Matthew 2

I hope that those who are taking the challenge have read chapter 1.  For anyone coming to this later these posts will be on our website or my blog so that you can catch up at any time.
Chapter 2 of Matthew
Think about your nativity set that you have or see.  Notice in the gospel there is no manger, no shepherds, the only angels that are present come in dreams to warn of danger.  It is easy to take the birth stories of Jesus and combine them into one story.  Here the birth of Jesus is matter of fact as to place and the political situation in which he was born.
The author tells the story of the magi and the interaction with King Herod.  Following the star to find their way, reflected the belief that when extraordinary events happen there is often signs in the heaven portending the event.   Reflect on how King Herod responds to the information of a new king being born.  The magi go to the political capital of Judea seeking this new king.  Yet the King of Kings is not in the political capital but in a small village outside of Jerusalem.  What do you make of this fact?
Notice that throughout this chapter how many times the author says about this is what the prophet said or this was to fulfill what the prophets had said.  Why do you think that the author would continue to speak about the prophets regarding the birth of Jesus?
The magi find Jesus in a house.  They are overjoyed and present their gifts to the mother and child.  Notice how messy the birth of Jesus becomes.  The quiet peaceful birth is reacted to by those in power through fear and death of innocents.  The child is rescued by dreams that Joseph has to go to Egypt again to fulfill prophecy.  This also foreshadows the future conflicts that will occur with Jesus and those in power both religious leaders and political leaders.
When the family returns from Egypt, they return to Nazareth rather than Bethlehem.  There was no mention about why they were in Bethlehem in the first place.

Gospel of Matthew

Last Sunday I mentioned how important it was to get back to scripture.  I mentioned that if one wanted to begin to study scripture and I recommended starting with the Gospel of Matthew.  I know that it is important to read the entire bible but starting with Matthew and reading closely what it says will point to Jesus’ scriptures found in the Hebrew Scriptures what we sometimes call the Old Testament.  Our church is offering a bible study on Matthew.
I began to reflect on doing something different.  So here is the challenge that I would like to present.  I would like to challenge people to read a chapter a day of Matthew.  The night before starting tonight, I will offer some insights and questions that may help focus on what we are reading.  We should be done with the gospel in 28 days.
So the challenge is to read Chapter one of the Gospel starting tomorrow.
Here are some insights to think about.  Why does the author start with a genealogy of Jesus?  What does it mean to be the son of David, the son of Abraham?  Genealogy for the Jews at that time determined status and one’s place in the history of the people.  Then as it is today status came from who your parent’s were and what tribe you belonged. 
Notice the people that are listed.  Were all the ones listed righteous people?  See Judges, Ruth, Kings, and Chronicles.  What would you make of the idea of 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Exile, and 14 to Joseph?
The author than tells the story of Joseph and Mary.  The focus of Matthew is more on Joseph than Mary which is focused more in the Gospel of Luke.  Notice verse 22 and 23.  Where is that prophecy?  Notice how important dreams are.

Another excellent reflection

Sharing another article from Scott.  This is an excellent resource for leaders in the church and other pastors.

I recently wrote a short blog post about white space. Read the post here.

We each have a mission. It's what God wants to do through us. But we are insanely distracted at every turn. It's the enemy's way of keeping us off target just enough that we are left unfulfilled, discouraged, and burned out.

I believe you can use this distraction as an opportunity. And here's where this week's challenge comes in:

1) First, get used to the inevitable. Distractions come in many forms. They are email messages, phone calls, visits to your office and the list goes on and on. Don't fight them. They are a part of life. It's part of our "Epic Battle".

2) Second, plan for the inevitable. This week, allow for 2 hours of distraction each day. This means, if you work 8 hours each day, only put 6 hours worth of work into it. This will position you nicely. For example, if you only have 1 hour of distraction, you have time to "borrow" from tomorrow's to do list and you are even more productive.

"I press on toward the goal..."

3) Third, process the inevitable. Giving 2 hours each day for the distractions gives you the capacity to take a look at the distractions themselves. Are they really divine appointments? Are they an indication you need to make a systemic change? Are they telling you something about a personal growth edge?

Sharing

This is a weekly email that I get which often contains information that I have found to be inspiring.  Thought I would share this with you.

 

 

Stop Look Listen

Featured Resource

Your Life In Rhythm

by Bruce B. Miller

This is the 249th issue sent

since February 22, 2007

"...fulfillment is the carrying out of your life's mission. It is being a responsible steward in each stage of your life. Burnout comes from trying to seize opportunities that do not fit the current season of your life."
Miller, Bruce B. Your Life in Rhythm (pp. 83-84)

To make the most of the quote above by Bruce Miller, we must stop the flow of life and assess where we are right now. So,

This Week's Challenge is to: 

STOP what you're doing. Put down the book you're reading. Stop responding you your email messages. Stop studying for your next sermon. Whatever you're doing, stop.

LOOK around you. What do you see? Are you convinced your life is in good rhythm? Would Jesus Christ be pleased with your use of time?

LISTEN to the still small voice down deep inside you. Hear what God is telling you through your emotional reactions of late. What is He saying to you through your scripture reading? What is he telling you through interactions with others?

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4.10

We will be talking about this week's challenge on the Community Call.

TODAY NOON EST

Call 218.862.1300

Enter Code 820646

Stay.Strong.

Last Week's Blog Posts

How To Harness Your Anger

08-19-2011 08:03:20 AM

Set your hand on a hot stove and it won't be too long before you get the message and pull it off. Anger can work the same way. It's like pain. It sends a signal to our minds that something needs attention. When we get angry at a situation, a person, an injustice...whatever, the anger is [...]...»

4 Important Books

08-18-2011 08:15:50 AM

The following is a guest post by a very good friend and mentor of mine, Len Boesger. Len has been speaking into my life not only on a professional level, but more importantly on a spiritual and personal level as well. I asked him to expound on a phrase he shared with me recently on [...]...»

Wednesday With Seth Caddell

08-17-2011 08:15:00 AM

It's time for another edition of the Serving Strong "Wednesday's With" blog series. This is the place to come on Wednesdays and hear how real life ministry leaders are staying strong in their calling. The main reason for this series is to counter all the negative news of ministry failure and burnout statistics we are [...]...»

The Only Thing I Need

08-16-2011 08:15:34 AM

Are you serving God to make Him happy with you? Are you serving so that one day you'll earn your way into heaven for eternity? Do you REALLY believe that unconditional love of God that you preach to your people? Watch this video and follow along with the lyrics and see if it defines what's [...]...»

You're Not All That

08-15-2011 08:02:56 AM

I was creeping on Facebook last night. You know how they put those birthday announcements to the right ("Hey! So-and-so has a birthday. Why not wish them a happy birthday on their wall")? Well an old friend from my childhood showed up. So I went to his page. Lo, and behold, he was BALD! Can [...]...»

Interested in being coached?

http://servingstrong.com

Serving Strong PowerMail has been named an All Star for 2008, 2009 and 2010 by Constant Contact. This prestigious award is granted to companies who communicate regularly with their subscribers and who are clearly interested in hearing from them. Serving Strong maintains sound permission-based email marketing and list management best practices. Be assured Serving Strong will continue to do what's necessary to uphold this honor.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe look helpful and will add value to my subscribers, whether I have personally read them or not. As with all suggested materials, be diligent to assess for yourself whether or not something is right for you.

YEAH MINISTRY!!   booo burnout

Riches or the Cross

This week I will be preaching on Matthew 16:21-28.  Last Sunday I discussed the two questions Jesus asked the disciples.  The first was "What do others think about who I am?"  The second question was then more pointed asked to the disciples was "Who do you think I am?"  Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God."

This week I will continue to look at what that means when we claim that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah.  What do you think it means in your life?  Does it change the way you look at life?  Does it effect the choices you make?  And even with all of this should it make a difference?

What would you say about yourself and also how would you share with someone else?  Feel free to comment.  Come next week and let us reflect on this taking up one's cross.

Reflections on Matthew 16:13-23

I had proposed the question as to Peter’s response to Jesus’ question as to who Jesus is.  I want to add something to the first question that Jesus asked.  He said who do others think I am?  That is a legitimate question.  I remember as I was growing up, my parents telling me not to do things “because what would the neighbors think.”  How one measured up to others opinions was important to them and also to me.  Not that I would always be concerned about others opinions but I do believe that as John Wesley would say, “Do no harm and do all the good you can.” 

As a therapist, I know what can happened when someone is labeled either a trouble-maker, difficult to get along with, slow, stupid, an idiot.  One can be labeled enough that soon one begins to believe what others say.  At the same time if one does things in such a way as to create other’s opinions, that too can influence what one can do or not do.

Today we are encouraged to only think of ourselves and not to worry about what other people may think about us.  So the reputation that one has often catches people be surprise.  It is as if a person has blinders on that prevent them from truly seeing themselves as others see them.  This applies to individuals and families but it also applies to churches and other organizations.

We have been doing a survey among ourselves as to what we think we are known for.  I have not seen the results of those surveys and I am looking forward to seeing them.  Maybe if we really wanted to find out what we are known for we should ask non-members of our church to get a better view.  I would pray that there would be enough similarities between our internal and external survey.  But it may get more of an answer as to how do others see us.

Who do you say I am

I was attending a church in Nashville yesterday and was reminded how important it is to use technology to reach and to receive feedback from people.  The church I attended is a church in transition.  At one time a very vibrant ministry that today is dying.  They are looking at the changes that have occurred in their neighborhood and have decided to do something about it.  Their mission statement is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by modeling Jesus.  Their vision statement is to do this by loving our neighbors.  It reminded me as I entered the building of my home church.  I could not go 5 feet without someone coming up and introducing themselves and taking me to introduce me to others.  They certainly were a welcoming community.

Part of their struggle is that they are an elderly congregation.  Yet, they have not given up.  They have a new young pastor who has been there 7 weeks.  He has  brought the idea of web sites, pod casts, and developing an alternative service.  The congregation has been supporting this wholeheartedly.  They know that even though the foundation of Jesus Christ as savior has not changed, the way we can speak the message can change.

This leads me to remember that Jesus often used what appeared to be radical ideas to convey the Kingdom.  Today Jesus might employ our technology to reach those who are in need of hearing God’s mercy, love, and grace.

When I return from vacation, I will be using the scripture from Matthew 16:13-20.   Jesus asks two important questions.  The first is “Who do others say I am?”  The second question is “Who do you say I am?”  So readers I would ask you today, who do you say Jesus is?

Let me know what you are thinking.

Blessings