Weekly Study

Read: Matthew 1:1-17

Reflect:

• We revisit this great Christmas text because in these few verses, the whole story gets told. And the story is that Jesus came for everyone. For some reason, that subject just keeps resurfacing. Maybe it’s because the church is so adept at forgetting this one fundamental truth—the gospel is for everyone.
• Matthew clearly indicates this truth by including Gentiles in the lineage of Jesus at the beginning of his gospel and then recording Jesus’ final words at the end—go into all the world. Both ends of Matthew’s story involve outsiders.  Within the genealogy are Gentiles and women. Saints and sinners are included. Notables and no-names are mentioned.
• Matthew’s “tweet” of the story is simple—Jesus came to save sinners…all sinners. No questions asked, no reservations, no hesitations…just make the story known to everyone.  Throughout the centuries this has been hard for the church. For some reason humans struggle to realize that they were once the very outsiders they now exclude. Frustrating when you see it in others; nearly impossible to see in yourself.

Respond:

• Read Romans 1:16-17. Connect it to today’s text.
• Note Matthew 1:6. Why do you think Matthew might have avoided naming Bathsheba? Is there anyone in your life you’d rather not include?
• Revisit your list of people you’d like to see come to know Jesus. Anyone on there that might be considered an outsider? What will you do to help them feel welcome?

Pray: Thank God that He accepted you when you came to Him. Thank God for the Christians who welcomed you into the family of God. Pray that we are a welcoming body of believers.

Read: Revelation 12:13-17

Reflect:

• When Satan could not stop the birth of the male child and when he could not destroy the child after his birth, Satan turned to the only place he could—back to the woman. Satan’s attack is against the people of God—the New Testament church.  If he can’t take his anger and outrage out on Jesus, he will attack the brothers and sisters of Jesus instead.
• The more faithful disciples are, the more they can expect Satan’s attacks. He’s going to “kick the cat” and we are, unfortunately, the cat. But, as with God’s protection of the child, He’s going to protect His church.  Satan cannot destroy the church. But he can make life miserable for those who seek to faithfully give testimony of Jesus.
• The early church suffered intense persecution. At various times throughout history, regional and seasonal persecution has sought to destroy the people of God. Apparently Satan just doesn’t ever quite understand—the blood of the saints is the seed of the church. When Christians are persecuted, the church grows. He has far greater success when he seeks compromise with the culture instead.

Respond:

• In what ways is the church so much like the world that Satan need not bother with us? What should be done about that?
• Would you number yourself among those that “obey the commands and hold to the testimony”?
• Who seems to be watching you to see if you will remain faithful under duress?  Is your witness faithful?

Pray: Thank God for His faithfulness to us. Ask God for the strength to faithfully witness to others in spite of discrimination. Pray that Madison Park is living so well that we are worthy of persecution.

Read: Revelation 12:10-12

Reflect:

• Once more we see a frightening description of Satan’s activities.  He’s the “accuser of our brothers.” Satan is constantly making accusations against believers. He’s constantly calling our faith into question. Constantly challenging the reality of our trust in God. Continually casting our struggles into terms of rebellion and rejection of God.  All to convince us that we aren’t really real disciples.
• The only successful response—withstand—stand up—be strong—love God. The words of John indicate those willing to be obedient to God, speak up for Jesus, and if necessary, die for their faith. We don’t see a lot of direct attack and actual physical persecution in the United States, but it exists around the world. More people were martyred for their faith in the 20^th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined.
• It’s a fascinating phrase—“did not love their lives so much…” The reason we fail to be faithful is because we love our life to too much. We think that what we have here and now is better and too valuable to be lost. Under duress, we pray for release or relief; those accustomed to suffering for their faith pray for faithfulness and witness. The stronger we are, the more we can expect attack, so we should pray now for faithfulness.

Respond:

• Visit www.persecution.com and read of modern day persecution of believers around the world.
• Describe a time when you felt as if you were challenged in the “love your life too much” realm. How did you handle the temptation?
• Who do you know that you consider especially strong at withstanding mistreatment for their faith? Send them a note that encourages them.

Pray: Pray for those around the world who suffer for their faith (Kazakhstan, Southern Sudan, Azerbaijan, etc). Ask God to give you the courage needed to be faithful. Ask God to help Madison Park be a source of strength to all who are faced with challenges to their faith.

Read: Revelation 12:3-6

Reflect:

• A second, this time gruesome, sign appears. Hollywood’s most ferocious dragon can’t compare to the savagery of this giant, red, fearsome, powerful symbol of evil. Evil personified wants to stop God from sending His son to redeem the world. He’s there seeking to devour the child at His birth so the story of God is stopped before it starts.
• Historically, that’s a scene repeated over and over. From the sin of Adam and Cain in Eden to the slaughter of the innocents in Egypt, from the barrenness of Sarah to the near genocide of Esther, Satan has sought to stop God. It culminates in Herod’s savage killing of innocent children at the birth of Jesus. But it never works.
• God intervenes and cares for both mother and child, people of God and Jesus. The entire story of redemption is found in verse 5. Birth and ascension serve to encapsulate the entire story of the Messiah’s life and death and resurrection. This is genuinely the Twitter version of the story. The whole message in a very few characters.  No other verses are so complete.

Respond:

• Try to write the story in as few words as possible. Send me your version (chuck@madisonparkchurch.com).
• List the stories from Scripture that come to mind where redemption was nearly stopped (e.g., Sarah taken into Pharaoh’s harem).
• Read Psalm 2:7-9. This is considered a prophetic Psalm of the Messiah’s coming.

Pray: Thank God that He is more powerful than Satan. Pray that Satan not be allowed to stop the story from progressing right here in Quincy. Ask God to move in the lives of your friends—that they may come to know Jesus.

Read: Revelation 12:7-9

Reflect:

• There’s no shortage of movies that depict great battles for control of humanity or earth. They all depict a despot of some kind controlling the universe. None compare to what must have occurred in heaven when Satan rebelled against God. That war would make an epoch movie, but would sadden us all as we realized Satan gained control (in some sense) of the earth until the return of Jesus.
• Satan has only one agenda—“lead the whole world astray.” If he can do that, he keeps us from a relationship with God. Satan’s sole purpose is to destroy God’s image in humanity. So, everything he can do that degrades and dehumanizes, he does. There is nothing positive about evil and its results.
• But Satan is not stupid. He knows that most people will not respond to pain, suffering, or consequences directly. So, he makes things look fun, pleasant, exciting, alluring…then they destroy.  Like the “Turkish Delight” from the Chronicles of Narnia; it looked wonderful and tasted great, but in the end, it was destructive.  That’s the power of Satan—not direct attack—sly, evil, temptation.

Respond:

• What corresponds to “Turkish Delight” in your life? What consequences has it caused?
• If you try to describe evil to a child, what terms do you use?
• How do you convince children of consequences that come with their choices?

Pray: Ask God to make you sensitive to evil so that you recognize it when it comes your way. Pray for the strength to withstand the temptations of Satan and the wisdom to know how to resist. Ask God to protect your family from Satan’s tricks and pronounce a blessing over all whom you love.

Read: Revelation 12:1-2

Reflect:

• The scene shifts again to the beginning. As with the other visions in Revelation this vision moves from the first coming of Christ to the final coming. Only this time the view is “behind the scenes” instead of on the earth. Instead of breaking seals or hearing trumpets that describe what occurs on earth, we see what’s going on in heaven.
• John calls it a “sign”—something that reveals something else—a symbol.  This pregnant woman stands for the people of God. In this case, the Old Testament people—Israel.  They are ready to bring forth Jesus, the Messiah. God has prepared the world for the coming of His Son and His entrance is near.
• The people of God is pictured in splendor, beauty, and royalty. These are God’s people and to be seen in that light. The image of child birth gives the reader pause to wonder about the difficulty of heaven giving up Jesus to earth. From our perspective He was a wonderful gift, but from heaven’s perspective, it was the anticipation of His suffering and death.

Respond:

• Ponder: If you know someone who has adopted a child, you know the joy of receiving. If you know someone who’s given a child for adoption, you know the sorrow of heaven at Jesus’ birth.
• Read: Philippians 2:5-11. What does that look like from heaven’s perspective?
• If you chose a symbol for the people of God prepared to give Jesus to earth, what symbol would you use? Why?

Pray: Thank God for giving us His son, in spite of the pain heaven felt. Pray that we learn to appreciate more and more the grace that God gives in Jesus. Ask God to open doors into the lives of others, that they may know Jesus.

I know nothing of what it means to be on Twitter or send tweets, except this. You are limited to 140 characters per message. Everything has to be clear and to the point. Symbols and abbreviations are popular and expected. Readers seem to “get it” as if they are insiders.

Revelation may have been the original Twitter. The messages were brief and often symbolic. They were clear to those inside the story, but to the Romans and others, they made no sense. Often the messages were brief because the symbols were laden with meaning.  You don’t have to say much about evil when you use the picture of a great red dragon.  You need not elaborate power when you talk of seven horns.

This series of sermons is from texts where the story of Jesus is abbreviated. It’s about how to tell the entire redemption narrative in a few characters, a few words, a few symbols.  It’s all about helping the world to get the story in terms they understand.

Obviously, not everything can be said in a tweet. You either have to send several messages or you have to link it to other sources.  It’s the same way with our story.  You can’t expect people to get it in one message. More often than not, they need to hear it in multiple messages. And, they’ll hear it better when it comes from those with whom they are in relationship.

The other critical component—send links. Use the important few characters you have to link the receiver with other important sources.  Our message about Jesus is not the complete detail of how to be a disciple. Our message is a link to other believers, the church, Scripture and sources for people to get to know Jesus as they are ready to receive Him.

The dragon, the baby, the woman, the river…all part of the story. All about how God saves broken humanity. All about a call to faithfulness in a time of war. All said in signs and symbols. All understandable when we put our minds in gear.

For a printable version of this week’s devotional, see the attached file: Insert 05-06-2012

Read: Revelation 12:1-17

Reflect:

• International travel reminds you that symbols are often more practical and communicative than words. I don’t know the foreign word for “not” but I always recognize a circle and slash over another sign that indicates, “Don’t do this.” Or, arrive in any city in the world and you’ll soon recognize the golden arches of McDonalds.
• This text is full of symbols that communicate across every language and culture. Dragons are harsh, often cruel, evil and brutish. Pregnant women are always life giving. The scepter is a symbol of power. These signs all point to one simple message. Jesus came, bad stuff happens, Jesus comes again. That’s pretty much the imagery.
• Sometimes the simplest way to remind someone of a story is to recall the symbols. A gingerbread house; a red hood; a white witch; a yellow brick road. John uses the power of symbol to remind us that Jesus has come and God has taken Him to heaven. There’s trouble on earth, but ultimately, God wins.  It’s a pretty simple story—not a hard one to tell.

Respond:

• What symbols remind you of favorite stories? What symbols did you use to create pictures and stories for your children?
• Does the image of “kicking the cat” communicate with you? Does it imply, I can’t respond like I’d like to a person, so I take it out on the cat? How does that describe this text?
• Re-read this text and ponder it as you prepare for worship in the morning.

Pray: Thank God for His ability to capture His story in memorable pictures. Pray for the ability to re-tell His story effectively. Ask God to bless our guests with warm hospitality tomorrow.

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Reflect:

• At the heart of this text is the call for cheerful giving. Well, actually, it’s the statement of fact—God loves those who give cheerfully. It should be fun to give—or at least, pleasurable. It ought to bring us joy and we should do it with a smile. I heard people talking about that very thing after our RELENTLESS commitment time. They were honored to give to God and found it very satisfying.
• I confess I don’t always feel that way. But most days I do. Most days, I believe that what God is up to is worthy of my offering. In fact, I want to give in a way that pleases God and brings me joy. I like knowing I’ve done something that honors God and gives Him pleasure.  I know how refreshing it is when my children have done something I approve of and take pleasure in. I project that joy on God.
• Sometimes, when I travel and get home I’ve missed 2 or 3 Sundays and my offering amount gets doubled or tripled in the process. On those days, it isn’t always as fun. I want it to be…but it’s a challenge. I confess, though, that I find it greatly pleasurable to know that God has brought me to the place where I can give.  It hasn’t always been so, and to being reminded is joyful.

Respond:

• Is giving fun for you? How do you express the joy of your giving?
• If you were able, how much would you like to give? What would it take for that to become doable?
• Who do you know that epitomizes cheerful giving? How long did it take them to get there?

Pray: Ask God to help you find greater pleasure in giving. Pray that you are giving with a heart that fully belongs to God. Seek a cheerful heart if you don’t have one; thank God for your cheerful heart if you have it.

Read: 2 Samuel 24:18-25

Reflect:

• Giving has become relatively easy. If it doesn’t cost me anything, that is. Gail and I have been giving since we got married nearly 42 years ago. It’s always been at least a tithe so we’ve always planned to get by on 90% of our income. When you budget that way it’s easy. And it remains easy so long as it’s a priority.
• But, when someone comes along and asks for “over and above” or mentions sacrifice, it gets hard. Hard because now I have to make decisions– between one good thing and giving to the cause. David says, “I won’t give God something that costs me nothing.” So, what’s it costing me this week?
• Maybe it’s a trip to a restaurant instead of eating at home. Possibly it’s getting one more week out of those shoes. Potentially it’s choosing not to go to that game or play that round of golf. It may be more long term—so I won’t have as much in savings this month or leave as much to my children as a gift. In any case, giving can be a regular, routine, easy act of worship that reminds us of God’s goodness.  Or, sometimes, it can be the hard choice to sacrifice and remember it cost God something, too.

Respond:

• Have you become comfortable (in a good sense) with giving? Has your act of worship become the natural expression of your faith?
• Did your commitment to see Madison Park expand cost you something? What did you decide you could give up in order to make this gift significant?
• Who is the best giver you’ve seen? What makes you think that?

Pray: Pray that God accepts your worship in giving in the spirit in which you give it. Ask God to help you grow comfortable with giving as worship and willing to give as sacrifice when needed. Pray that God continues to receive the honor He deserves as we give to Him.