6-9-13 Get out of here

GET OUT OF HERE!

Scripture                                 Matthew 28:16-20   NIV

Then the eleven disciples (Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James) went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 

Matthew 28:16-20         Message

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. 17 The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. 18 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: 19 Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

 

Jesus said “ALL AUTHORITY” – authority = the right to use power.  The root of authority is author – they have the ability to construct or write your story.  Jesus tells us how our story will go.  He first establishes his right and ability to do so – ALL AUTORITY  The entire Gospel of Matthew stresses the authority of Jesus Christ. There was authority to His teaching (Matt 7:29). He exercised authority in healing in forgiving sins (Matt 9:6). He had authority over Satan, and He delegated that authority to His Apostles (Matt 10:1). At the close of his Gospel, Matthew made it clear that Jesus has ALL authority.

When we read the Book of Acts, we see that the early church operated on the basis of the Lord's sovereign authority. They ministered in His name. They depended on His power and guidance. They did not face a lost world on the basis of their own authority, but on the authority of Jesus Christ

The Greek verb translated go is actually not a command but a present participle (going). The only command in the entire Great Commission is "make disciples" ("teach all nations") Jesus said, "While you are going, make disciples of all the nations." No matter where we are, we should be witnesses for Jesus Christ and seek to win others to Him.  Acts 11:19-26

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The

Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

The term "disciples" was the most popular name for the early believers. A disciple is one who has believed on Jesus Christ and expressed this faith by being baptized. He remains in the fellowship of the believers that he might be taught the truths of the faith. He is then able to go out and win others and teach them. This was the pattern of the New Testament church.

The phrase "the end of the age" indicates that our Lord has a plan; - His plan is to do for others what he has done for you and to use you to help him do that.

 

That is a high calling – a great commission

See this video from General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches, Roy Medley - http://youtu.be/Mom6DrqxN1o

 

American Baptist have always been people on fire for mission.  Our church building has been transformed into a roller coaster theme park as a way to reach local kids for Jesus.  Friday night, Marsha Eden and I, along with our local ABC church leaders met with Kyle Williams – new ABC missionary.  Some of our women were at the ABW conference for missions. Our youth are about to embark on a week-long mission trip across the country.  Kim and I will be attending our national biennial – now developed as a Mission Summit. You will get to hear from two mission minded men over the next two Sundays.  In 2 weeks Rev. Brooks Andrews will speak at our service. Brooks' dad, Rev. Emery E. (Andy) Andrews, served as a pastor at the Hunt Relocation Camp. His father had been pastor of the Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle. Since many members of his congregation were sent to the Hunt camp, he followed them. Brooks lived with his parents in Twin Falls and went to Lincoln School. Brooks is currently retired but serving as Interim Pastor of the Japanese Baptist Church. Next Sunday Clint Webb will preach.  Clint accepted the Lord at Cathedral Pines Camp and several years later received a call to serve the Lord at Cathedral Pines.  Ordained - 1st Baptist Church – Boise, Pastored 30 years at 1st Baptist Church - Oak Harbor (Church on the Rock). Director of American Baptist Churches of the Northwest L.C.C. Mentor Pastors.  God is at work in the mission life of First Baptist Church.  But this is just the beginning.

At the mission summit in Kansas City, we will celebrate three awesome mission experiences in the history of our denomination where ABC took the lead for the kingdom of God in America and the world. – 175^th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation /

200^th anniversary of the Judson’s / 375^th anniversary of the founding of the first ABC in the USA (well not really – even the current building was erected and first used in May of 1775 a year before we became the USA).  In each of these celebrations point out that American Baptist have been an adaptive people who rightly use the authority – the power of Jesus Christ.  We don’t do what we do because it has always been done that way. We look at contemporary society and adapt ourselves by the power of Jesus to meet needs; not to make people adapt to us.  We have always been a people on mission extending ministry wherever possible.

Do you realize what ministry will be extended because three of our adults and 5 of our youth are going to a mission field in Ohio.  They will be staying and working at the Christian Conference Center. It is 8 beautiful acres in the midst of a depressed residential area.  The center works with dozens of children each summer through day camps.  They have a field that needs reclaimed for more space for music day camps and volley ball camps that attract children that no church camp or church could ever reach.  We will be going to camp Kirkwood, a camp that the ABC/Ohio could no longer afford to keep open and several ABC churches got together and are effectively running that camp today much like our own cathedral pines.  Camps who reach 100’s during the summer are always in need of laborers to help make their efforts far reaching.  We will be on mission at the west side free store that provides clothing, food and friendship to those in the greatest need. We will be working at our host church Hillcrest Baptist that has been a blessing to the church at large – in a 21 year period sent 20 people into some form of vocational ministry (I am one of those).  They minister to people in this same depressed poverty stricken area.  We will get our hands dirty working in a community garden that helps people provide for themselves.  We will provide free laundry and conversation for those people who can’t afford the luxury of a washer and dryer in their home.

Our church is on mission.  If we can stand on the promises of the Faithbook and serve the under the authority and by the power of Jesus Christ and accomplish so much in a two week period, what can we accomplish for Christ in the next two years.  Matthew 28:17 The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.  If you are on mission with us – praise God.  If you are not and you are just warming a pew – we love you and are glad you are here, just keep your hands and feet inside your cart because we are in for the ride of our lives.  Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

06-02-13 YOUR SERVE…

Scripture                                        Mark 10:45

Sticking with the 3^rd element of the church with heart / Mark 10:45  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mark 10:32-45

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."  (180 degree turn – did they not hear what Jesus just said?)

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." 38 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" 39 "We can," they answered.  Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."

          41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

          When we come to faith in Jesus, God begins the character building process in us – to build in us the same character as in Jesus. Rom 8:28-29  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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed (summorfos – having the same form, denotes an inward not merely a superficial conformity) to the likeness (eikwn - image) of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

          What does the mind of Christ – an authentic Christian servant look like in daily practice.  We jaded adults need to look to children to see how we should live:

          ILLUS:  Little Chad was a shy, quiet young boy.  One day he came home from school and told his mother he’d like to make a valentine for everyone in his class.  Her heart sank. She thought, “I wish he wouldn’t do that.” Because she had watched the

children when they walked home from school.  Her Chad was always behind them.  They laughed and hung on each other and talked to each other.  But Chad was never included.  Nevertheless, she decided she would go along with her son.  So she purchased the paper, glue and crayons.  For three whole weeks, night after night, Chad painstakingly made 35 valentines.

          Valentines Day came, and Chad was beside himself with excitement! He carefully stacked them up, put them in a bag and bolted out the door to school.  His mom decided to bake him his favorite cookies and serve them up warm and nice with a cool glass of milk when he came home from school.  She just knew he would be disappointed…maybe that would ease the pain a little.  It hurt her to think that he wouldn’t get many valentines-maybe none at all.

          That afternoon she had the cookies and milk on the table.  When she heard the children outside she looked out the window.  Sure enough here they came, laughing and having the best time.  And as usual, there was Chad in the rear.  He walked a little faster than usual.  She fully expected him to burst into tear as soon as he got inside.  His arms were empty, she noticed, and when the door opened she choked back tears.

          “Mommy has some warm cookies and milk for you.”

          But he hardly heard her words.  He just marched right on by and all he could say was, “Not a one!  Not a one!”  Her heart sank.

          And then he added, “I didn’t forget a one ,not a single one!”

          So it is when God is in control of the servant’s mind.  We learn that the greatest joy comes when God’s serving character lives through us as we serve and give to others.

          So we learned from a child what the heart of a servant looks like – but most of you are not children.  The question is not “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Rather, “What are you becoming now that you are grown?

          You are to be radically different than what the world says.  We push our children to be the best dancer, best soccer player, best violinist, best at math – how many parents are ever intentional about making their children the best servants?  That is why we have to learn it as grown-ups.  Most of us were not taught servanthood.  Become radically different than the person you thought you should be and instead become like Christ – a servant of all.

Galatians 5:13-14

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Serving costs you something – your time, money, energy, reputation.  But it also comes with rewards.

1 Corinthians 3:5-15

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.  For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.  By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,  his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

It is said that there was once a monk who prayed much that he might have the marks of the Lord upon his hands and feet. A vision was given him in which he was shown a mark on the Lord’s body that the world had forgotten. It was the mark upon the shoulder, and the monk learned that he could only have the marks on the hands and feet as he first had the mark upon the shoulder. – where Jesus carried his own cross – his act of service – As we come to the table and remember Jesus serving us by carrying his own cross we hear his words echoing form the Faithbook: Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

COMMUNION

05-26-13 Uncle Sam wants you to serve in his army and so does your King

Scripture                                        1 John 3:16-18

GRANDPA’S WAR STORY

Grandpa, tell me a story."

It's getting harder to remember.

As the daily count of fallen soldiers mounts, it becomes ever easier to forget the person behind the name.

So it falls on the legacy holders. The parents, children and spouses. The ones who are left behind. They tell the stories the soldiers cannot.

The world of a soldier is supposed to be unremarkable. Go in and get the job done as a team. Don't stand out. One military, one mind. No individuals.

Only after they have died will we learn their story.

War story, that is.

And it's not just Grandpa's war story, anymore. We've had five major conflicts in as many generations, so everyone's got one. It's the story of our little cousin who just graduated from high school. It's our daughter.

War becomes the great equalizer.

So we have one couple who are raising their grandson. The boy's mother died while serving in Iraq. They tell her story. And we sense that every time they speak of her, every time they say her name, they're sharing her with us.

Sometimes the stories have happy endings. Often they do not. And for many of the storytellers, the telling is a gift. All they ask is that we listen. No response is necessary. Now we know about their soldier. We're thinking about them. Our thoughts honor them.

We don't always need words to honor the memory of those who sacrificed. Photos give an insight into a world that we can only imagine.

We look at the images of the women who served stateside in World War II and wonder "Was this her first job? Was she afraid?" And more whimsically: "How'd her hair stay in those fantastic pincurls all day?"

This weekend as we hurry to the pool or rush to the mall, let's take a moment to honor those soldiers who have died and those left behind.

We may see a man wearing his military uniform on Monday.

(And it still fits, thank you very much.)

Memories flash across his face and we want to ask. But we can't. So we wait.

Then he starts talking. About the friends he lost, the one who saved his life, and the uniformed soldier becomes a person, a man.

He's not Grandpa, but suddenly all we want to do is sit on the floor and tuck our hands under our chin.

And listen.

LOVE EVERYONE

Love Everyone is the 3^rd of three parts of what it means to be the Church with Heart. 1) Love God, primarily through worship-the great commandment 2) Love one another, primarily through small groups-the great commitment and 3) Love All People

primarily through Ministry and Mission. Part 3 is the purpose of a soldier.  A soldier is a soldier to love all people.  We usually think of soldiers as tough non-feeling fighting machines.  Not so – the best soldiers are lovers.  They do what they do because of their love for family, country and all humanity.  I thought part two – love one another would describe a soldier, in this case meaning loving those from the United States.  Not so, our nation has a love and respect for all human life and we are not shy about defending others in a foreign land because we have a love for all people.  That kind of love is Christian love.  There are those who want war because they like to fight and there are those who are against war no matter what the reason.  The majority of soldiers who don a uniform for the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard do so as an act of love.

          As Christians, on this Memorial Day weekend, we honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of love – their lives for our freedoms.

          This is a principle in our country based upon what we learn in scripture:

John 15:12-13

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Who is the greatest soldier who ever lived?  The one who paid the ultimate sacrifice out of love for ALL people – his name: JESUS!

John 10:14-18

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

          Even as much as Uncle Sam needs soldiers, so too the King is looking for a few good men and women. God is looking for soldiers to enlist in his army to

          Sing p for the Kin’s draft are taking place right now.  So does that mean anyone who enlists in God’s army must be willing to lay down their life for the King and his Kingdom?  Yes!...But not so fast, an equally important commitment is required.  Very few will be called upon to physically die for the savior – all are called upon to die to self AND to live for him.  Rom 6:11-12  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

I recently watched a video from my ordination and the preacher talked about a soldier in the bible who lived for Christ the King and his Kingdom by bringing people to Jesus.  As a soldier he grew the army of God by bringing others to Jesus.

John 1:40-42

Andrew was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon Peter and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

John 6:8-9

Andrew spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Matt 4:18-20

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed him.

          Andrew was a soldier in the King’s army doing what he could to advance the kingdom by bringing people to the King – he didn’t wait for them to come, he went fishing for them.  He was a dedicated soldier laying down his life by living his life for the King!

Rev 3:1-6

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, (the soldier’s uniform) for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

1 John 3:16-18

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Are you a soldier enlisted in the army of the King of kings – Jesus Christ?

05-19-13 God clicked “Like” on your Facebook page

Scripture                                   1 Corinthians 13:12

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Psalm 105:4   Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. We will see God face to face – why seek His face now?  Because while you are looking for God’s face in His Faithbook – God is looking at your faith in your face book.

INTRODUCTION

We found Joel Stamper and are currently looking for our next Director of Student Ministries through a web site called Youth Specialties.  Why is it called Youth Specialties – because they are specifically focused on youth ministry resources – that is there specialty.  Like God is specifically focused on the purpose of His creation – you and me – God’s web site would be called People specialties – that is his focus.  You can click his people specialties facebook, twitter, pinterest and Instagram pages as well.  The question today is, has God clicked “Like” on your Facebook page?

Eph 2:1-10

Stand beside and slightly behind me  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, Drop to the floor on your back - dead in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler start rising and reaching for the air of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are wagging your finger and head like “No” disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature eating a ton of food crossing to the other side of the stage and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. Duck from God’s wrath while saying “Oh God!”

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich  rubbing fingers like being rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions drop to the floor dead again — it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up Pastor takes your hand and raises you up with Christ and seated sit on one of the stools us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches riches hand movement again of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith proudly say, “That’s what I’m talkin about – I’ve got the faith!” — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— “From God, yes, but don’t forget I do lots of stuff for God and the church” not by works, so that no one can boast. A bit deflated, I encourage you and you straighten up but more humbly now pointing to God For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Shaking your head in agreement.  I say “do you understand how important you are to God?”  You say, “Yes, but can we do that ‘dead thing’ one more time – that’s fun”  I say “sure” and you drop down dead on the floor.  I kick you and you get up and return to your seat joyfully.

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”

CAUTION: YOU ARE SPECIAL – SO IS EVERYONE ELSE

Romans 12:3-5

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.   (lower left knuckle)

REMEMBER TO THANK GOD FOR YOUR SPECIALNESS

Psalm 139:14

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

GOD CONSIDERS OUR WHOLE BEING IS SPECIAL

Matthew 10:30

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

HOW SPECIAL DOES GOD THINK YOU ARE?

John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world that he gave (Jesus took our place) his one and only Son, that whoever believes (Faith) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

HOW SPECIAL DID GOD MAKE US?

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  (A propensity to run from God)

 HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE SPCIAL TO GOD?

Luke 15:10

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

"If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it"

"He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart?"

WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL TO GOD?

Matt 8:5-11

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."  Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."  The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Psalm 139:1-9

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!  I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!  If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.  I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.  To you the night shines as bright as day.  Darkness and light are the same to you.  You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

05-12-13 Why did God bless you with THAT child?

Scripture                                             Luke 2:25-33

The greatest thing any mother can do is to give her child away.

TWO PROSTITUE MOTHERS

1 Kings 3:16-27

Two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son — and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne." The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.  The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'" Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"  But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

I Samuel 1:1-2:11

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.  He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.   Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.  Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.  But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.  And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.  This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"  Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple.   In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him." When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always." "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there.

2 Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.  My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.  "There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.  "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.  "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.  "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.  The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.  He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's; upon them he has set the world.  He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Moses

Exodus 1

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;  Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.  Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,  but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.  Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.  "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Exodus 2:1-13      Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,  and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.  But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.  His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.  Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.  She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.  Then his sister asked  Pharaoh's  daughter, "Shall  I  go  and  get  one  of  the

Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"  "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.  Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Jesus

Luke 2:21-40        On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."  Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.