God is Near: First Week of Advent

What About Angels

I love Thanksgiving week. I love the long weekend and the cool of fall (although sometimes this doesn’t happen in Florida!), I love the turkey and dressing and the pies that our family typically makes. More than anything else, I love that Thanksgiving is a time to be close to family and friends! At our very core, we were created to be people of relationship and it is so special to be near to those we love. We have had a couple of Thanksgivings alone and if you are in this situation, our hearts are with you. Next year we may need to create a Thanksgiving meal at the Lake Deaton campus for those who are not close to family so that we can share our nearness with each other. 

This Sunday we begin the Advent season, a time of year to celebrate Christ taking on human form and coming to earth. During this season we celebrate the fact that through Christ, God is near, 2,000 years ago as well as today. As you prepare for this weekend’s worship, I encourage you to watch the video, read the scripture below and then spend a few minutes thinking through the reflection questions. 

I am so happy to be back after my Sabbatical leave and can’t wait to see you Sunday!!!

Scripture:

Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. ² And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. ³ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ⁴ This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. 

5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.”

God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”

6 And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”

7 Regarding the angels, he says, “He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire.” 8 But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. ⁹ You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”

10 He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. ¹¹ They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. ¹² You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.” 13 And God never said to any of the angels, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

14    Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.  Hebrews 1:1-14

Reflection Questions:

1. The author of Hebrews begins this letter by introducing the glory of God come to earth through Jesus Christ. Why do you think they also wrote so extensively about angels within this introduction?
2. How does this introduction about Jesus and the place of angels apply to us today?
3. Verse 14 sums up the ministry of Angels. What does this ministry have to do with you today?

Storm-Worthy Faith

This weekend we are blessed to have Kris Schonewolf with us at Lake Deaton to bring the message. Please take time to watch the video, read the Scripture and reflect on the questions and we will see you Sunday!

Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35    That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Mark 4:39    He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Mark 4:40    He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:41    They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Reflection Questions:

In this week’s scripture we see Jesus calming a storm when the disciples were afraid for their lives. The curious thing is that after he calms the storm Jesus admonishes his disciples for having no faith.

1. How does that make you feel?

2. Was his response justified? Was Jesus being too hard on them?

3. What about us? What would we have done in the storm?

4. What do we do in the storms of our lives today?

5. Would Jesus accuse us of having no faith?