12.31.08

Daily Scripture: Luke 6:46-49

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for those who come to me and hear my words and put them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But those who hear my words and do not put them into practice are like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

The arrival of New Year’s Eve gives us a chance to review the direction of our life. We can assess what forces play the largest role in shaping our choices and our character. Jesus’ well-known words urge us to be sure our life is built on a foundation strong enough to endure whatever 2009 may bring, good or bad.

• In The Message, Eugene Peterson renders the thought of verse 47 with the phrase “work the words into your life.” How can you more fully work Jesus’ words into your life in the next year? In what ways, if any, is your life already better because you’ve incorporated God’s word into it?
• In your experience, what practices and disciplines work the best in helping you to hear God’s word? What, if any, changes do you plan to make in the new year to keep you even more tuned in to God’s voice all day, every day?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

God of time and eternity, take into your hands all of the hopes, fears, plans and expectations that I have for the year 2009. Walk with me into this new year, and shape me into the person you are calling me to be, so that 12 months from now I may know, love and serve you more. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.30.08

Daily Scripture: Hosea 6:1-6

1 “Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”

4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

The prophet Hosea paints a haunting picture. God’s people need a fresh start, in verses 1-3 they say all the right words, and the words are beautiful. But in verses 4-6, we hear God’s voice sadly observing that the people’s beautiful words do not lead to the genuine spiritual relationship that God desires.

• Can you recall past New Year’s resolutions of yours that turned out to be like the morning mist? Have there been other resolutions (New Year’s or at other times) that produced lasting change? What was the difference, and how can you cooperate with God to make long-term positive changes in 2009?
• This GPS Guide (and other tools we offer at Resurrection) is meant to help you find a deeper relationship with God, not to add one more layer of “busy-ness” to your life. Verse 6 in today’s reading voices God’s priorities. How will you offer God what God really wants in the coming year?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

God of time and eternity, take into your hands all of the hopes, fears, plans and expectations that I have for the year 2009. Walk with me into this new year, and shape me into the person you are calling me to be, so that 12 months from now I may know, love and serve you more. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.29.08

Daily Scripture: Romans 8:18-28

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

A new year’s approach often triggers new hope for greater peace and wholeness— perhaps old flaws can be overcome, old hurts left behind. Paul reminds us that our true hope is not in our own strength. We trust God’s Spirit to guide us, and turn every  experience to a good purpose in making us a child of God.

• As you look ahead to 2009, what do you expect to happen that you most look forward to? What do you expect to happen that causes you the most concern? How can you deepen your confidence that God can work in your life through all the experiences of the year to come?
• Reflect on Paul’s statement of the mystery that the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf for needs we don’t even know we have. In 2008, what developments in your life took you most by surprise? How can trusting in the Holy Spirit’s presence give you stronger hope in the coming year?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

God of time and eternity, take into your hands all of the hopes, fears, plans and expectations that I have for the year 2009. Walk with me into this new year, and shape me into the person you are calling me to be, so that 12 months from now I may know, love and serve you more. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.28.08

Weekly Prayer:

Use this weekly prayer to help you begin your time with God each day.

God of time and eternity, take into your hands all of the hopes, fears, plans and expectations that I have for the year 2009. Walk with me into this new year, and shape me into the person you are calling me to be, so that 12 months from now I may know, love and serve you more. Amen.

12.27.08

Daily Scripture: Galatians 4:3-7

3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

God sent his son, born of a woman—the humble, brave, remarkable Mary, whose life we have had the chance to study this Advent season. She responded to God, Jesus was born — and thanks to his life, death and resurrection, we are no longer slaves but God’s children.

• Paul says that whatever our background, whatever our past, through Jesus we can be adopted into God’s family. Are you learning to be “at home” in God’s family? Do you relate to God primarily with confidence, love and gratitude in place of fear and obligation?
• Jesus himself used the word “Abba” (an intimate Aramaic word, roughly equal to “daddy”) when he spoke to God (Mark 14:36). Are your conversations with God trusting and close or stiff and formal? Find time to have a comfortable, hope-filled talk with God today — and be sure to listen, too.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, I am grateful that you have enfolded me into your family. Teach me the family stories and help me to live as one you would be proud to call your child. By your Holy Spirit, help me to invite others so that they may also find their identity as your child. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Family Activity:

Discuss what moments and activities have meant the most to your family this season. How will you continue growing in your relationships with God, one another and those outside your family? Give thanks for the times you have shared together this Advent season.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.26.08

Daily Scripture: Matthew 2:1-18

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ “

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “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.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Christmas pageants and nativity sets show it otherwise, but the wise men seem to have honored Jesus about 24 months after his birth. What a sad contrast — the religious experts in Jerusalem could name the town where the Messiah was to be born, but only the foreign visitors said, “We’ve come to worship him.”

• The wise men (the text never says how many there were, by the way) journeyed for probably 18-24 months following the star. How serious are you about following Jesus? How much would you be willing to disrupt your life in order to follow Jesus, the “Star of David?”
• When they reached the end of their journey, the wise men were filled with joy. On this day after Christmas, invite the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of joy in your life all year long.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

O Gracious God, who guides us and gives us this great story of Wise Men who came from afar on this journey to see you in the flesh, guide and strengthen us so that we may follow you. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Family Activity:

Go outside and spend a few moments in silence looking up at the stars. Imagine how the Wise Men felt as they sought Jesus, leaving their homes to follow a star. As you look at the stars, pray that God will lead you to find Jesus every day in each part of your life.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.25.08

Daily Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

A Roman command for a census forces a pregnant girl to travel to Bethlehem. There’s no room in the census-crowded town. An angelic choir sings of glory and peace to a group of shepherds in the fields. And the Savior of the world is born. May God’s love be very real to you this Christmas Day.

• We’re so accustomed to the angel’s words we may miss how astounding they were: A Savior — the Messiah, the Lord — is a baby, wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding trough. Give God thanks for the lengths Jesus went to in order to reach you and be your Savior.
• Jerusalem, site of the Temple, major religious center, was only six miles from Bethlehem — but no angels sang in Jerusalem and no praises for Jesus’ birth rang out. How did so many hearts become closed to God’s presence? Open your heart, anew or for the first time, to Jesus this Christmas Day.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

Holy God, thank you for Christmas. We thank you for the prince of peace who came today to help us ponder the meaning of our lives and restore order to the chaos. Help us breathe deep and ponder these blessings. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Family Activity:

When your family sits down to eat, sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus after you pray. You might even bake a cake and decorate it to celebrate the birth of Jesus. After your meal, walk around to the homes in your neighborhood singing Christmas carols. Include “Happy Birthday” to Jesus among the carols.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.24.08

Daily Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

In the film The Nativity Story, Mary washes Joseph’s travel-stained feet as he sleeps, worn out from the strain of their trip to Bethlehem, and says to her unborn child, “You will have a good and decent man to raise you.” Matthew’s concise Christmas story delivers the same message about Joseph’s character.

• There are two important names in this passage. “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” which means “God saves.” When did you come to know Jesus as your Savior and what difference has that made in your life?
• Matthew, quoting Isaiah, also connects Jesus with the name “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” God is with you at all times, not only at Christmas. Say a prayer of gratitude and praise for God’s presence with you right now.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

Dear God of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, we seek to make a vow of trust in you. When circumstances confuse us and unexpected events disturb us, may we seek a deeper life of faith and hope and love. Amen.

Family Activity:

Emmanuel means “God with us.” Ask family members what they hope their names mean. Why? Look up the meanings and origins of your names online at www.behindthename.com. Thank God for sending Jesus as a baby, for loving each one of us as God’s child and for knowing each person by name.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.23.08

Daily Scripture: Luke 1:57-80

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn ^[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David

70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—

72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Each Christmas season, the air is full of songs. The world at large was not that way during the season just before Jesus’ birth—but for those in whose lives God was at work, it was different. Here Zechariah, John the Baptist’s elderly father, is filled with the Holy Spirit and exults in the coming of a Savior.

• Luke says when people in the Judean hill country heard of the events surrounding John’s birth, they asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” His father knew, as verse 76 shows. Who played John’s role in your life—who prepared the way for your faith, and introduced you to Jesus?
• How did Zechariah describe the Savior’s mission? What echoes do you hear in Zechariah’s words of the Servant Songs in Isaiah? Are there corners of your life that still need the sunshine and peace of Christ’s presence this Christmas?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

God, give me the patience of Zechariah, and when you do break into my life, give me
the eyes and ears of faith, so that I might recognize you and believe. Amen.

Family Activity:

As John grew up, he became strong in spirit. As individuals and as a family, how can you build your spiritual strength? Make a commitment to do something every day to build your spiritual strength. Consider reading Scripture, praying, gathering with other Christians, sitting in stillness, increasing your giving, or offering a creative expression of art, music, or dance.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

12.22.08

Daily Scripture: Luke 1:26-56

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

We’ve been learning about Jesus’ mother all through this Advent season. Today we read the passage where she enters the Bible story— probably, given what we know of her culture, a girl in her mid-teens, who learns that God has chosen her for a literally earth-shaking life mission.

• Gabriel unfolded a reality and a task to Mary which she couldn’t, and we can’t, fully understand. How does her response in verse 38 speak to your heart? Are you willing to surrender your life to God’s leading, even in areas that call for a trust that reaches beyond intellectual understanding?
• What traits might human wisdom have sought in a mother for Jesus? Reflect on what Mary’s song of praise (named the Magnificat after its first word in Latin) tells you about the traits God sought in Jesus’ mother. What do you learn about the spirit in which Mary took up her noble task?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by our pastors at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Daily Prayer:

Bless our Christmas Eve worship services as we gather together as your congregation at Resurrection. Let our songs of praise, our acts of worship, mission offerings of love and gospel words bring honor and glory to you, O God. Amen.

Family Activity:

Mary sings a song of praise in this passage. Write a short praise song or choose one you know and sing it to God with your family members.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.