December 30, 2018 Epiphany? Epiphany Sunday

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”a 7Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Matthew 2:1–12 (NKJV)

So often we go through the year not even noticing the Christian Year which should guide our worship and help us understand the flow of salvation. Even worse not knowing what the days and seasons mean.

Take Epiphany. This word to some means the 3 kings coming to honor Jesus seen in the the song “We Three Kings of Orient Are” and the many TV shows of the 3 kings appearing at the birth of Jesus. The definition of Epiphany is:

e·piph·a·ny NOUN

1. the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
   • the festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.
   • a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
   • a moment of sudden revelation or insight.

But the story of the three kings is really “misguided theology”. We may call them kings but the term is defined as:

Transliteration: Magog pronunciation: mag'-os Definition: of foreign origin; a Magian, i.e. Oriental scientist; by implication, a magician:—sorcerer, wise man. Occurrences in the NT: 6 KJV Translations: wise man (4x), sorcerer (2x). From The Interlinear Greek - English New Testament: Cross-linked to Strong's Dictionary .

Some also teach there were three Magi but in truth the Bible does not tell us the number of the Magi but only the number of gifts! Gold was a gift to recognize a king or a person of great power. Frankincense was part of the spices used in the Temple to worship God and Myrrh was a spice used in to burial of bodies. We can see the fullness of Jesus and His ministry in these gifts.

Gold = king

Frankincense = recognition and worshiping God.

Myrrh = death and burial.

Of the three gold was the least valuable!

The Magi did not come when Jesus was born but according to the Bible Jesus was a child and the Magi told Herod the Child had been born in the last two years. Could it be the coming of the Magi was a foretelling Jesus would both reach out and draw in those from around the world with the message of God's salvation and a new life?

Have you taken time to honor the Child who came to you and for you? What gift do you bring? To paraphrase a saying “What shall I give Him poor as I am? I will give Him my heart!”

December 23,2018 Fourth Sunday of Advent Isaiah 53:10-12

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:10-12 (NKJV)

In verses 10-12 we are shown the fulfillment of the suffering of Jesus.

A. It was the will (Sometimes translated desire or pleasure.) of God to bruise Jesus, and make Him an offering for sin.

B. The will of the Lord will prosper in His hand and He shall see offspring from His sacrifice. His days shall be prolonged.

C. He shall see the fruit of His sufferings and be satisfied. By His righteousness many shall be declared righteous.

D. Jesus shall have a portion with the great, and will divide the spoil with the strong. Because He poured His soul out in death, and was numbered with transgressors. Bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Define: Intercede -

Righteous -

(It is important to realize that the definition of regular dictionaries may not have the same meaning as Biblical dictionaries or the meaning of the Greek word which you can find in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.)

What do you think the “fruit of His sufferings” means?

As you prepare for Christmas read the second chapter of Luke and celebrate the real Gift of Christmas!

Meditate on verses 10-12 and write down what they mean to you and how what Jesus did affects you. What will you give Jesus as a birthday present?

Christmas is coming shining so bright

Jesus turned our darkness into light

creations darkness now shining bright

God becomes a Child, a Child of light!           12/21/2018

Jesus came as God wrapped in human flesh

Jesus was then wrapped in swaddling cloths

Jesus was then wrapped in His burial cloths

Oh God, please wrap us in Your amazing love!     12/20/2018

December 16,2018 Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 53:7-9

7He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Isaiah 53:7-9 (NKJV)

Here we find a list of what it cost Jesus Christ to save us from ourselves.

A. Oppressed, yet He didn’t complain. Jesus was silent like a sheep before the shearers.

B. He was taken away (killed) by oppression and judgment, and His generation was cut off from life. He was stricken for others.

C. Though Jesus did no violence, and had never lied, He was buried as a wicked man in another man’s tomb.

Why did Jesus do this?

Matthew Chapter 1 gives us the “generations” of Jesus going back to Adam. What does it mean in verse 8 when it asks “And who will declare His generation?”

Verse 9 tells us they made the grave of Jesus with the wicked but with the rich at his death.

How is this fulfilled in the Gospels?

What does this mean to you and for you?

Meditate on verses 7-9 and write down what they mean to you and how what Jesus did affects you.

December 9,2018 Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 53:4-6

4Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6 NKJV

Verses 4-6 reveal what Jesus came to do for us. Take time to reflect on what each one means and write a description down.

A. Borne our grief’s.

B. Carried our sorrows.

C. Wounded for our transgressions.

D. Bruised for our iniquities.

E. His chastisement made us whole.

F. With His stripes we are healed.

G. All our iniquity was laid on Him.

This scripture then shows our “appreciation” as we esteemed Him stricken of God and so smitten and afflicted. All this was done even though we like sheep had left the flock to go our own way. Christian or not we all sin and do not appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus and what it cost.

Define transgression -

Define Iniquity -

Chastise -

Meditate on verses 4-6 and write down what it means to you and how what Jesus did affects you.

The next four Sundays are the Season of Advent which is a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. Christmas comes from Christ and Mass which means God come in the flesh! This season we will look at the promise of the birth of Jesus as seen in Isaiah 53 and since this is a time to meditate and discover these Advent messages will a time of questions rater than messages.

Heaven and earth wait in hopeful anticipation

will the promise finally come to completion

Will Hope be born into despairing creation

Will Life be resurrection for dying creation

The stars await their dance of celebration

Angels prepare to sing a song of celebration

December 2,2018 First Sunday of Advent Isaiah 53:1-3

“1 ¶ Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:1-3 NKJV)

God gives Isaiah a revelation of the coming Messiah to help God’s people know the Messiah who will come one day.

Do you think they understood this description?

Does this seem an unusual picture of Jesus to you?

What surprises you most about this?

How does this description affect how you see Jesus?

How can you use this description to share Jesus with others?

Take time to write down your description of Jesus.