Present the
following scripture with the words from Godspell in the first person as John
the Baptist and at the end as Jesus!
Matthew 3
In
those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and
saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare
the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair,
and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild
honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole
region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the
Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping
with repentance. 9 And do not think you can
say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of
these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every
tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the
fire.
11 "I baptize
you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful
than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork
is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into
the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan
to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill
all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up
out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven
said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I
am well pleased."
Who was this firey preacher? This John the
Baptist?
Born in the late 1st century
(circa 5 B.C.), St. John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet who preached the
imminence of God's final judgment. It is believed that he was born somewhere in
Judea, located near Jerusalem, Israel, according to the Old Testament. A priest
of the order of Abijah, John the Baptist gained recognition as a prophet, had
several disciples and baptized a number of people, including Jesus Christ,
according to scripture. Christians believe that John the Baptist was the last
great prophet before Jesus Christ came to earth. He was reportedly beheaded
circa 30 A.D.
Shiphrah and Puah – great faith
Exodus 1:12-22
But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and
spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them
ruthlessly. 14 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. 15 The king of
Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16
"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." 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king
of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt
summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have
you let the boys live?"
19
The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women;
they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the
people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives
feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 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."
Jethro – a great mind
(Exodus 18:13-26)
Jethro was Moses' father-in-law.
He was also a great business consultant.
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?...What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone...select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?...What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone...select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Priscilla and Aquila – care for the church and it’s leaders
Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple who traveled with the
Apostle Paul. They were apparently very influential members of the early
church. In his letter to the Romans, Paul states that the couple risked their
lives for him.
Epaphras – Prayer Warrior
Col 4:12-14
Epaphras, who is one of you and
a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer
for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully
assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at
Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Col 3:22-25
Slaves, obey your earthly
masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win
their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord
as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
True heroes of faith are those
who work quietly behind the scenes. Those who volunteer to set up tables and
chairs, those who pray for the church leadership and others regularly, those
who fold the bulletin, those who set up the coffee, those who unlock and lock
the doors, turn out the lights, run the sound, lights, cameras, sweep the walk,
clear the snow, start a new small group and keep it going when only two people
are coming, send cards when people are sick or have something to celebrate,
roll bandages out of torn up bed sheets for developing countries, are in church
every Sunday they are in town, invite church guests over for lunch or out for
coffee, give small gifts to the church staff at Christmas or for a birthday,
visit the sick or lonely, buy chocolate for a youth fund raiser then give the
chocolate to others because they aren’t allowed to have it, sign up to help
with VBS before they have to be begged to do it, work with community help
organizations like a homeless shelter, pregnancy center or 12 step program, who
volunteer in the public schools to help children succeed, who give a call to
people they haven’t seen at church lately, who tweet-instagram-pin-or facebook
the word of God through an e-poster or verse of the day, who invite someone
they just met to come to church and offer to give them a ride, who find a great
video in right now media and pass it on to others who would benefit from it,
who goes out of their way to pick up an elderly person for church because they
can no longer drive themselves, who answer the questions on YouVersion to let
the pastor know they are listening and actively engaged in the message, who go
to sleep early on Saturday so they are alert to worship well on Sunday.
WIND BENEATH MY WINGS
It must have been cold there in my shadow. To never have
sunlight on your face
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind. So I was the one with all
the glory
While you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name for so long
A beautiful smile to hide the pain
While you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name for so long
A beautiful smile to hide the pain
Did you ever know that you're my hero, And everything I
would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle; For you are the wind beneath my wings
I can fly higher than an eagle; For you are the wind beneath my wings
It might have appeared to go unnoticed. But I've got it all
here in my heart
I want you to know, I know the truth, of course I know it
I would be nothing without you
I want you to know, I know the truth, of course I know it
I would be nothing without you
Did you ever know that you're my hero? 'Cause you are the
wind beneath my wings!
Thank you, thank you. Thank God for you, the wind beneath my
wings.
