MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Doxology

Read It: Romans 16:25-27 (NRSV)

25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Learn It:

This type of writing that Paul wrote above is called a doxology.  dox - means praise and ology - means writing, so a doxology is a writing of praise to God.  There are many different types of doxologies that Paul and other writers in the Bible have written down for us.  The most famous would be: "praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him, all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."  This doxology was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken.  These types of writings are a way to talk about God and tell about all the great things that God does for us and all of creation.


Share It:
What are ways that you praise God in your daily life?  What are the different things that God does in your life that you are grateful for?  What are the things that you see in creation that just shouts that God is alive and active in the world?  How might your views or attitude change if you constantly looked for ways to praise God and ways that God does things for you?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your share it time together.


Live It:
During this week take some time either alone or with your family and write your own doxology (praise writing).  Think about what kinds of things you are grateful for that God does in your life and write them in a way that gives praise to God.  

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The Thankful Christian

Read It:  1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NRSV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.


Learn It:
I don't  know about you but this seems a pretty hard task for even the best of Christians.  There are times in our lives when we get down and sad and it makes it hard to rejoice.  We also have so many things going on: work, sleep, cooking, chores, etc. that it makes it hard to pray without stopping to do other things.  When we are down and having a hard time it makes it hard to rejoice in everything that happens to us.  Let's take a look at what this might mean though: Rejoicing always means that we should always remember that in both the good times and bad times in our lives we have a God that loves and cares for us so much God gave us Jesus as a sacrifice.  In that we can always rejoice. To pray without ceasing is to again always keep God and the work of Jesus in the forefront of our minds.  It doesn't have to be a formal prayer but an offering of our thoughts up to God.  In those ways we can then give thanks to God knowing and seeing all that God does in our lives in all circumstances.  


Share It:
Spend some time today talking about the things that God does in your lives.  What can you see that God does in both the good and the bad?  What do you see God do in the extraordinary and in the ordinary everyday things?  What are ways that you can give thanks to God for those things?  What offerings can you lift up to God for all the circumstances that you have gone through?  Talk about these and other things that come up during your time together.


Live It:
This week as you work, play, etc. spend some time focusing on rejoicing in the things that God has given you and how you are able to to work through life knowing the blessings you have from God.  That will be your way of rejoicing always and by constantly "thinking" about those blessings you will in a way be praying without ceasing.  Enjoy those blessings!

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God Time

Read It: 2 Peter 3:8 (NRSV)

8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 

Learn It:

This passage is often taken literally to mean that there will be a reign of Christ for 1,000 years.  As we know though it has been longer than that since Christ died and rose again; in fact it has been almost double that since then.  This passage then is not a literal passage about when things might happen but is a passage about how we see time and God see time.  God sees the whole scope of what has happened in the past and where God wants the world to go.  God is trying to bring all things to God's self.  We see time as moving forward and God sees it more as drawing to.  I know this is a deep concept but I think it's helpful to understand that our time and God's time isn't quite the same thought process as ours is.

Share It:

Bring out a clock and time your conversation together today.  Have you ever experienced a time when a moment or an hour or some length of time seemed either much longer or much shorter than the time actually was?  Why do you think that happens?  Sometimes in our own lives time doesn't always seem to be equal even though we know that it is.  So if the passage isn't literal what do you think this verse is all about?  What message about God and about Jesus do you think the author is trying to convey?  The author is using this verse when talking about Jesus coming again; so with that in mind why do you think that he is saying these things? 

Live It:

Take this week and make sure you have a clock with you.  Spend some time this week in prayer and spend it in other various ways and see how much time might fly or slow down for you.  Think about the ways that we spend our time and see how this passage might relate to any or all of it.

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Soft Like Clay

Read It:  Isaiah 64:8 (NRSV)

   8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; 

    we are the clay, and you are our potter; 

    we are all the work of your hand. 

Learn It:

This is some wonderful imagery about how God can use us.  I am not very good at pottery but I do know that it takes a lot of time and patience to get a piece just right.  When I was in grade school I would spend a very long time in class trying to get my pottery to look nice but it didn't ever come out well.  I have proof in the form of a Halloween pumpkin that my mother gave back to me.  It sits as a decoration at our home and it is so deformed the lid that I made for it barely sits on top and probably would fall of at any movement.  To be honest the pumpkin looks like a pumpkin you would throw away because it was sitting outside too long.  It's that bad.  My point being that God takes extra special time to care for us by molding us into the artwork that God created us to be.  The work that we do truly is the handiwork of God who first created us and gave us all things.  

Share It:

See if you have some clay or some silly putty or play-doh around the house.  Spend some time talking about the different things you can do with it and create with it.  Is it easy to get things just the way you want them to look?  What is the hardest part and what is the easiest part?  What do you think that God is working you into at this time in your life?  Are you a hard clay or an easy clay right now?  Talk about these and other things that come up during your time together.

Live It:

Take this week and go get some clay or something else that you can mold into something.  Think of what you want to make and spend some quality time putting it together.  See how it comes out and think about how much concentration you put into it and how proud you are of it (even if it isn't as wonderful as you thought or imagined in your head).

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Sought After

Read It:  Ezekiel 34:15-16 (NRSV)

 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. 


Learn It:
What a wonderful gift to be sought after by the shepherd.  In this passage God seems to take this opportunity to not rely on or use other shepherds (i.e. prophets or kings) to seek out the sheep.  In this passage God decides to take all of this into God's own hands.  The language here is wonderful in that God will seek us out...God comes to us looking for us when we are lost.  That indicates that sometimes we might stray and not realize it and God will come and bring us back into the fold.  God will help all who are injured and all who are weak.  God is here to look out for all of us that have lost the way and have been pushed aside from those who are fat and strong.  We have a God that will look out for us in all the difficult times in our lives.


Share It:
Try to think about a time in your life of faith that you have strayed from your beliefs.  How did you get back to the flock?  Who or what was it that brought you back?  This might be a good time for parents to do most of the sharing and let the children listen.  It's good to understand that faith can sometimes be difficult and that through it all, or in the end you kept or strengthened your faith.  When are times when you think your faith might be challenged or when you might have a lot of questions about your faith?  Why do you think that you might have those questions during those times?  Share these thoughts and other ideas that come up during your sharing this week.


Live It:
This week I simply want you to live out your faith walk to the fullest.  As you do, and as you realize how much freedom we have in this part of the world I want you to say a simple prayer for those who don't have the freedom to live out their Christian faith because of persecution.  Pray for them and their families and for those who persecute them.  

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Spending Your Talents

Read It: Matthew 25:18 (NRSV)

18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 


Learn It:
This verse comes from the story of the Parable of the Talents.  1 Talent in Jesus' time was worth about 15 years worth of a regular workers wages.  So when the man in the parable hands his servants 5, 2, and 1 talents for them to care for, you can see a person handed this much money might be a bit hesitant to try to spend it because there is a good chance they could never pay the money back.  However, Jesus shows us that it is good for us to 'risk' using our talents (our gifts) for the master's will (God) than to hide it in a hole.  Jesus is telling all of us to use the gifts we have been given instead of hiding them or only using them for ourselves.  


Share It:
What kinds of talents (not the money kind in the story) do you have that you can use to glorify God?  What are ways that you can make your gifts 'double' as the servants did in the parable that Jesus tells?  How can using the gifts God gave you make them do more than just knowing you have them?  Do you know what gifts you have?  Do you think you have discovered all of them right now or do you think you might have more gifts from God waiting to be discovered?


Live It:
Spend this next week using the good gifts that God gave you to help others or to spread the word of God.  Gifts (talents) come in all different shapes and sizes and sometimes might not even seem like a gift.  Try to use what you're good at to help your neighbors out this week.  Maybe you'll discover a new talent in the process!

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Interactions

Read It:  Matthew 5:3-12 (NRSV)

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 


Learn It:
There has always been much discussion about the beatitudes listed above.  Many people wonder why Jesus would say blessed (or happy) are those people who experience these things.  This passage is one that tends to stump a lot of people about what Jesus means by all of these sayings.  One thing you could say that these sayings all boil down to is our attitude/behavior toward God and toward our neighbors.  They don't have to deal with following certain laws or rituals but instead about how we interact with those we encounter. 


Share It:
With the idea that these qualities might be behaviors or attitudes toward God and neighbor read the passage above again line by line and try to see as a family how your responses might fit into each one.  How did you see the passage before you came up with your responses and how do you see the passage now?  Is it more confusing now or less confusing?  


Live It:
Try to pick one of the above beatitudes and try one out.  If it is one that you decided works with God then interact with God that way this week and if you chose a one that has to do with your neighbor then try to figure out how you can interact with a neighbor in that way.  

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Heart not Head

Read It: Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NRSV)

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. 


Learn It:
Today is Reformation Sunday.  The day the Lutheran church celebrates the day that Martin Luther began to see the inconsistencies between what he was reading in the Bible and what he was being taught about his faith. For many Christians it would be a new beginning and a new understanding for their faith. This is what this text is all about.  This text is about a new beginning between God and God's people.  God no longer wants to rely on them hearing about God but wants all people to know God not just as something read or heard but as something that they truly know in their hearts.  Sometimes it can be easy to "know" something in your head but not always "know" or "believe" in your heart.  


Share It:
Have you had the experience where you knew something to be true or right but it never really clicked until later in your life when you then were able to really know or believe it?  What was it?  How did it happen and what was the catalyst that brought about the change from head to heart?  Why do you think it might be harder to believe something than it is to just understand it?  What do you think the difference is between the two?  Share these questions and other ideas that might come up during your discussion.


Live It:
Spend this week thinking about the things you know in your head and things you know in your heart.  What is the difference and why are there some things that haven't switched from head to heart?  Try to identify those things and see if you can really focus in on it and try to begin to make that shift.  I don't think you'll make the shift in that week but try to work on reforming your head and your mind.  Blessings!

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Survey Says...

Read It: Matthew 22:37-40 (NRSV)

37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Learn It:

At the time of this question about what is the greatest commandment Jesus has already entered into Jerusalem for the final part of his ministry leading up to his death.  The Pharisees and Sadducees are doing whatever they can to try to stop Jesus and have his followers deny him.  They ask a series of questions trying to trick him into answering their questions in such a way that will prove that he is not a prophet but simply a phony who isn't worth following at all.  The reason why this question was meant to be tricky is that there were 613 mitzvot (commands) in the Old Testament.  As Christians we only focus on the 10 Commandments but every time God declared the people to do something it became a mitzvot, a commandment.  So you can see the whole idea of picking which one is greater than the rest is not quite so easy.  

Share It:

Think about your favorite items.  What are they (color, ice cream, sport, instrument, musical group, movie, TV show, subject in school, etc)?  Is it always easy to come up with your single most favorite thing for everything?  If your parents (whether you are an adult or child right now) gave you 613 rules to follow (I know it may seem like they do or did) do you think you could remember all of them well enough to make sure that you didn't break a single one of them?  What if they broke it down to something simple like love your parents and love your siblings?  Would that be easier?  Why or why not?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your time together.

Live It:

Spend this next week living by rules of love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  It's just two rules you have to follow this week.  See how well you do and see how loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself might change the way that you interact with people this week.  

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Giving Your All

Read It: Matthew 22:21b (NRSV)

 “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Learn It:

Jesus shows the Pharisees that we must obey the civil laws of the society that we live in but we must also live out the calling that God has called us to be and do.  When we are baptized we die to our old lives and we then live out our new lives in Christ Jesus.  Those new lives are dedicated to the service of God who created all things.  Since God created all things the idea about giving to God what is God's is really about giving God our everything.  Jesus is teaching the Pharisees and us that our lives need to reflect the promises and gifts that God gives us each day.  The way we live out those gifts is how we give to God what is God's...which again is our all.

Share It:

Based on what you read above what does it mean to you to give to God what is God's and give to the emperor (the government) what is the emperor's?  In what ways do you already do that?  What are some ways that you can continue to give your all to God?  What are areas that you might be able to do more for God?  When you first read this passage did the idea of belonging to God come to mind or what did you think the passage was about?  How has your perspective changed?  How might it have stayed the same?  Discuss these and other questions or ideas that come up during your conversations.

Live It:

In the Share It section you talked about what areas you might be able to do more for God.  Use that idea or pick one if you had several and figure out a way to live that out this week.  See how giving more back to God who created all of this for us might help you to become closer to God and to the rest of God's creation.  

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The Strength of the Lord

Read It: Philippians 4:13 (NRSV)


 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 


Learn It:

This is a rather famous passage of the Bible that is used in many different circumstances of people's lives.  It is also a very common passage that youth pick when choosing their confirmation verse.  The thing to be noted is that this passage is not a passage about Paul but a passage about what Christ can do through Paul.  It is Paul's faith that gives him the ability to carry on through the good times and the bad times, or as Paul puts it through times of plenty and through times of having little. This passage then is not a passage about thinking better of yourself but about all the wonderful things that Christ does for us in any circumstance of our lives.  That is the great gift that God offers to us...to never leave us alone.

Share It:

What does it mean to you that you can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens you?  What are times in your life when you have felt strengthened to do God's work?  Did you rely heavily on God helping you through those times?  How can you see God when you have plenty and when you have little?  What does it mean to never be alone because you have Christ with you always?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your conversation.

Live It:

During this week when you face a difficult task in your day think about this passage and ask for God's help to get you through it.  See how relying on God's strength can help you through the good and the difficult times in your life.  

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The Right Stuff

Read It: Philippians 4:8-9 (NRSV)

⁸Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.  

Learn It:

This passage is a wonderful reminder for us each day.  It reminds us to think about all those good things in our lives that we can do for ourselves and for others.  Think about what is true...not what is true like a true false question but what is God's truth.  Think about what is honorable...what are the things that you can do that will honor God.  What is commendable...what are the things you can do that God will say you have done well my good and faithful servant.  What things can you do that will bring about not your praise and your excellence but let others see the praise and excellence of God.  Keep doing each and every one of those things and the peace of God will be with you.  God's peace isn't just a nice time of quiet, but God's peace is something that goes much deeper and more complete.  Having peace with God is being in relationship with God.  Peace with God is fulling trusting in God's promises and knowing that God's promises are faithful and true.  

Share It:

What are the times when you have felt God's peace?  When have you felt that you were in a full relationship with God?  Was it a time when you were away or just a moment where you felt everything was right with the world?  What are some ways that you can help to spread that peace?  What kinds of true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing and commendable things can you do for God to help bring about his peace?  Share these questions and anything else that may come up during this time.

Live It:

Try to find a way this week to live in peace with God, or try to find a way to live out one of those ways in the passage above.  Try to be just or pure or honorable, etc...

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How Can I Help?

Read It:  Philippians 2:3-5 (NRSV)

 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus..."

Learn It:

That is hard!  I remember playing sports when I was a teenager and I know I constantly regarded (thought of) myself as better than other people on my own team and better than players on other teams.  I wasn't so good, however, that I thought I was better than everyone else.  This passage from the letter to the Philippians teaches us some valuable lessons.  So often in sports, in school, in work we are taught to compete and be better than everyone else so that we can get ahead in the world.  I'm sure it was similar when Jesus was around too.  You have to be good at what you do to make a living, but I think the point trying to be made here is to realize that we cannot think of ourselves always above others or we will be selfish all the time.  The more we think about ourselves the less time we have to pay attention to others.  If we have the same mind as Christ Jesus then we would pay attention to the needs of those around us as he did and realize that the skills and talents we have may be used to better ourselves but they might be able to do a lot more to help others too.

Share It:

Where are the places and times when you feel most competitive or feel that you really do need to be better than others?  Do you notice at those times or in those situations that your benefit might or does come at the expense of others?  In what ways can you look at the interests of other people so that you aren't always focused on how things might benefit you?  How might humbling yourself by helping others might exalt you in the sight of God?  Share these thoughts and others that might come up as you talk with your family.

Live It:

As you go through this week take a look around you and try setting your goal or agenda aside and helping someone who might be struggling with theirs.  See how it makes you and the person you helped feel.  See how helping out people for the good of the community might be better than working for you own gains.  

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