Daily Scripture: Ezekiel 34:1-16
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. 7 ” ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. 11 ” ‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As shepherds look after their scattered flocks when they are with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
Ezekiel was an Israelite exiled in Babylon (Ezekiel 1:1). Like Jeremiah, he said God had not forgotten the people, but cared about their tough conditions. The future, he said, did not belong to those who enriched themselves at the people’s expense. “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them,” was God’s promise.

• In John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In what ways did Jesus’ earthly ministry bring Ezekiel’s promises to reality? In what respects is the complete fulfillment of the promises still something we await in the future?
• When (in any type of organization or family setting) have you seen “shepherds” who cared for their own interests, but not for “the flock”? Does knowingly self-centered leadership ever seem to “work” from a human point of view? How sure are you of the truth of Ezekiel’s message to self-serving shepherds?

Read Rev. Wendy Chrostek’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as I remember your birth, let my sharing and giving arise out of the loving place you fill in my life. Remind me that we are celebrating your birthday, not mine.
Touch my eyes and ears with your sense of justice—so that I may see and hear the cries of the needy in my world, my town, my neighborhood, my church, my family. Help me to honor you and your Kingdom this Advent. 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.

Daily Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-22
14 ” ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 ” ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;he will do what is just and right in the land.16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called:The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’ 17 For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’ ” 19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’ ”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
This week we’ll read how the Old Testament prophets promised a Godly kingdom that would upend human ways. Jeremiah wrote when God’s promises seemed futile, and the vast Babylonian armies threatened Israel with total ruin. God, he said, promised a better future. An heir of David, Israel’s greatest king, would rule in justice forever.

• Through Jeremiah, God says the Branch from David’s line “will do what is just and right in the land.” Since all human leaders and systems eventually fall short of doing what is just and right, what do you believe God was promising? In what parts of your life do you most wish for a King who would do what is just and right?
• If you had lived in Jerusalem with Jeremiah, what might this promise have led you to expect? (E.g. ongoing Temple sacrifices, unbroken Israelite political power.) What does the phrase “the days are coming” convey to us as Christ’s followers today? How can the core of this promise be true, even if some details change?

Read Rev. Penny Ellwood’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as I remember your birth, let my sharing and giving arise out of the loving place you fill in my life. Remind me that we are celebrating your birthday, not mine.
Touch my eyes and ears with your sense of justice—so that I may see and hear the cries of the needy in my world, my town, my neighborhood, my church, my family. Help me to honor you and your Kingdom this Advent. 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.

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as I remember your birth, let my sharing and giving arise out of the loving place you fill in my life. Remind me that we are celebrating your birthday, not mine. Touch my eyes and ears with your sense of justice—so that I may see and hear the cries of the needy in my world, my town, my neighborhood, my church, my family. Help me to honor you and your Kingdom this Advent. Amen.

Prayer Tip:
How’s your scripture reading going these days? Is your prayer life out-pacing your reading of scripture? Let me attempt to make the case that prayer without scripture is like eating Turkey without the gravy.

Prayer is an important discipline to practice. God hopes that we will spend time in prayer and looks forward the dialogue that we enter when we bow our heads. As we lift up our prayers, however, we need to ask the question, “why am I going to God with this prayer?” We can always turn to God for everything that is going on in our lives, but it is still important for us to know why we are turning to God with this particular prayer or petition. The primary way that we can answer this question is to turn to scripture and learn about God’s character. 1 John 5:14 states, “… this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” When we lift up our prayers and petitions to God, we need to spend time thinking about how to phrase it in a way that is in line with God’s will and character. This will embolden our confidence that God will hear our prayer and move on it. Let’s look at an example of this. If I was really looking forward to a new TV this Christmas, I might selfishly pray to God for the TV hoping that God will play Santa Claus. On the other hand, if I paused and asked why it is appropriate for me to go to God with this prayer request and turned to scripture for this answer, I would be reminded in Mathew 6:19 that God’s will is for me to not store up treasures on earth, but rather in heaven. My prayer would hopefully change from a selfish desire to something like this, “God help me to be content with what I have so that I can better focus on being a blessing to others for the sake of your Godly kingdom. Amen.” The process of scriptural reflection has already begun working on my heart as I have refocused my selfish petition into one that is focused more on selflessness for the sake of loving God and loving neighbor. The only way we can gain confidence in our prayerful petitions is to reflect on God’s will ahead of time, and the primary way in which we can gleam God’s will is through the study of scripture. I hope that scripture is just as much part of your prayer life as the head-bowing is.

Join us for worship today–click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at live.cor.org.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

Read Rev. Karen Lampe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Personal Application:
Jesus just cared about spiritual things. Right? In fact, twenty-seven of his forty-three parables (62%) are about money and possessions. One of every ten verses in the Gospels (a total of 288 verses) deals with money. But Jesus gave uncommon “investment advice.” John Maxwell says “a checkbook is a theological document.” Study your checkbook. What does it say about your values, your beliefs, what you treasure? What parts of that “theological document” do you want to re-write in 2010?

Family Activity:
In 2 Corinthians 9: 7, Scripture tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. Often we talk about expressing this attitude when we place money in an offering plate at church, but what might happen if we expanded this attitude into every area of our lives? As a family, list the places you have been individually and collectively this past week. Include stores, home, work, school, etc. Discuss ways you each have given in each of these places. Have you given money, your time, a listening ear, or a helping hand? Are there places where you have not given? How have your attitudes been each time? Pray together, asking God to open your hearts as you seek to be more cheerful givers each and every day.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, I’ve been reflecting on what I can offer for the sake of blessing your kingdom and your children. You truly have blessed me with the important things in life: friends, family, your constant presence and the love and grace that comes with that. Help me now be a blessing to others as I consider what I can offer – both in resources and time – for the glory of your kingdom during this coming season and year. Amen.

Daily Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
Who had more to protect, more power and prestige to cling to, than Jesus? Yet he emptied himself (that’s what the Greek word Paul used in verse 7 means), and invested all that he had in our salvation. Jesus’ example, above all else, shows us a spiritually sound way to invest ourselves and our possessions.

• In your prayer today, ask God to speak to your heart as you reflect on what Jesus’ example says to the patterns by which you lead your life. Which possessions do you regard as “essential”? What “perks” do you consider indispensable? How close are you to living into “the mind of Christ”?
• What steps is God calling you to take today to become more Christ-like in giving of yourself? How are you managing whatever possessions God has entrusted to you to handle as God’s steward?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. 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.

Daily Scripture: 1 Chronicles 29:10-17
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you! In today’s reading, King David thanked God for all that Israel had. His attitude was remarkable when contrasted with the usual behavior of absolute monarchs. He spoke humbly about the privilege Israel had of giving back to God some of what God had given to them.

• David was king. He held all the power in Israel that a human could have. What does it tell you about his spiritual life that he said that God, and only God, is the source of all power and greatness? How similar or different to David’s is your perspective on life, and for what reasons?
• Here’s something you might discuss over Thanksgiving dinner: what difference, if any, do you sense that there is between “giving” and “giving back”? If you sense a difference, how does that affect your attitudes and actions? If not, can you identify why you see them as being the same?

Read Rev. Penny Ellwood’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. 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.

Daily Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
Jesus said that there can only be one “most important” focus, one top priority, in your life. You can make God and the values of the unseen kingdom of heaven most important. That doesn’t happen, though, if you choose your priorities based on the values of the material culture around you.

• Pastor Rick Warren has said, “If I put my money in my house, that is where my heart is. If I put my money in eating out,…if I put my money in my clothes, if I put my money into a hobby, that’s where my heart is. So the question becomes, where do you want your heart to be?” How do you answer? Where do you want your heart to be?
• What are the “investments” in your life besides purely fiscal ones (e.g. children, social status)? Which of them might become your “treasure”—more essential to
  you than God? How does making God’s kingdom your highest priority make you a better parent, citizen, friend, etc.—or does it?

Read Rev. Russell Brown’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. 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.

Daily Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
As you consider what you want to invest in during 2010, don’t forget that money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. That is why Jesus could say it is more blessed to give than to receive (see Acts 20:35). There is a rich set of rewards for generosity, for living out love and compassion for others.

• At the end of this passage, Paul expresses thanks for God’s indescribable gift. What do you think he’s talking about when he uses that phrase? What do you think makes the gift “indescribable”? How deep is your sense of gratitude for what God has done for you, and in your life?
• It’s Tuesday—no one is likely to pass an offering plate in front of you today. In what part of your life do you have an opportunity to show a generous spirit on this
  Tuesday? What is expanding more rapidly today—your bank account balance or your heart?

Read Rev. Scott Chrostek’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. 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.

Daily Scripture: Mark 12:41-44
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
In Jesus’ day, the Temple courts were busy and noisy. Matthew 6:2 suggests that some people hired a bugler to play a fanfare before they put their large gift in the Temple treasury. But Jesus chose to honor a different kind of giver–a poor widow who had only two mites (tiny copper coins) to put into the Temple offering.

• A common attitude in America sees giving as a “luxury”—something we do when our finances are going well, but quickly given up if circumstances become more difficult. What does this widow’s example, and Jesus’ response to her, suggest to you about that attitude?
• What do you think of the widow’s sense of priorities? Do you give to bless others only out of what you can spare—only after other more significant priorities are taken care of? What would it take to make giving one of the non-negotiable items in your financial life?

Read Rev. Andrew Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. 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.

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. Amen.

Prayer Tip:
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As you gather with family and friends, I hope that you take some time together to collectively offer up your thanksgivings to God. Below is a prayer of thanksgiving that you may choose to reflect on and pray in your personal life, or perhaps this might be a wonderful prayer to print off and pray around the Thanksgiving dinner table as you all reflect on the blessings God has placed in your life over this past year.

O Lord our God, the author and giver of all good things, we thank you for all your mercies, and for your loving care over all your creatures. We bless you for the gift of life, for your protection around us, for your guiding hand upon us, and for the tokens of your love within us. We thank you for friendship and duty, for good hopes and precious memories, for the joys that cheer us, and the trials that teach us to trust in you. Most of all we thank you for the saving knowledge of your Son our Savior and all the means of grace that you offer us. In all these things, O heavenly God, make us wise for a right use of your benefits, that we may render an acceptable thanksgiving unto you all the days of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Taken and modified from The Book of Common Order, Scotland, 20th Century., Alt.)

Join us for worship today–click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at live.cor.org.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.