the tomb on Sunday at sunrise, they found a heavenly angel of the Lord dressed in clothes as white as snow who appeared like lightening and through an earthquake rolled back the stone from the tomb’s entrance and then sat on it, frightening the guards to the point their shaking paralyzed them making them look like corpses.
The angel told the women they had nothing to fear, that Jesus had risen as promised, showed them the tomb was now empty, instructed them to tell the disciples Jesus was alive and was going ahead to Galilee and told them they would see him there. Afraid, yet joyful, while running to tell the disciples, Jesus suddenly appeared and greeted the women. After coming to him, grasping his feet and worshipping him, Jesus told them not to fear but to go to his disciples and tell them to go to Galilee where they too would see him alive.
“Hush Money”
When the women went to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, the temple guards went into Jerusalem and told the religious leaders what had happened. They were given a lot of hush money and instructed to tell others that the disciples had taken Jesus’ body from the tomb during the night when they fell asleep. The religious leaders told the temple guard they would cover for them if this report made its way to Pilate and he was upset that they reportedly fell asleep. This story has been disseminated amongst the Jews ever since as the explanation for the empty tomb.
“Great Mission”
The disciples gathered on the mountain in Galilee where Jesus told them to meet him and seeing him, some worshiped him, although some doubted him. He came to them, telling them he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth and based on this was sending them out into the world to make disciples of all nations, to baptize those who believe in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to teach those who believe everything he has commanded them. And that he would be with them always, all the way to the end of times.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer Matthew tells his first century readers (and us today) that Jesus
Christ is risen from the grave.
How does Matthew tell us that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave?
-through a heavenly angel
-through an earthquake
-through frightened guards
-through an empty tomb
-through Jesus’ appearance to the women
-through hush money and a cover up story
-through Jesus appearance to his disciples
-through a great commission and promise
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for Matthew who wrote and documented how Your Son rose from the grave so we have this written testimony, this written history in Your Word.
Our Father, We praise You for the power of Your Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave, causing the earth to shake, the stone to roll away, the temple guard to look dead with fright, and Your angel to announce that Your Son was alive to the faithful women who came to the tomb that Sunday morning. We thank You that Your Son spoke with the women near the tomb that morning and later on a mountain in Galilee with his disciples.
Our Father, We thank You for Your Son’s victory over death and what that means for all who believe in His Name.
Our Father, We worship You, Your Son and Your Holy Spirit with our hearts, souls and minds like the disciples who saw Your Son in his resurrected state. Forgive us whenever doubts enter into our minds like some of the disciples that day, doubts that keep us from worshiping you with our all.
Our Father, Forgive those who have been led astray by the false story about the empty tomb and by the power of Your Holy Spirit help us to grab hold of Your Son’s Great Commission so that the truth of that day will be made known to many people in our lives and they will come to believe in Your Son, be baptized in You the Triune God, become disciples of Your Son, and obey everything Your Son has commanded us.
Our Father, We thank You and praise You for the promise Your Son has made to us to be with us to the end of the age.
We pray all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen
PRAISE Listening to 'He Is Risen, He Is Risen!' by St. Thomas Choir Of Men And Boys @imeem http://x.imeem.com/7E46-kiJ2l
TEXT Just1Word http://www.just1word.com/view/jesus-rises-from-the-dead-%2528matthew%2529
PARAPHRASE
“Risen”
When Mary Magdelene and the other Mary went to the tomb on Sunday at sunrise, they found a heavenly angel of the Lord dressed in clothes as white as snow who appeared like lightening and through an earthquake rolled back the stone from the tomb’s entrance and then sat on it, frightening the guards to the point their shaking paralyzed them making them look like corpses.
The angel told the women they had nothing to fear, that Jesus had risen as promised, showed them the tomb was now empty, instructed them to tell the disciples Jesus was alive and was going ahead to Galilee and told them they would see him there. Afraid, yet joyful, while running to tell the disciples, Jesus suddenly appeared and greeted the women. After coming to him, grasping his feet and worshipping him, Jesus told them not to fear but to go to his disciples and tell them to go to Galilee where they too would see him alive.
“Hush Money”
When the women went to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, the temple guards went into Jerusalem and told the religious leaders what had happened. They were given a lot of hush money and instructed to tell others that the disciples had taken Jesus’ body from the tomb during the night when they fell asleep. The religious leaders told the temple guard they would cover for them if this report made its way to Pilate and he was upset that they reportedly fell asleep. This story has been disseminated amongst the Jews ever since as the explanation for the empty tomb.
“Great Mission”
The disciples gathered on the mountain in Galilee where Jesus told them to meet him and seeing him, some worshiped him, although some doubted him. He came to them, telling them he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth and based on this was sending them out into the world to make disciples of all nations, to baptize those who believe in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to teach those who believe everything he has commanded them. And that he would be with them always, all the way to the end of times.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer Matthew tells his first century readers (and us today) that Jesus
Christ is risen from the grave.
How does Matthew tell us that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave?
-through a heavenly angel
-through an earthquake
-through frightened guards
-through an empty tomb
-through Jesus’ appearance to the women
-through hush money and a cover up story
-through Jesus appearance to his disciples
-through a great commission and promise
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for Matthew who wrote and documented how Your Son rose from the grave so we have this written testimony, this written history in Your Word.
Our Father, We praise You for the power of Your Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave, causing the earth to shake, the stone to roll away, the temple guard to look dead with fright, and Your angel to announce that Your Son was alive to the faithful women who came to the tomb that Sunday morning. We thank You that Your Son spoke with the women near the tomb that morning and later on a mountain in Galilee with his disciples.
Our Father, We thank You for Your Son’s victory over death and what that means for all who believe in His Name.
Our Father, We worship You, Your Son and Your Holy Spirit with our hearts, souls and minds like the disciples who saw Your Son in his resurrected state. Forgive us whenever doubts enter into our minds like some of the disciples that day, doubts that keep us from worshiping you with our all.
Our Father, Forgive those who have been led astray by the false story about the empty tomb and by the power of Your Holy Spirit help us to grab hold of Your Son’s Great Commission so that the truth of that day will be made known to many people in our lives and they will come to believe in Your Son, be baptized in You the Triune God, become disciples of Your Son, and obey everything Your Son has commanded us.
Our Father, We thank You and praise You for the promise Your Son has made to us to be with us to the end of the age.
We pray all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen
PRAISE Listening to 'He Is Risen, He Is Risen!' by St. Thomas Choir Of Men And Boys @imeem http://x.imeem.com/7E46-kiJ2l
Sunday, September 13, 2009
EXECUTION
SEPTEMBER 7-13, 2009 MONDAY-SUNDAY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 27
TEXT http://www.just1word.com/view/jesus-before-pilate-%2528matthew%2529
PARAPHRASE
“Silver, Responsible, Suicide & Bloody Field”
When Judas learned early that morning the religious leaders had decided to kill Jesus and had delivered him to Pilate, the Roman Governor; he became overwhelmed with shame and went to the religious leaders to return the thirty pieces of silver they had given him - confessing them as a sign of his horrible sin, his betrayal of the Son of God.
When the religious leaders told Judas they didn’t care how horrible his sin was, that he was responsible for himself; he tossed the silver pieces into their temple and went off and hanged himself. Acknowledging that the silver was money they had spent for the sole purpose of killing a man, the chief priests knew the silver was unclean so that by law it couldn’t be returned to the temple treasury. Therefore, they picked it up off the floor and used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners - a field bought with blood money that to this day is called the Field of Blood.
This happened in fulfillment of the combined prophecies of Zechariah and Jeremiah in which the one on whom the price of thirty pieces of silver was originally set is no longer the Prophet Zechariah (who when he threw the insulting amount of silver he was given into the temple it was given to a potter) but Jesus (who when he was betrayed by Judas who threw the insulting amount of silver he was given it was used to buy a potter’s field) – with both situations ultimately pointing to the destruction of Israel.
“Threat, Clean, Coward, & Responsible”
While Jesus remained silent when accused by the religious leaders, to Pilate’s amazement (Jesus didn’t answer a single charge against him), only responding to affirm he was the king of the Jews (a qualified affirmation since he wasn’t a king of this world). Pilate knew the real reason the religious leaders handed Jesus over to him was because they were threatened by him, not because he was a traitor to Rome. Because of this and his custom of releasing a prisoner each year at the time of the Passover Feast he asked the crowd who they wanted released – the notorious criminal Barabbas (who was really a national hero for rebelling against Roman authority) or Jesus.
Their response was interrupted by a message from Pilate’s wife who told him how much she had suffered on account of a dream about Jesus that day something she took as a sign he shouldn’t have anything to do with what the religious leaders were trying to do to this innocent man.
However, the religious leaders convinced the crowd that their national hero Barabbas should be released and that Jesus the blasphemer should be crucified. When Pilate asked them what crime Jesus had committed they shouted louder for him to be executed. Fearful of the chaos developing in the crowd, Pilate cowardly washed his hands like the Pharisees do to make themselves ceremonially clean before eating a meal as he also claimed to be innocent of Jesus’ blood and then surprisingly he said the exact same thing to the religious leaders that they had said to Judas – that they were responsible for themselves, i.e. with respect to what they were doing.
After they accepted responsibility for themselves and their children for Jesus’ blood, Pilate released Barabbas to the religious leaders and having flogged Jesus, handed him over to be executed.
“King & Suffering Servant”
Having been mocked by the religious leaders as the Christ, Son of the Living God, Pilate’s soldiers mocked him as the king of the Jews. This took place in the courtyard of Herod’s old palace where Pilate lived, with the company of soldiers gathering around Jesus, stripping him, putting a red robe on him, a crown of thorns on his head, a staff in his right hand and then kneeling before him and verbally mocking him by saying, “Hail king of the Jews!” After this they spit on him and struck him on the head repeatedly with the staff. And, when they were done they put his own clothes back on him and led him away to his execution.
“Stripped, Mocked & Executed”
On route to the site of execution, The Place of the Skull, they met Simon from Cyrene who they forced to carry the cross. Once there, Jesus is offered a drink of wine and myrrh that irritates his mouth so much he refuses to drink it. After nailing him to the cross, they cast lots for his clothes, place a written charge above his head: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS and then sit around waiting for him to die. Two robbers, probably other rebels to Roman authority, who like Barabbas were national heroes, were also crucified, one on his right and one on his left. Passersby shook their heads shouting insults, while sarcastically demanding Jesus save himself given his previous claim to be able to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.
The religious leaders mocked him by pointing out that although he miraculously healed others he apparently was unable to miraculously heal himself – sarcastically calling him the King of Israel, abusively ordering him to come down from the cross so they might believe in him, and maliciously saying that God would rescue him if he wanted to since he was His Son. Even the two robbers, in the midst of suffering the agonizing death of crucifixion, used their remaining breathe to shout insults at Jesus as well.
“Torn, Split & Broke”
It became dark over the entire land from noon until 3pm at which time Jesus cried out loud “God, God, why have you abandoned me? Some of those present thought he was calling on Elijah to save him. Someone soaked a sponge with wine vinegar and after placing it on a stick offered it to him to drink. After crying out again in a loud voice, he died.
At the moment of his death the temple curtain tore from top to bottom, signifying the destruction of the temple; an earthquake occurred splitting the rocks, signifying glory & judgment; and tombs broke open, signifying victory over death (with the bodies of many holy people being raised to life after Jesus’ resurrection at which point they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people).
All of this terrified the soldiers who were guarding Jesus causing them to proclaim that Jesus was indeed the Son of God – (seen most clearly in his suffering and death on the cross).
Many women had followed Jesus from Galilee helping to care for his needs were watching all of this from a distance including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of James and John.
“Rich Burial”
Around 6 pm at the start of the Sabbath, a rich man who had become a disciple of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, went to Pilate asking permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross for proper burial (something that was never allowed in cases of high treason which Pilate knew Jesus wasn’t guilty of). Taking Jesus’ body down, Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, placed it in the new tomb he had cut out of rock for himself and rolled a large stone in front of the entrance while Mary Magdelene and the other Mary sat opposite the tomb watching him.
“Tomb Security”
The next day the religious leaders remembered Jesus saying that after three days he would rise from the dead and so went to Pilate asking him that the tomb be made secure with soldiers for three days because they feared the disciples would steal his body, tell everyone he had been raised from the dead and greatly deceive the people as a result of this. Pilate told them to secure the tomb with their own temple guards and so they left and made the tomb secure by posting their temple guards and by sealing the stone.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer Matthew told his readers during the first Century (as he tells us today) that Jesus was truly the Christ, the Son of the Living as revealed in his suffering and death on the cross.
How does Matthew reveal Jesus as the true Christ, the Son of the Living God in his suffering and death on the cross?
-in a field being bought with blood money
-in hands washing off innocent blood
-in a King being flogged and mocked
-in a Messiah being stripped, insulted and crucified
-in a Son’s loud cry of abandonment
-in a temple curtain tearing, rocks splitting and tombs breaking
-in soldiers’ proclamations
-in women’s following, caring, and watching
-in a rich man’s tomb
-in religious leader’s fear
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for revealing Your Son as the Christ through his suffering and death on the cross. We praise you that this is not just a story but is true and there were witnesses who have written about what happened to Your Son according to Your will. We praise You for providing us a way out of the eternal suffering and physical and spiritual death we would otherwise face were if not that Your only Son took on our suffering in this way, Liberating us from our Sin and setting us Free.
Our Father, We thank You for revealing Your Son as the Christ through his suffering and death on the cross - through his becoming the new Zachariah bought with the insulting 30 pieces of silver; through his being traded for death for a national hero a rebel against the authority of Rome; though his kingship with a crown of thorns and a staff full of blows to his head; through his earthly reign as Messiah with its mockings and floggings, through his being stripped naked and nailed to a cross; through passersby, religious leaders and even thieves hurling insults at him as he was dying; and through his feeling totally abandoned even by You as he let out one last cry.
Our Father, We thank You for all of this. We thank Him for all of this. Because through it, not only are we set free, not only are we healed, are we saved, but we have a Shepherd who looks after us who has suffered more than we ever will and so knows what our sufferings are like and therefore is able to protect us from all harm and is able to comfort us and through his blood heal us when we are ill, are injured, are all alone or are dying.
Our Father, We thank You for tearing the temple curtain at the time Your Son died and became the New Temple. We thank you for splitting the rocks with an earthquake at the time Your Son died revealing His Glory and coming Judgment. And, we thank you for breaking the tombs at the time of Your Son’s death revealing the victory over death that was shortly to come.
Our Father, We thank You for the soldier’s proclamation that Jesus was Your Son, the women’s faithfulness to Your Son unto death, the rich man’s courage in taking Your Son down for burial, and the religious leader’s fear of fraud so that the tomb was sealed and guarded.
Our Father, Forgive us when we think we can be responsible for ourselves like Judas and the Religious Leaders. Forgive us when we think we can wash our money or our hands and make them clean like the Religious Leaders and Pilate thought they could.
Forgive us when as cowards we please the crowd rather than You. Forgive us when we chose to follow a national hero, a man of this world over You. Forgive us any time we make a mockery of what Your Son has done for us by what we say or do.
Our Father, We ask that you remove our fear, that you strengthen us, and give us courage so that we will proclaim Your Son as the Christ, the Son of the Living God to those in this world who have yet to hear about him. We ask that our faith be like that of the women who remained with Your Son even through his death and to the grave.
And we pray all of this Our Father in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
PRAISE Listening to Fike & DanaFik ‘Not Just a Story’ on @purevolume.com http://www.purevolume.com/fikeanddana (click on song to start)
TEXT http://www.just1word.com/view/jesus-before-pilate-%2528matthew%2529
PARAPHRASE
“Silver, Responsible, Suicide & Bloody Field”
When Judas learned early that morning the religious leaders had decided to kill Jesus and had delivered him to Pilate, the Roman Governor; he became overwhelmed with shame and went to the religious leaders to return the thirty pieces of silver they had given him - confessing them as a sign of his horrible sin, his betrayal of the Son of God.
When the religious leaders told Judas they didn’t care how horrible his sin was, that he was responsible for himself; he tossed the silver pieces into their temple and went off and hanged himself. Acknowledging that the silver was money they had spent for the sole purpose of killing a man, the chief priests knew the silver was unclean so that by law it couldn’t be returned to the temple treasury. Therefore, they picked it up off the floor and used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners - a field bought with blood money that to this day is called the Field of Blood.
This happened in fulfillment of the combined prophecies of Zechariah and Jeremiah in which the one on whom the price of thirty pieces of silver was originally set is no longer the Prophet Zechariah (who when he threw the insulting amount of silver he was given into the temple it was given to a potter) but Jesus (who when he was betrayed by Judas who threw the insulting amount of silver he was given it was used to buy a potter’s field) – with both situations ultimately pointing to the destruction of Israel.
“Threat, Clean, Coward, & Responsible”
While Jesus remained silent when accused by the religious leaders, to Pilate’s amazement (Jesus didn’t answer a single charge against him), only responding to affirm he was the king of the Jews (a qualified affirmation since he wasn’t a king of this world). Pilate knew the real reason the religious leaders handed Jesus over to him was because they were threatened by him, not because he was a traitor to Rome. Because of this and his custom of releasing a prisoner each year at the time of the Passover Feast he asked the crowd who they wanted released – the notorious criminal Barabbas (who was really a national hero for rebelling against Roman authority) or Jesus.
Their response was interrupted by a message from Pilate’s wife who told him how much she had suffered on account of a dream about Jesus that day something she took as a sign he shouldn’t have anything to do with what the religious leaders were trying to do to this innocent man.
However, the religious leaders convinced the crowd that their national hero Barabbas should be released and that Jesus the blasphemer should be crucified. When Pilate asked them what crime Jesus had committed they shouted louder for him to be executed. Fearful of the chaos developing in the crowd, Pilate cowardly washed his hands like the Pharisees do to make themselves ceremonially clean before eating a meal as he also claimed to be innocent of Jesus’ blood and then surprisingly he said the exact same thing to the religious leaders that they had said to Judas – that they were responsible for themselves, i.e. with respect to what they were doing.
After they accepted responsibility for themselves and their children for Jesus’ blood, Pilate released Barabbas to the religious leaders and having flogged Jesus, handed him over to be executed.
“King & Suffering Servant”
Having been mocked by the religious leaders as the Christ, Son of the Living God, Pilate’s soldiers mocked him as the king of the Jews. This took place in the courtyard of Herod’s old palace where Pilate lived, with the company of soldiers gathering around Jesus, stripping him, putting a red robe on him, a crown of thorns on his head, a staff in his right hand and then kneeling before him and verbally mocking him by saying, “Hail king of the Jews!” After this they spit on him and struck him on the head repeatedly with the staff. And, when they were done they put his own clothes back on him and led him away to his execution.
“Stripped, Mocked & Executed”
On route to the site of execution, The Place of the Skull, they met Simon from Cyrene who they forced to carry the cross. Once there, Jesus is offered a drink of wine and myrrh that irritates his mouth so much he refuses to drink it. After nailing him to the cross, they cast lots for his clothes, place a written charge above his head: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS and then sit around waiting for him to die. Two robbers, probably other rebels to Roman authority, who like Barabbas were national heroes, were also crucified, one on his right and one on his left. Passersby shook their heads shouting insults, while sarcastically demanding Jesus save himself given his previous claim to be able to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.
The religious leaders mocked him by pointing out that although he miraculously healed others he apparently was unable to miraculously heal himself – sarcastically calling him the King of Israel, abusively ordering him to come down from the cross so they might believe in him, and maliciously saying that God would rescue him if he wanted to since he was His Son. Even the two robbers, in the midst of suffering the agonizing death of crucifixion, used their remaining breathe to shout insults at Jesus as well.
“Torn, Split & Broke”
It became dark over the entire land from noon until 3pm at which time Jesus cried out loud “God, God, why have you abandoned me? Some of those present thought he was calling on Elijah to save him. Someone soaked a sponge with wine vinegar and after placing it on a stick offered it to him to drink. After crying out again in a loud voice, he died.
At the moment of his death the temple curtain tore from top to bottom, signifying the destruction of the temple; an earthquake occurred splitting the rocks, signifying glory & judgment; and tombs broke open, signifying victory over death (with the bodies of many holy people being raised to life after Jesus’ resurrection at which point they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people).
All of this terrified the soldiers who were guarding Jesus causing them to proclaim that Jesus was indeed the Son of God – (seen most clearly in his suffering and death on the cross).
Many women had followed Jesus from Galilee helping to care for his needs were watching all of this from a distance including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of James and John.
“Rich Burial”
Around 6 pm at the start of the Sabbath, a rich man who had become a disciple of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, went to Pilate asking permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross for proper burial (something that was never allowed in cases of high treason which Pilate knew Jesus wasn’t guilty of). Taking Jesus’ body down, Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, placed it in the new tomb he had cut out of rock for himself and rolled a large stone in front of the entrance while Mary Magdelene and the other Mary sat opposite the tomb watching him.
“Tomb Security”
The next day the religious leaders remembered Jesus saying that after three days he would rise from the dead and so went to Pilate asking him that the tomb be made secure with soldiers for three days because they feared the disciples would steal his body, tell everyone he had been raised from the dead and greatly deceive the people as a result of this. Pilate told them to secure the tomb with their own temple guards and so they left and made the tomb secure by posting their temple guards and by sealing the stone.
PRINCIPLES
The Gospel writer Matthew told his readers during the first Century (as he tells us today) that Jesus was truly the Christ, the Son of the Living as revealed in his suffering and death on the cross.
How does Matthew reveal Jesus as the true Christ, the Son of the Living God in his suffering and death on the cross?
-in a field being bought with blood money
-in hands washing off innocent blood
-in a King being flogged and mocked
-in a Messiah being stripped, insulted and crucified
-in a Son’s loud cry of abandonment
-in a temple curtain tearing, rocks splitting and tombs breaking
-in soldiers’ proclamations
-in women’s following, caring, and watching
-in a rich man’s tomb
-in religious leader’s fear
PRAYER
Our Father, We praise You for revealing Your Son as the Christ through his suffering and death on the cross. We praise you that this is not just a story but is true and there were witnesses who have written about what happened to Your Son according to Your will. We praise You for providing us a way out of the eternal suffering and physical and spiritual death we would otherwise face were if not that Your only Son took on our suffering in this way, Liberating us from our Sin and setting us Free.
Our Father, We thank You for revealing Your Son as the Christ through his suffering and death on the cross - through his becoming the new Zachariah bought with the insulting 30 pieces of silver; through his being traded for death for a national hero a rebel against the authority of Rome; though his kingship with a crown of thorns and a staff full of blows to his head; through his earthly reign as Messiah with its mockings and floggings, through his being stripped naked and nailed to a cross; through passersby, religious leaders and even thieves hurling insults at him as he was dying; and through his feeling totally abandoned even by You as he let out one last cry.
Our Father, We thank You for all of this. We thank Him for all of this. Because through it, not only are we set free, not only are we healed, are we saved, but we have a Shepherd who looks after us who has suffered more than we ever will and so knows what our sufferings are like and therefore is able to protect us from all harm and is able to comfort us and through his blood heal us when we are ill, are injured, are all alone or are dying.
Our Father, We thank You for tearing the temple curtain at the time Your Son died and became the New Temple. We thank you for splitting the rocks with an earthquake at the time Your Son died revealing His Glory and coming Judgment. And, we thank you for breaking the tombs at the time of Your Son’s death revealing the victory over death that was shortly to come.
Our Father, We thank You for the soldier’s proclamation that Jesus was Your Son, the women’s faithfulness to Your Son unto death, the rich man’s courage in taking Your Son down for burial, and the religious leader’s fear of fraud so that the tomb was sealed and guarded.
Our Father, Forgive us when we think we can be responsible for ourselves like Judas and the Religious Leaders. Forgive us when we think we can wash our money or our hands and make them clean like the Religious Leaders and Pilate thought they could.
Forgive us when as cowards we please the crowd rather than You. Forgive us when we chose to follow a national hero, a man of this world over You. Forgive us any time we make a mockery of what Your Son has done for us by what we say or do.
Our Father, We ask that you remove our fear, that you strengthen us, and give us courage so that we will proclaim Your Son as the Christ, the Son of the Living God to those in this world who have yet to hear about him. We ask that our faith be like that of the women who remained with Your Son even through his death and to the grave.
And we pray all of this Our Father in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
PRAISE Listening to Fike & DanaFik ‘Not Just a Story’ on @purevolume.com http://www.purevolume.com/fikeanddana (click on song to start)
Saturday, September 5, 2009
TAKE & EAT
AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2009 MONDAY-SUNDAY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 26
TEXT http://net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Mat&chapter=26
PARAPHRASE
“Preparing & Plotting”
After telling his disciples three stories about being prepared for his return on the Day of Judgment, Jesus reminds them when the Passover occurs in two days he will be crucified. While he is telling them this, the religious leaders are meeting with the high priest Caiaphas, scheming how to arrest and kill Jesus so the people of Jerusalem won’t riot against them.
“Anointed with Perfume”
When a woman pours expensive perfume on his head while reclining at a table in Simon’s (a former leper) home in Bethany, Jesus’ disciples are offended by what she is doing because they consider it wasteful in comparison to selling the perfume to help the poor. Jesus tells them they don’t understand what she’s doing, that her pouring perfume on him prepares him for burial in light of his imminent crucifixion because those who die a criminal’s death on the cross don’t receive the traditional burial anointing. He tells them he won’t always be with them like the poor are so they will have many opportunities to help them. He tells them what this woman is doing will be remembered wherever the good news of the Kingdom is told.
“Betrayed with Silver”
After Jesus’ anointment for burial, Judas Iscariot decides to go to the chief priests and asks them what they will give him if he betrays Jesus. After receiving a mere thirty silver coins (the compensation value paid for a slave if accidently gored to death by one’s ox), he begins to look for the best time and place for the chief priests to arrest Jesus.
“Bread, Wine & Song”
On the first day of the Passover Celebration when the disciples ask Jesus where they should make preparations to eat he directs them to a man in Jerusalem who they are instructed to tell that the Messiah’s time to complete his mission has come and that he is going to celebrate the Passover with his disciples in his house.
After this has been done and the Passover preparations made, later that evening while reclining at the table, Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him and even though this will fulfill what is written about him by the Prophets as Christ, the suffering servant, the one who betrays him will be so cursed that he would have been better off not being born. The disciples take turns asking if they are the betrayer and when it comes to Judas, Jesus affirms he is the one.
Then as they eat, Jesus gives thanks for the bread as he breaks it, giving it to his disciples telling them to take and eat it, that it is his body – a body that like the bread will soon be broken. Then he gives thanks for the cup of wine as he gives it to them telling them to drink from it, that it is his blood signifying that a new era has come, that it is his blood shed for many people for the forgiveness of sins – a new Liberation, a Salvation from their Sin that goes far beyond the liberation of the blood of the first Passover in Egypt, taking them beyond the Promised Land of Israel to the Kingdom of Heaven. Then Jesus tells his disciples he will not drink from this cup of wine with his disciples again until after his death, resurrection, and ascension at the time his Father’s Kingdom is consummated at the end of time. After this they sing the ending Psalm of the Passover meal as they leave for the Mount of Olives.
“Death Vow”
Quoting the Prophet Zechariah, “I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will scatter,” Jesus tells his disciples that they will run away from him when he gets arrested that very evening but that after he is crucified and rises from the dead, as their Shepherd he will wait for them in Galilee where he will gather them together again. When Peter tells Jesus that even if everyone else runs away he won’t, Jesus tells him he will not only run away but he will also deny knowing him on three separate occasions before morning comes. This led to Peter and the rest of the disciples making a vow to Jesus that they would die with him before they would ever deny knowing him.
“Wrath of God”
In Gethsemane Jesus asks his disciples to sit down and wait while he goes further to pray alone taking Peter, James and John along with him. Becoming troubled and overwhelmed with sorrow to the point he nearly dies from it, Jesus asks these disciples to sit down and stay awake with him while he goes even further to pray alone - falling face first to the ground asking God if it is possible for His wrath over the Sin of the world to be removed from him, but indicating his willingness to do God’s will ahead of his own.
Finding Peter, James and John sleeping when he returns to where he left them, Jesus asks Peter why he isn’t able to stay awake with him while he prays for one hour and tells him how important it is that he stay awake and pray so he doesn’t become tempted (to run away or deny him), also telling him that although he has a spirit that desires to do the right thing, he has a body whose nature desires sin instead.
When Jesus goes on again to pray a second time he tells God that if it isn’t possible for His wrath over the world’s Sin to be remove from him, that His will be done. Returning a second time to Peter, James and John he finds them sleeping again so he goes back and prays again for God’s will to be done. When he returns to these disciples a third time he wakes them up and tells them to get up, because it’s time for him to be arrested because his betrayer Judas is arriving.
“Kiss & Tell”
Arriving with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, Judas goes immediately to Jesus, greets him as “Teacher” and kisses him, his prearranged signal indicating which man they are to arrest. When Jesus calls Judas “friend” and tells him to do what he came, for the men with Judas arrest Jesus which precipitates one of the disciples striking the servant of the high priest with his sword cutting off his ear in the process. Jesus tells his disciple to put his sword away unless he wants to die right then and there. He also tells his disciple that he could ask God for 72,000 angels to protect him if he wanted to but then prophecy wouldn’t be fulfilled that tells how he must be handed over to suffer and die. Then Jesus asks the crowd why they’ve brought weapons to arrest him at night as if he’s the dangerous leader of some rebellion when he’s been teaching in broad daylight every day before their eyes in the temple courts. He tells them the very way they are arresting him fulfills prophecy about the Messiah (including that of Zechariah) at which point his disciples ran away in fear leaving him alone with his enemies.
“Reiterating Under Oath”
While Jesus is brought before religious leaders at the house of Caiaphas the high priest, Peter follows at a distance until he comes to the high priest’s courtyard where he enters and sits with the guards waiting to see what happens.
Even though many false witnesses come forward providing false evidence they were seeking to use against Jesus in order to justify killing him, the religious leaders aren’t able to conjure up anything significant. When two witnesses come forward to accuse Jesus of saying he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, Caiaphas asks him to respond to their accusation but Jesus says nothing. When Caiaphas then makes Jesus swear under oath by the Living God if he is the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus breaks his silence by reiterating what he said that put an end to the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ challenges to him – telling Caiaphas as prophesied in the Psalms he is both Son of God and Son of Man and they as his enemies will be made into his footstool when he returns in the future unmistakably sitting at the right hand of God the Father on Judgment Day when they will see him coming on the clouds of heaven. Upon hearing this, Caiaphas tears his clothes in disgust, accusing Jesus of blasphemy, asking others present to sentence him to death as they spit in his face, strike him with their fists, slap him, and as they mockingly call him Christ and ask him to prophesy which of them just hit him.
“Desperate Denial”
Out in the courtyard, first a servant girl, then another girl, and finally others standing around ask Peter if he is one of Jesus’ disciples. After denying it, denying it with an oath, and denying it with curses, a rooster crows, Peter remembers Jesus’ words and he goes outside the courtyard where he desperately weeps.
PRINCIPLES
Matthew writes to his first century readers (as he does to us today) that a new era was to begin when Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, in obedience to his Father’s will, accepted His Father’s wrath for the Sin of the world by suffering and dying on the cross, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins (commemorated in a new Passover meal), leading to a new Liberation for many - not only in this world but eternally in the Kingdom.
How does Matthew tell his readers this new era was to come about?
- With religious leaders scheming.
- With a woman anointing.
- With Judas betraying.
- With the disciples taking, eating & drinking.
- With Jesus agonizing.
- With the disciples sleeping.
- With a crowd arresting.
- With witnesses lying.
- With Jesus proclaiming.
- With Peter denying.
PRAYER
Our Father, We acknowledge our share in the sins of scheming, betraying, arresting, lying and denying that nailed your Son to the cross.
Our Father, We thank you for not taking Your wrath out on us for our Sin even though we are the ones who deserved it. We thank you instead for sending Your Son to Liberate us from Sin and Death in this world and eternally in Your Kingdom.
Our Father, We thank Your Son for the agony He endured emotionally, physically and spiritually when he prepared for the cross, when he was betrayed, when everyone deserted Him, when witnesses lied about Him, when Peter denied knowing Him and when He felt all alone and even forsaken by You.
Our Father, We thank You for the woman who prepared Your Son for burial by anointing him before he was crucified and we thank Your Son for preparing us until the day of Celebration arrives with Him in Your Kingdom by giving us the meal of His body and blood in the bread and wine we have been given to eat and drink.
Our Father, We thank Your Son for proclaiming that as both God and man he is positioned by Your right hand side where He will sit in Judgment of the world when He returns. We thank You that because of Your Son’s obedience many do not have to fear this day because they have been healed, they have been Liberated, they have been Saved.
Our Father, We ask that our Liberation be used to anoint others who are suffering of mind, body or soul or others who are dying. We ask that our Liberation be used to share the meal of body and blood with those who need to be prepared until the day of Celebration comes in Your Kingdom. We ask that our Liberation allow us to endure emotional, physical and spiritual agony for others when their burden is too great. We ask that our Liberation keep us from neglecting You when You are hungry, thirsty, naked, in prison, and in need of a home.
Our Father, We ask all of this in Jesus Name,
Amen.
PRAISE 'Glory To God (Lord's Supper) (The Lord's...' by John Michael Talbot @imeem http://x.imeem.com/BnR2803m3H
TEXT http://net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Mat&chapter=26
PARAPHRASE
“Preparing & Plotting”
After telling his disciples three stories about being prepared for his return on the Day of Judgment, Jesus reminds them when the Passover occurs in two days he will be crucified. While he is telling them this, the religious leaders are meeting with the high priest Caiaphas, scheming how to arrest and kill Jesus so the people of Jerusalem won’t riot against them.
“Anointed with Perfume”
When a woman pours expensive perfume on his head while reclining at a table in Simon’s (a former leper) home in Bethany, Jesus’ disciples are offended by what she is doing because they consider it wasteful in comparison to selling the perfume to help the poor. Jesus tells them they don’t understand what she’s doing, that her pouring perfume on him prepares him for burial in light of his imminent crucifixion because those who die a criminal’s death on the cross don’t receive the traditional burial anointing. He tells them he won’t always be with them like the poor are so they will have many opportunities to help them. He tells them what this woman is doing will be remembered wherever the good news of the Kingdom is told.
“Betrayed with Silver”
After Jesus’ anointment for burial, Judas Iscariot decides to go to the chief priests and asks them what they will give him if he betrays Jesus. After receiving a mere thirty silver coins (the compensation value paid for a slave if accidently gored to death by one’s ox), he begins to look for the best time and place for the chief priests to arrest Jesus.
“Bread, Wine & Song”
On the first day of the Passover Celebration when the disciples ask Jesus where they should make preparations to eat he directs them to a man in Jerusalem who they are instructed to tell that the Messiah’s time to complete his mission has come and that he is going to celebrate the Passover with his disciples in his house.
After this has been done and the Passover preparations made, later that evening while reclining at the table, Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him and even though this will fulfill what is written about him by the Prophets as Christ, the suffering servant, the one who betrays him will be so cursed that he would have been better off not being born. The disciples take turns asking if they are the betrayer and when it comes to Judas, Jesus affirms he is the one.
Then as they eat, Jesus gives thanks for the bread as he breaks it, giving it to his disciples telling them to take and eat it, that it is his body – a body that like the bread will soon be broken. Then he gives thanks for the cup of wine as he gives it to them telling them to drink from it, that it is his blood signifying that a new era has come, that it is his blood shed for many people for the forgiveness of sins – a new Liberation, a Salvation from their Sin that goes far beyond the liberation of the blood of the first Passover in Egypt, taking them beyond the Promised Land of Israel to the Kingdom of Heaven. Then Jesus tells his disciples he will not drink from this cup of wine with his disciples again until after his death, resurrection, and ascension at the time his Father’s Kingdom is consummated at the end of time. After this they sing the ending Psalm of the Passover meal as they leave for the Mount of Olives.
“Death Vow”
Quoting the Prophet Zechariah, “I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will scatter,” Jesus tells his disciples that they will run away from him when he gets arrested that very evening but that after he is crucified and rises from the dead, as their Shepherd he will wait for them in Galilee where he will gather them together again. When Peter tells Jesus that even if everyone else runs away he won’t, Jesus tells him he will not only run away but he will also deny knowing him on three separate occasions before morning comes. This led to Peter and the rest of the disciples making a vow to Jesus that they would die with him before they would ever deny knowing him.
“Wrath of God”
In Gethsemane Jesus asks his disciples to sit down and wait while he goes further to pray alone taking Peter, James and John along with him. Becoming troubled and overwhelmed with sorrow to the point he nearly dies from it, Jesus asks these disciples to sit down and stay awake with him while he goes even further to pray alone - falling face first to the ground asking God if it is possible for His wrath over the Sin of the world to be removed from him, but indicating his willingness to do God’s will ahead of his own.
Finding Peter, James and John sleeping when he returns to where he left them, Jesus asks Peter why he isn’t able to stay awake with him while he prays for one hour and tells him how important it is that he stay awake and pray so he doesn’t become tempted (to run away or deny him), also telling him that although he has a spirit that desires to do the right thing, he has a body whose nature desires sin instead.
When Jesus goes on again to pray a second time he tells God that if it isn’t possible for His wrath over the world’s Sin to be remove from him, that His will be done. Returning a second time to Peter, James and John he finds them sleeping again so he goes back and prays again for God’s will to be done. When he returns to these disciples a third time he wakes them up and tells them to get up, because it’s time for him to be arrested because his betrayer Judas is arriving.
“Kiss & Tell”
Arriving with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, Judas goes immediately to Jesus, greets him as “Teacher” and kisses him, his prearranged signal indicating which man they are to arrest. When Jesus calls Judas “friend” and tells him to do what he came, for the men with Judas arrest Jesus which precipitates one of the disciples striking the servant of the high priest with his sword cutting off his ear in the process. Jesus tells his disciple to put his sword away unless he wants to die right then and there. He also tells his disciple that he could ask God for 72,000 angels to protect him if he wanted to but then prophecy wouldn’t be fulfilled that tells how he must be handed over to suffer and die. Then Jesus asks the crowd why they’ve brought weapons to arrest him at night as if he’s the dangerous leader of some rebellion when he’s been teaching in broad daylight every day before their eyes in the temple courts. He tells them the very way they are arresting him fulfills prophecy about the Messiah (including that of Zechariah) at which point his disciples ran away in fear leaving him alone with his enemies.
“Reiterating Under Oath”
While Jesus is brought before religious leaders at the house of Caiaphas the high priest, Peter follows at a distance until he comes to the high priest’s courtyard where he enters and sits with the guards waiting to see what happens.
Even though many false witnesses come forward providing false evidence they were seeking to use against Jesus in order to justify killing him, the religious leaders aren’t able to conjure up anything significant. When two witnesses come forward to accuse Jesus of saying he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, Caiaphas asks him to respond to their accusation but Jesus says nothing. When Caiaphas then makes Jesus swear under oath by the Living God if he is the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus breaks his silence by reiterating what he said that put an end to the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ challenges to him – telling Caiaphas as prophesied in the Psalms he is both Son of God and Son of Man and they as his enemies will be made into his footstool when he returns in the future unmistakably sitting at the right hand of God the Father on Judgment Day when they will see him coming on the clouds of heaven. Upon hearing this, Caiaphas tears his clothes in disgust, accusing Jesus of blasphemy, asking others present to sentence him to death as they spit in his face, strike him with their fists, slap him, and as they mockingly call him Christ and ask him to prophesy which of them just hit him.
“Desperate Denial”
Out in the courtyard, first a servant girl, then another girl, and finally others standing around ask Peter if he is one of Jesus’ disciples. After denying it, denying it with an oath, and denying it with curses, a rooster crows, Peter remembers Jesus’ words and he goes outside the courtyard where he desperately weeps.
PRINCIPLES
Matthew writes to his first century readers (as he does to us today) that a new era was to begin when Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, in obedience to his Father’s will, accepted His Father’s wrath for the Sin of the world by suffering and dying on the cross, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins (commemorated in a new Passover meal), leading to a new Liberation for many - not only in this world but eternally in the Kingdom.
How does Matthew tell his readers this new era was to come about?
- With religious leaders scheming.
- With a woman anointing.
- With Judas betraying.
- With the disciples taking, eating & drinking.
- With Jesus agonizing.
- With the disciples sleeping.
- With a crowd arresting.
- With witnesses lying.
- With Jesus proclaiming.
- With Peter denying.
PRAYER
Our Father, We acknowledge our share in the sins of scheming, betraying, arresting, lying and denying that nailed your Son to the cross.
Our Father, We thank you for not taking Your wrath out on us for our Sin even though we are the ones who deserved it. We thank you instead for sending Your Son to Liberate us from Sin and Death in this world and eternally in Your Kingdom.
Our Father, We thank Your Son for the agony He endured emotionally, physically and spiritually when he prepared for the cross, when he was betrayed, when everyone deserted Him, when witnesses lied about Him, when Peter denied knowing Him and when He felt all alone and even forsaken by You.
Our Father, We thank You for the woman who prepared Your Son for burial by anointing him before he was crucified and we thank Your Son for preparing us until the day of Celebration arrives with Him in Your Kingdom by giving us the meal of His body and blood in the bread and wine we have been given to eat and drink.
Our Father, We thank Your Son for proclaiming that as both God and man he is positioned by Your right hand side where He will sit in Judgment of the world when He returns. We thank You that because of Your Son’s obedience many do not have to fear this day because they have been healed, they have been Liberated, they have been Saved.
Our Father, We ask that our Liberation be used to anoint others who are suffering of mind, body or soul or others who are dying. We ask that our Liberation be used to share the meal of body and blood with those who need to be prepared until the day of Celebration comes in Your Kingdom. We ask that our Liberation allow us to endure emotional, physical and spiritual agony for others when their burden is too great. We ask that our Liberation keep us from neglecting You when You are hungry, thirsty, naked, in prison, and in need of a home.
Our Father, We ask all of this in Jesus Name,
Amen.
PRAISE 'Glory To God (Lord's Supper) (The Lord's...' by John Michael Talbot @imeem http://x.imeem.com/BnR2803m3H
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