Skip to main content

Celebrating Advent - December 22

By



Sing: The First Noel

Reading: Luke 2:8-12
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Summary (for your preparation): Once again, this isn't the way I would have done it. If I were sovereign I would have provided a better place for Jesus to be born. If I were God I would not have told the shepherds in the fields first about the birth of Jesus...good thing I am not God.

God does tell the shepherds first. Normally they would be last. They were the lowliest, the most insignificant and least influential part of society. They didn't carry any clout and they wouldn't have had any wealth or power. Yet, they have the distinct honor of being the first ones to hear the birth announcement of Jesus.

If you can get past the surface, however, going to the shepherds of Israel actually does make sense. After all, Jesus was born in poverty, he too was lowly. Jesus was going to be a shepherd, who better to hear about the birth of the shepherd of Israel than the shepherds of Israel? The very fact that the Savior for all people was being announced to the ones who would normally be left out makes a ton of sense. If Jesus is accessible to the shepherds then he is accessible to all. This is good news...for all people!

Teaching Tip: Get your children to try and imagine that they are a shepherd on a normal night. They are keeping watch, trying protect the sheep from thieves and dangerous animals. Then, all of a sudden, the sky lights up and you are blasted with glory of God and an angel, something you have NEVER seen or were ever expecting to see is standing there before you. How incredible would that be? 

Questions/Responses:

Who are the first people that hear about the birth of Jesus? The shepherds of Israel

 Why is this special? Jesus was going to be a shepherd...shepherds normally would not have been told about big events because people thought they were unimportant. 

 How did the shepherds first respond? Fear

 Do you think you would have been scared? It seems like most people who encounter an angel get very scared...

What did the angel say? Don't fear...I bring you good news that will be for all people

 Good news for all people! Even the shepherds? Yes, we know God means all people because the shepherds are not left out

 What is this good news? A savior is born: Jesus Christ. He is going to save his people from their sins

 *Note: Tomorrow we will discuss with a little more detail what many people were really hoping for, namely, a savior not to deal with their sin but a savior to deliver them from Roman rule. 

Prayer and Ending

Prayer: Father in heaven, we praise you for you wisdom and knowledge. Who has known the mind of the Lord and who has been his counselor? Oh the depths of the riches of the knowledge of God! We stand in awe at the way you work in history and the way you work in our lives today. We trust you, that you are always meaning to do good to your children because you sent your son into this world to bring good news for all people. We thank you for Jesus and we thank you that the invitation to come to him extends to all people everywhere. May we have faith to see him and believe in him with all of our hearts. AMEN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more