CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: TEN LEPERS

 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES

TEN LEPERS (LUKE 17:11-19)

 

Location of Miracle: Along the border of Samaria & Galilee

 

Set the Scene: 

o   The first century culture in which Jesus lived had many people who lived on the margins of society, such as lepers. They were outsiders looking in, hoping that Jesus would have mercy on them. 

o   Perhaps the closest cultural equivalent to first-century attitudes about leprosy would be current attitudes about COVID and the fear and quarantine issues that surround it. 

 

 

READ Luke 17:11-19. 

 

Big Take-Aways:

 

o   Jesus’ Jewish hearers would be delighted to hear that these lepers were healed. However, they would be shocked to hear that the only one who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans was bitter and widespread. 

o   Jesus will minister to any who reach out to Him. None are turned away. Even the Samaritans, who are the outcasts of all outcasts, are not bypassed. 

o   Why did only one return to say thank you? 

 

o   The Samaritan does not go to the temple to offer a sacrifice to God for his cleansing, but instead returns to Jesus. He recognizes that the restorative power of God is in Jesus. Only here in all the New Testament do we see thanks directed to Jesus. Elsewhere, all gratitude is directed to God.

o   Jesus came to provide healing: physical and spiritual. Jesus was here to change the course of human history: to provide salvation through the forgiveness of sins, to reverse the results of the fall, to bring true restoration to creation. 

 

Call to Action:

o   Jesus dined and partied with people living on the margins of society. Who are the people we need to reach out to? 

o   A grateful heart is a recognition of God’s grace. 

o   Give thanks in all circumstances! 1 Thess. 5:18

o   Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything! Ephesians 5:20

o   Every good & perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father. James 1:17

o   What can you do to cultivate a grateful heart?

Pastoral Prayer: December 13, 2020

 Rejoice in the Lord always!

Again I say, REJOICE!

 

God of love’s increasing light, 

our Advent journey brings us closer and closer 

to our celebration of Your incarnate presence among us. 

We are joyful about what this will mean: 

a new revelation of goodness and peace 

that will shine the way forward 

as we share the hope of Christ with others. 

Our anticipation grows as we near the manger,

yet there is still so much time, 

and so many activities that separate us 

from that moment of rest and relief.

 

In these moments of restlessness and hurry, 

we intentionally set aside this time today

to pause….

to anticipate Your coming into our world,

to sing songs of Your joy and love,

and to pray for Your peace and hope.

With Your coming, 

You bring light into a dark world;

joy into a painful world;

hope into a fearful world;

love into a lonely world;

and peace into an anxious world. 

O Holy God of Joy,

we rejoice in the reality of who You are. 

We live within the joy of Your love for us. 

Our contentment comes and goes. 

Our happiness ebbs and flows. 

Our feelings depend upon our circumstances. 

But our joy, O God, 

our joy is deeply rooted 

in our identity

as Your beloved children. 

And, for this, we give You thanks.

 

O Lord, we seek joy, 

the kind of joy that You bestow,

and the kind of joy that runs deeper than what can be seen. 

 

We long to rejoice in the midst of so much difficulty,

whether in our own lives,

or in the lives of others close to us in body or spirit. 

We wish joy for those with struggles: 

physical, emotional, financial, or relational, 

especially during a season meant to be filled with glad expectation.

 

Let us listen fully and deeply for the hope You are preparing.

Let us greet Your hope with the same joy 

Elizabeth had when she greeted Mary.

Let us listen intently for the faith You are preparing in us.

Let us listen intensely to Your truth speaking in us.

Let us listen wholly to the hope You place in us.

 

O God, may genuine joy sustain us. 

May authentic hope and peace surround us. 

And as we continue our journey, 

may Your divine love welcome us.

 

For it is in the name of the Coming One we pray these words that He taught us to pray: 

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #37: THE CANAANITE WOMAN

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES

A CANAANITE WOMAN (MATTHEW 15:21-28; MARK 7:24-30)

 

Location of Miracle: In the region of Tyre and Sidon, far north on the eastern bank of the Mediterranean Sea

 

Set the Scene: 

 

o   The term “Canaanite” is associated with Old Testament pagan inhabitants of Palestine. This was a group displaced by the Jews. And this is a WOMAN! 

 

o   In her region, three miles northwest of Sidon, was a temple dedicated to Eshmun, a god of healing. However, the Canaanite woman seeks out Jesus for healing her daughter. 

 

o   Why was Jesus in Tyre? It was so far away from Galilee… Well, we don’t know, but it is reasonable to speculate that Jesus was seeking to avoid a threat of some kind that would send Him to His death before it was time. One commentator notes that it may be that Herod Antipas, believing that Jesus was his old enemy John the Baptist come back to life, was looking to capture Jesus. In any case, Tyre and Sidon were Gentile regions, so Jesus and the disciples moved into areas that most Jews would have considered unclean. 

 

o   Galilee, which should have been friendly territory to Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, proved hostile because of the influence of the Pharisees and scribes. Tyre and Sidon, which should have been hostile to Christ given the history of God’s people, would be much friendlier to Him. 

 

READ Matthew 15:21-28. 

 

Big Take-Aways:

 

o   Jews vs. Gentiles – Jesus’s ministry focus was on the Jewish people; however, He was the Bread of Life for all people. The “children’s bread” (Matthew 15:26) is a symbol of the messianic fulfillment promised to Israel, and Jesus is fulfilling that prophecy. The crumbs (15:27) reflect that God will bless all. 

 

o   The Canaanite woman was persistent. “Crying out” in Matthew 15:22 is an imperfect tense in the Greek, suggesting a continuing action, “she kept on crying out to Jesus.” She was bold, gutsy! She was not going to leave without her daughter being set free!  She believed her daughter had a right to be set free. 

 

o   The focus of this miracle is not on the healing, but on the Gentile woman who makes the request. Note the contrast between the disciples’ lack of faith and this woman’s non-Jewish faith. 

 

o   Jesus showed great love and compassion in granting the Canaanite woman’s request, even though it was outside His main mission to Israel. Imagine what this would have meant to the woman. How have you experienced love and compassion from Jesus in your life? No one else received from Jesus the accolade, “GREAT IS YOUR FAITH!” Only this Gentile woman heard these words. Jesus loves all; He is modeling for His disciples, and for US, the need to rethink ethnocentric views and reach out to EVERYONE. 

 

Call to Action: How can we put aside our judgment and reach out to EVERYONE?

Pastoral Prayer: December 6, 2020

Hope nonetheless.
Hope despite.
Hope regardless.
Hope still.
 
Hope where we had ceased to hope.
Hope amid what threatens hope.
Hope with those who feed our hope.
Hope beyond what we had hoped.
 
Hope that draws us past our limits.
Hope that defies expectations.
Hope that questions what we have known.
Hope that makes a way where there is none.
 
Hope that takes us past our fear.
Hope that calls us into life.
Hope that holds us beyond death.
Hope that blesses those to come.
 
Gracious and Loving God, 
we delight in singing praises of our Faithful God:
Blessed be the Lord our God, 
for favoring His people with grace and mercy, 
with peace and joy. 
We celebrate Your direct relationship with Your people, 
for the way Your mighty promises 
have been revealed as fulfilled and completed 
to a struggling humanity.
Our minds cannot comprehend the magnitude of these gifts, 
and so together, with our whole hearts, we say: 
“Praise to the Lord our God for the gift of Your presence with us 
and the hope found in all of Your promises.”
Just as Zechariah celebrated the new hope 
he had been given through Your revelations, 
so we, too, praise and thank You for renewal, 
by which Your hope continues to bless us. 
This gift of hope - confident expectation - 
is always new and precious to us;
the hope we find in You is 
so much more that our idle day-dreams, 
or our wistful wishes; 
Your hope is abundantly more than 
our ambitions of personal or professional success; 
and Your hope supersedes our most optimistic plans. 
Through Your gracious gift of a living hope, 
we have something to cling to that is tangible and real; 
something that we can believe in, 
to trust and rely upon.
You promised hope to the Israelites, 
and You kept Your promise.
You promised hope in the coming of Your Son, 
and He is hope for the world.
You promised hope to the early church, 
and that hope was not denied.
You promise hope to us, 
and we pray for strength when our faith falters.
 
We confidently trust You, believing that Your word is true.
And so, O Lord, we lift up our heads, 
our hearts and hands in prayer.
We lift up to You our longings for hope in a despairing world.
We lift up to You our need for hope 
in a time of deep hopelessness in our world.
We lift up to You our deep desire for hope 
in a bleak and sometimes depressing world.
 
O Lord, anoint us with Your lavish love, 
so it fills our lives 
and splashes over on everyone around us. 
May our minds stay focused on you, 
         our hearts filled with You, 
and our arms outstretched for You.
 
We pray all these things in the name of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray as one people... 
 
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #36: WALKING ON WATER

 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES

WALKING ON WATER (MATTHEW 14:24-33, MARK 6:48-52; JOHN 6:16-21)

 

In the presence of God, fear can be dismissed.

 

Location of Miracle: Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee lies 650 below sea level and is surrounded by mountains that reach an elevation of 2,000-4,000 feet. The cool Mediterranean air from the west collides with the heated desert air, creating strong winds and frequent storms that swirl over the Sea. 

 

Set the Scene: 

o   Jesus was exhausted. John the Baptist, His friend and His cousin, had just been executed. The apostles had returned from their ministry tour, and Jesus just wanted to get away with His friends to be quiet and rest for awhile. But the crowds followed them. So He had to feed them – spiritually through teaching and physically with loaves and fish. He needed to get away and rest. The crowds wanted to make Him king, and He had to resist that temptation.

o   So He sent His disciples onward, and He went to pray in the mountains alongside the Sea of Galilee… for NINE hours. 

 

READ Matthew 14:24-33. 

 

Big Take-Aways:

o   The disciples had been struggling & rowing in the boat for NINE hours. There was a strong wind blowing! Between the storm, and Jesus walking on water, do you think they were scared?!

o   Why did Peter sink? 

o   Was he afraid? 

o   Did he doubt who Jesus was? 

o   Or did he doubt Jesus’s calling on His life? 

o   Fear before the presence of God was very common in the Old Testament: Adam is afraid when he hears God’s voice in the Garden of Eden after sinning; Abraham and his wife Sarah are afraid when God speaks to them; Jacob is afraid after God appears to Him in a dream. 

o   In this miracle, Jesus revealed His true identity! 

o   “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

§  He is not just the Messiah; He is God. 

§  God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14)

§  Did the disciples understand who Jesus was? “Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

 

Call to Action:

We all start out with a level of ineffective faith like Peter, but it grows as Jesus shows Himself faithful to us over time. What is your process of understanding Jesus’ true identity from your conversion to present? What events took place to help you understand Jesus better?

Pastoral Prayer: November 29, 2020

Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, 
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Immanuel. God with us. 
O good and gracious God,
this season is unlike any other we’ve experienced. 
This year, we have found it difficult to give thanks. 
Maybe it’s Covid, maybe it’s being far away from family, 
maybe it’s the uncertainty that seems to loom over all of us... 
Sitting down to give thanks only seems to magnify the sadness. 
 
As we transition from a season of Thanksgiving
to preparing our hearts during Advent, 
grief and gratitude seem to speak louder now 
than in any other season of the year. 
But Lord, there You are, ever-present and ever-faithful,
reminding us that grief and gratitude go hand-in-hand. 
Grief is the voice that reminds us of perceived loss, 
while gratitude is the voice that reminds us of what we have 
and how much we’ve received. 
We can feel them both with an equal amount of intensity: 
one does not diminish the other; 
one does not replace or overcome the other;
they co-exist in our human hearts. 
 
Teach us, O Lord, to lean into both, and let each speak,
for as Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes,
the celebration of Advent is possible 
only to those who are troubled in soul, 
who know themselves to be poor and imperfect,
and who look forward to something greater to come. 
 
And, Lord, yes, yes, we know we are imperfect. 
If we are honest,  
we admit that we would rather skip right past the preparation, 
for which Advent is designed, 
and move straight to the celebration. 
 
We confess that our time of preparation 
is generally more of a time 
to prepare our houses than a time to prepare our hearts, 
more of a time of shopping than of prayer, 
more of a time of already feasting, 
rather than a time of fasting, as a preparation for a feast.
 
We confess that, like the biblical innkeepers, 
who had no room for Mary and Joseph, 
we generally arrive at Christmas with “no room at the inn,” 
no space in our lives for a spiritual rebirth. 
But Lord, if this year has taught us anything, 
it is this: we are ready for a spiritual revival. 
 
As we juggle these voices and desires, 
and seek to equalize the pressures of the world,
there You are, Lord, 
reminding us that You are ever-present, 
ever-faithful, ever-aware. 
God, You are... here. 
You are in our grief. 
You are in our gratitude. 
You are in our fasting.
You are in our feasting. 
You are in our preparation. 
You are in our celebration. 
You are in our ruts.
You are in our revival.
You ARE. 
 
These reminders alone 
fill our hearts and allow joy to spring up, 
for our hope is in You alone.
We yield our control to You, Lord. 
We cast our cares and our anxieties upon You.
Our eyes are focused on who You are, 
and the peace you freely give.
 
We pray these things in the name of the Coming One, Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace, who taught us to pray by saying these words: 
 
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
 
 

Pastoral Prayer: November 22, 2020

O Good and Gracious God,

King of all glory,

You have blessed us with a cornucopia of goodness. 

And You have blessed us with great bounties:

warm homes, food on the table, 

and loving people around us that care for us.

We do not all have the same blessings, 

but we have enough -  

for You, O Lord, always provide just enough. 

When we truly seek to examine our lives,  

we find we have riches beyond realization. 

Holy God, we strive to be mindful and thankful, 

as we seek Your grace and compassion.
And so, we confess these careless thoughts to You: 

 

We confess that sometimes we are barely thankful;
          we say the words, and put a smile on our faces,

but don’t feel gratitude in our hearts.

 

We confess that sometimes we forget how to say thank You;
         we have become arrogant, saying, “I earned this,”
          thinking we have only ourselves to thank. 

We confess that sometimes we are too jealous to be thankful;
          we compare ourselves to others who have more,

saying  “Why do they get everything?”,
          yet we rarely compare ourselves to those who have less.

We confess that sometimes we are too busy to be thankful;
          we asked ourselves this morning, “Do I have time to go to church?”
          and even in worship we are thinking about our to-do lists.

 We confess that sometimes we are grudgingly thankful;
          saying, “I guess this will have to do,”
          while believing that You have given us a raw deal.

We confess that sometimes we are too tired to be thankful,
          as we sigh, “I just want to get through this day,”
          having no energy to open our eyes to Your miracles and blessings around us.

We confess that sometimes we are not thankful enough to be generous;
          we bargain with You, O God, saying, 

“I’ll be unselfish when You give me more,”
          rather than being generous today.

O Lord, we lay these confessions before You, at the foot the cross. 

Though our world gives us the impression 
that we are to wrap up Thanksgiving into just one day, 

maybe a month at most, 

and then proceed on with our lives, 

we will remember that You have called us to a life of thanksgiving. 

We commit to earnestly pursuing a path 

that true thankfulness engenders: 

more compassion, more kindness, more humility, 

more meekness, more patience.

 

And so we pray this simple prayer with our whole heart:
For what we have received, Lord,
make us truly thankful. 
We want to be filled today, 

and every day, with thanksgiving. 

 

We pray all these things in the name of the one we are most thankful for, 

our Lord, Savior, and teacher of all thankfulness, 

Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray and live together...

 

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #35: JESUS FEEDING THE 5000

 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES

FEEDING THE 5000 
(MATTHEW 14:15-21; MARK 6:35-44; LUKE 9:12-17; JOHN 6:3-14)

 

THE ONLY MIRACLE APPEARING IN ALL FOUR GOSPELS.

 

Location of Miracle: Tabgha - west of Capernaum, past the traditional site for the Sermon on the Mount. (There’s a church there! And I’ve been!) 

 

Set the Scene: 

o   John the Baptist had just been executed. The apostles returned from their ministry tour. Jesus wanted to get away with His friends to be quiet and rest for awhile. But the crowds followed them. So, He began teaching and healing. 

o   There were 5000 “men”, but the total number of people fed may have been over 20,000. 

o   Jesus had a very specific goal in mind with His announcement “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 

 

READ Matthew 14:15-23.

 

Big Take-Aways:

 

o   Matthew 14:20, “They all ate & were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” This abundance would force the Jewish people to recall the expected abundance of the coming messianic banquet. Would it also have pointed toward, “I AM the Bread of Life?”

 

o   If you read the words closely, the loaves and fishes multiplied in the hands of the disciples themselves, Jesus did not do the work in his own hands. Why? Maybe the reason the work was done in the servants’ hands is the same reason why this is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels - Jesus is teaching us the critical truth of doing God's work.

o   Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes, and then handed it right back to the disciples. Put yourself in their shoes, what would they have thought hearing Jesus just give a blessing and then asking them to hand out a tiny morsel to share between 20,000 people? Being human, they must have been taken aback by the Lord's request wondering at the seeming absurdity of it. But they had faith and obedience in God, and the food multiplied as they handed it out to the crowd, with their own hands.

o   We can also think of the loaves and fishes as the talents and treasure which the Lord has given us. In our lives God presents us with many opportunities to perform miracles in the lives of others, giving a hand to a friend or loved one, volunteering at Church or larger acts manifesting God's love. Are you sitting on what God has given you as a disciple of Christ to work miracles for those around you, or have you dedicated your time, talents and treasures to Christ to do his work?

Call to Action: 

The small boy had but 5 loaves of bread, and 2 small fish. Hardly enough to feed a group of 15, let alone 20,000. But he gave his small gift to Jesus. And through Christ it became significantly greater. It's a wonderful reminder to us all that our gifts and offerings are that much greater when we go through our Savior.