By Chris Breslin, on December 9th, 2011 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote: You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come one who governs,
who will shepherd my people Israel." Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. -Matthew 2:1-12 (Common English Bible)
By Mark Acuff, on December 8th, 2011 Some special people are going to help us celebrate Advent this Sunday – our kids. The Gathering Kids Choir will present music and readings in the service. It’s going to be great! Watching them will remind us why Jesus said one had to be like a child in order to enter the kingdom. We will also be learning from the familiar story found in Matthew 2:1-12 about the Wise Men. This is the only time that someone truly honored Jesus as a king. Why did someone so far off recognize what those so near couldn’t see? Maybe some children will help us figure that out this Sunday.
By Mark Acuff, on December 2nd, 2011 What’s in a name? I don’t have any idea why my parents named me ’Mark.’ I haven’t once been curious about it. I wasn’t named after any well-loved relative. I guess they just liked the sound of it. My wife and I were really spiritual when we had our first child, so we named him Jonathan Christopher, one name derived from Hebrew (God’s gift) and the other from Greek (Christ-bearer). Actually, we were so surprised that she was pregnant that the gift part was a stretch, but we didn’t know the Hebrew word for ‘God’s-shock’. God was very particular about the name of his son. The name of his son would describe the child’s identity and purpose, and one other thing – our greatest need. This Sunday at the Gathering Church we get to look at Joseph’s reaction when he finds out that the woman he is going to marry is pregnant. Ugh! He’s not too happy about it. Found in Matthew 1:18-25, we get the name that the child is to have. Suddenly the issue is bigger than Joseph’s dilemma. The name of Jesus is so familiar to us that we miss what God had in mind with this particular name. To understand the name is to know our greatest need. This Sunday.
By Chris Breslin, on December 2nd, 2011 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, And they will call him, Emmanuel. (Emmanuel means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus. -Matthew 1:18-25 (Common English Bible)
By Jeff Crawford, on November 27th, 2011 Gathering Church Sermon Podcast | Curt Lowndes | Matthew 1:1-17
By Mark Acuff, on November 25th, 2011 narrative: n. a story or a description of a series of events There’s a narrative going on about our lives all the time. We’re always part of a story, actually many stories all at once. Were you part of the Black Friday story that was the top news story of Thanksgiving? Do you carry pepper spray to ward off shoppers? I hope that you are not in that story. This Sunday at the Gathering Church we begin the Advent Season, an intentional way to connect to the most important story, the story of God drawing near by coming as a person. One of the first story tellers about this person, Matthew, begins with a list of a bunch of people who were already part of the story, Matthew 1:1-17. Curt Lowndes, a recent graduate from Duke Divinity School and a member of the church Leadership Team will teach us this Sunday. He will give us a great start to center our lives in God’s story. I don’t know about you, but just a couple of days into the holiday season I already need to be re-connected to the story that matters.
By Chris Breslin, on November 25th, 2011 A record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab. Aminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asaph. Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amos. Amos was the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. This was at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel. Salathiel was the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary—of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ. So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the exile to Babylon to the Christ. -Matthew 1:1-17 (Common English Bible)
By Chris Breslin, on November 21st, 2011 Gathering Church Sermon Podcast | Mark Acuff | Luke 7:36-50
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