Advent is not a Baby Shower

by David Petersen

Advent has an "end of world" emphasis that sometimes seems out of place with the world’s busy holiday, but it is actually a helpful antidote to the stress and unrealistic expectations of the season.

The traditional color for Advent is violet. Violet is supposed to be purple, the color of royalty, mixed with black, the color for mourning. Some churches now use blue for Advent, which is meant to be the color of hope. Either way, Advent is a mini-Lent. Advent is preparation for Christmas even as Lent is preparation for Easter. Much to the chagrin of our fallen flesh, the Church always prepares in the same way: repentance. That seems like an unhappy thing, but it isn’t.

John the Baptist is the Advent preacher par excellance. He didn’t announce the Lord’s birth to shepherds, but warned of coming wrath. He was a preacher of repentance but he also proclaimed the escape from that wrath that God has provided in the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Advent isn’t a baby shower. We aren’t getting ready for a baby to be born in Bethlehem. That train has already left the station. We celebrate that birth, to be sure, but whatever the season, following our Lord’s command that we be vigilant for the end, we are always preparing His return. There will be a judgment. The goats will be separated from the sheep. It will be scary, but it will be joyous for the baptized because they will finally and fully be relieved of their sins.

Repentance isn’t an unhappy thing because it is part of faith and faith, even in its sorrow and mourning, is always joyous. Don’t get me wrong. The fear of the Lord is more than respect. God threatens to punish all who break His commandments. We don’t simply “respect” His wrath, but we fear it, and we strive to obey His commandments because of that fear. But there is more in us, by grace, than fear, even as there is more in repentance than simply sorrow over sin. There is also love and trust, and in that we gladly obey what God has commanded.

John says: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” That is an "end of world"reality. For Him to take away sin, means we have sins, that it is our fault, and for Him to take them away means that He must take them upon Himself and then suffer and die for them. The Babe born to Mary is born to be a Sacrifice and guilt offering. That is a horrible and yet at the same time a joyous thing for faith, for those who fear, love, and trust in God. That joyous sobriety, with an eye toward the end, is the real gift of the season and the cure for what ails and stresses us.

The Rev. David Petersen is senior pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind.

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The Lutheran Witness — Providing Missouri Synod laypeople with stories and information that

complement congregational life, foster personal growth in faith, and help interpret the 

contemporary world from a Lutheran Christian perspective.

David and the Temple

King David called for consecrated giving to the building of the temple, based on his personal example of generosity (1 Chr. 29.3, 4). David gave his personal fortune to the temple building, a fortune almost immeasurable. He says that “over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver. three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir.” Assuming a talent weighed about 75 pounds, this amounts to almost 112 tons of gold. This was held to be the purest and finest in the world (Job 22.24; 28.16; Is. 13.12). Plus the 7,000 talents of silver, which would be 260 tons, the total worth of such precious metals has been estimated in the billions of dollars.

As he addresses the people, David notes the phrase “with a willing mind” (vv. 6–9). Here is the key to all freewill giving, i.e., giving what one desires to give. Tithes were required for taxation, to fund the theocracy, similar to taxation today. The law required that to be paid. This, however, is the voluntary giving from the heart to the Lord. The New Testament speaks of this (Luke 6.38; 2 Cor. 9.1–8) and never demands that a tithe be given to God, but that taxes be paid to one’s government (Rom. 13.6, 7). Paying taxes and giving God whatever one is willing to give, based on devotion to Him and His glory, is biblical giving.

The people rejoiced in their offering to the temple which was “five thousand talents…of gold” (1 Chr. 29.7). This amounts to 187 tons of gold. Add to that 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. The sum of all this is staggering and has been estimated into the billions of dollars. David responds to the phenomenal offering expressing amazing sacrifices of wealth with praise in which he acknowledges that all things belong to and come from God (vv. 10–15). David says that opportunities for giving to God are tests of the character, “test the heart,” of a believer’s devotion to the Lord (v. 17). The king acknowledges that the attitude of one’s heart is significantly more important than the amount of offering in one’s hand. 

Faith and Theology John MacArthur

Session Three: Stressed and Depressed

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church

Sunday Bible Study     Comfort and Courage in the Gospel     Session Three:  Stressed and Depressed

A mortician called a Los Angeles Baptist minister near the mortuary if he would be willing to perform a service for a lady who had committed suicide.  He added that it would be a small service with no remuneration.   He said yes.

The lady was in her late 60’s  For unknown reasons, she had no friends or relatives – at least that responded to any attempts by the mortuary.  She had cancer.  She had been sent home from the hospital because there was nothing else they could do.  She had no one to visit her, so she paid someone.  Evidently there are people who will sit with you for $12.50 per hour.  No one else did. 

One day, when he arrived, he found her dead.  With several empty bottles of pain killers on her bed and a letter addressed to the hired “visitor.”  “Sharon, I’m ending it.  No one cares.  You don’t either.  This $25.00 is to attend my funeral.  Don’t be surprised if you’re the only one there.”

She was.  The preacher conducted a full ceremony, even though the only attendee there was because she had taken the $25.00 and felt compelled.  “It was the saddest funeral I’ve ever conducted,” recalled the preacher.

• What brings about such despondency?

• Have you known someone overwhelmed to the point of sever depression?  What was the cause? 

• Stress can be a positive thing!  It can keep us sharp and focused!  When does it become a problem?  

• Read Matthew 26:38.  Sadness can be natural and appropriate!  When does it turn to depression and become a problem? 

• Depression can be chemical or situational.  Why is it important to know the difference?

• The causes of depression can be appropriate or inappropriate.  Appropriate might be some great evil or wrong.  But it might be some self-condemnation or inappropriate guilt or unrealistic expectations.  What difference does this make?

• Read 1 Peter 2:9-10.  How can bad “God-esteem” lead to inappropriate depression?  Can such depression lead to grave issues (eating disorders, for example)? 

• Discuss:  “Depression is not related to the problem, it’s related to the coping.” 

• What helps with coping?  What “coping mechanisms” might people have? 

• In your life, what “coping mechanisms” have proved helpful?  What helped you?

• In my summer as a boy scout chaplain, we had MANY homesick boys every week.  It was a major part of my work there – dealing with the plethora of boys with this problem – related to depression.  Wise men told me this:  “Don’t entertain it, don’t nursemaid them, get them moving, get them acting AS IF they were not depressed – the more they act okay, they’ll feel okay.”  However “counter-intuitive” this may seem, it worked!   Incredibly well!  What might be going on there?  On the other hand, what wisdom is found in coming along side of people, “weeping with those that weep,” letting people “talk it out?”   

Read Psalm 42 

• How does his depression evidence itself here?

• What are some of the causes for such that he mentions?

• Read verses 5 and 11.  What counsel does he give himself?

• Depression is fairly common in the Bible (Some biblical examples:  Job 3, Jonah 4:1-3, Exodus 6:9, Matthew 26:75, Psalm 29:1-5).  Can Christians be depressed?  What misunderstandings might the unchurched or new Christian get from songs such as “Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy are the people whose God in the Lord?”  In the Beatitudes, the Greek word can be translated as “happy” or “blessed.”  Why do most translators prefer the concept of “blessed?” 

Some Godly Advice and Comfort…

Phil. 4:8 ____________________________________________________________________

Matt. 11:28 _________________________________________________________________

Matt. 28:20 _________________________________________________________________

Ps. 23:1-6 __________________________________________________________________

John 14:27 _________________________________________________________________

2 Cor. 1:4 __________________________________________________________________

2 Cor. 4::8-9 ________________________________________________________________

Ps. 46:1 ___________________________________________________________________

2 Tim. 1:7 __________________________________________________________________

Matt. 14:27 _________________________________________________________________

Luke 4:18 __________________________________________________________________

2 Cor. 4:17 _________________________________________________________________

Ps. 31:24 __________________________________________________________________

Ps. 34:18-19 ________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 30:19 ________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 41:10 ________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 41:13 ________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 43:5 _________________________________________________________________

Deut. 31:6, 8 _______________________________________________________________

Ezek. 34:16 ________________________________________________________________

“Comfort for Christians”

         

Session One: Guilt

Read Isaiah 40:1-2

For the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at practical ways that the Gospel comforts the believer.  We do that in a general sense WHENEVER we open the pages of Scripture, but we’re going to do it very purposefully and in practical ways. 

Of course, many Scriptures and promises will be repeated often – since they apply constantly.  Some are quite specific to a certain situation.  They are good Scriptures to keep in mind – for us and for others.  But you are ENCOURAGED to offer your own verses, to ADD to the Scriptures offered each week! 

And of course, while we’re going to focus only on the Gospel, we all know there is a “flip side” – the Law.  We’ll touch on that from time to time, not nothing more.  Gospel CAN be abused and actually become harmful (drinking too much water can kill you!).  But we’ll try to keep a RIGHT use in view.

“I Have Sinned!”

“Sin” is no longer a common word in the English language.  Not even in a lot of churches.  It’s hardly ever used in books or songs or films; it hardly appears in common English uses at all.  Even 20^th and 21^st Century sermons and hymns rarely mention it.  

In the Judeo-Christian world, the concepts of original sin and total depravity were once SO deeply ingrained, so completely assumed, that it was constantly stated, strongly and universally felt.  “That saved a WRETCH like me” John Newton wrote 200+ years ago in the now ancient hymn, “Amazing Grace.”  This kind of talk was common!   In this milieu, guilt is understandable!  Maybe unavoidable.

Times have changed.  The worldview is now post-Christian.  The common view of man is “I’m okay, you’re okay.”  We are fundamentally good – not perfect, but good. Yes, we struggle and slip up at times, we communicate poorly at times, we are misunderstood and our needs are often misunderstood.  This can lead to good people making bad choices.  In THIS mindset, there may be regret of sorts – but even that is just relative (heck, everyone else makes still worse choices!) and the “fault” for such really isn’t personal but communal.  “The prideful have no sins – except for pride.”  Think of the films, books and songs of the past 50 years; with the exception of some Country songs perhaps (!), is there much guilt?  Some people sense no NEED for comfort in this area because they sense no sin on their part.  We’ll leave it at that since THAT is a Law issue - they need the Law to tell them what they are, what they do and how serious that is…

For many of US, guilt remains REAL because sin remains REAL.  We didn’t stop sinning in the middle of the 20^th century.  We still do.  As much as ever.  And it’s PERSONAL, and it’s PAINFUL, and it’s HURTFUL, and it STINKS. 

It manifests itself in a plethora of ways.  Anger.  Depression.  Isolation.  Violence.  Accusative spirit.  Negativity.  Self-destructive behaviors.  A lot of different ways….

Alice had suffered from depression for some 50 years, since her mid-twenties.  All this began shortly after she married Jim, but it grew steadily worse.  Jim stood by her (even though the “worse” part of the vows was outweighing the “better” part of that).  They had two sons, and they too stood by her (although she was increasingly difficult to live with, and functionally stopped being much of a mother when they were still pretty young).  At first, just being cheerful and keeping her busy at least kept her functioning.  Then some medication was added, and that helped.  Then regular, weekly appointments with a counselor were added.  But in her late 50’s, it became all consuming.  She rarely left the house.  She became critical and negative. One-by-one, friendships were strained past the breaking point.  She ate – and put on over 200 pounds.  Fortunately, she didn’t drink.  Finally, at the age of 75, she agreed to be placed in an institution, a “loony farm” as Alice called it.  In one of the groups, a young lady spoke of an abortion, and cried.  Alice broke down in loud tears, and not for the young lady.   Shortly after Alice and Jim were married, she became pregnant.  They planned on not having children for a while, until Jim got out of the Army – and she felt she let Jim down by becoming pregnant.  Her hairdresser gave her the name and phone number of someone who’d take care of that.  She had “lived” with that for 50 years (“lived?).  Nonetheless, ultimately, Alice was one of the fortunate ones.  She was forgiven.  Including by her.

How did guilt manifest itself in Alice?

What finally helped Alice?

How have you witnessed guilt in people’s lives?  Have you had experience trying to help them?

Alice was forgiven, and she forgave herself.  Do these stories always have a happy ending?

Read Psalm 51 (so do including the heading in the ESV)

Recall the story of David and Bathsheba….

David repented only after Nathan almost tricked him into seeing his fault – but he did see it!  How does this Psalm reveal his sorrow and his faith?

Do you think David found healing in forgiveness?

 

 

Read John 8:1-11

While the text doesn’t expressly say it, Jesus’ handling of this suggests the woman was sorry.  What seems to be Jesus’ point to the accusers? 

What two important things do you think Jesus is saying in His counsel to the woman?

Read Luke 7:36-50

How do we know this woman is sorry?

What is the view of the “holy” people toward her?

What is the point of Jesus’ parable?

How is Jesus’ advice to this woman similar to the other?

Of course, this account also shows the need to respond to guilt with forgiveness!   Read Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 11:25-26, Luke 6:37-42, Luke 11:4

If you can, tell of a time when you felt forgiven…

Read the following verses.   Write down what comfort this gives….

Isaiah1:18 _________________________________________________________________

Micah7:19 _________________________________________________________________

John3:16-17 ___________________________________________________________________

Psalm103:10-12 __________________________________________________________________

Psalm130:3-4 ___________________________________________________________________

John8:36 ___________________________________________________________________

Romans3:23-24 ___________________________________________________________________

2Corinthians5:21 ___________________________________________________________________

Ephesians4:32 ___________________________________________________________________

Colossians1:13-14 ___________________________________________________________________

1John1:8-9 _________________________________________________________

1John2:2 ___________________________________________________________________

Psalm32:5 ___________________________________________________________________

Psalm34:18 ___________________________________________________________________

Matthew11:28-30 ___________________________________________________________________

Luke15:10 __________________________________________________________________

Acts10:43 __________________________________________________________________

Colossians3:13 __________________________________________________________________

1 Timothy 1:15 __________________________________________________________________

Session Five: Doubting Salvation

“Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned and that she has received double from the Lord’s hands.”

Isaiah 40:1-2

In a more religious age, it was more common – but we still find it today:  a terrifying fear of hell, God’s rejection, a lack of salvation.   This story, told by a 15 year old boy from Texas, is not so uncommon:

My Dad was a Deacon at our church, my Mom played the piano and taught Sunday School, my older siblings were all admired for their strong faith and commitment to the Lord.  I was different.  I always was.  I always felt like a…. failure.

Oh, I started fine – nice little Christian boy, singing all the Jesus songs, saying lots of Scriptures from memory; the usual stuff.  It really started when I was 13. 

It didn’t start with doubting God, it starting with doubting ME.  It was a deep, terrifying, haunting doubt in ME.  As if I had cancer and it was spreading everywhere and killing me.  Every sermon, every Bible study, every youth group meeting, every retreat – it always seem to shoot me right through the heart with doubts about me – my faith, my commitment and especially my life.   God HATES the likes of me – it said so, right in the Bible!  Everything required – I failed at; my report card was just a long list of “F’s.” Great big F’s.  Maybe I get credit for EFFORT?  My youth pastor said no.

I finally took it out on God.  I mean, how DARE God call Himself “love!”  This God who sends guys like me to hell, this God who stays so silent and distant and cold!   This God who makes things IMPOSSIBLE and then blames US for not attaining it!  The youth pastor kept asking why I was rebellious, why I was “hard-hearted”, why I was so unlike my brother and sisters?  The youth pastor said he was praying for my soul.   I thought I DID believe!  I thought I WAS saved!   I came to hate this God.  And because that was unbearable, I just came to doubt him.   Life seemed better without God.  And His church.  And His people.   “God is DEAD!” I told my Dad.  He slapped my face.  I didn’t care.

·         Do you know similar people with similar stories?

·         Do you think this boy believe (or at least once did)?   Why/why not?

·         There’s not just doubt here!  What else is going on?

·         How might parents, teachers, pastors have contributed to this (intentionally or otherwise)? 

·         If YOU were this 15 year old’s parent, youth pastor, sibling, friend – what would YOU say/do?

Causes:

The SAD situation we see with this teen can have several interrelated causes:

1.    Focused on SELF – our sins, guilt, inadequacies, failures, lack of merit.   The more we look in the mirror and the less we look to the Cross – the more fear and insecurity will result.   The bigger we are, the smaller Christ is – and the more fear results.

2.    Hoop Jumping” – the common human religion that WE save ourselves (perhaps with divine HELP) by doing X, Y, Z… (and when that’s done, there’s more to do!).   Justification is about what Christ has DONE, not what we must DO.   D.O.  not  D.O.N.E.

3.    A confusion of Law and Gospel, confusion of discipleship with salvation.   Mixing things leads to confusion, doubt and fear (OR to little self-righteous Pharisees!)

4.    Ignorance of the Gospel.   ALL other religions (and as the boy in our opening confirms, even in misstated Christianity) are based on fear and striving because there is no Gospel. 

5.    Confusing doubt with a lack of faith.  Doubt  results from a lack of cognitive certainty (we ALL have doubts!).   Faith is trust/reliance; we all have trust in MANY things but if such is lacking where it is needed/desired – a problem results.  Since knowledge and reliance are not the same thing, nor is the lack of them.

·         Which of the above do you think might have been the problem for the teen in the opening example?

·         Have you struggled with any of these?   Someone you know?

·         One of the common Evangelism Questions was, “Are you certain that if you were to die tonight, you’d go to heaven?”   By far, the most common answer (even from Christians!) was, “I hope so.”  What issue exists there?

Justification:

I John 1:8  “God is love.”

John 3:16  “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but has everlasting life!”

Romans 5:8  “God shows His love for us in that while we were enemies, Christ died for us”

Titus 3:5  “God saved us not because of deeds done by us but in virtue of His own mercy, that we might be saved by His grace”

1 Corinthians 15:3  “Christ died for our sins.”

1 John 2:2  “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins”  

Ephesians 2:8  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing but it is the gift of God”

Romans 6:23  “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

1 John 5:11  “God gives us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 

Acts 10:43  “Everyone that believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins through His name”

Acts 16:30-31  “Sirs, what must we do to be saved?”  They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” 

·         We proclaim that JESUS is THE Savior!  Therefore, am I the Savior?  Even 50%? 10%?  0.0000000000000000000000000001%  

·         “In God I trust, in me I doubt!”   Discuss….   In light of the Scriptures above, why is that not cause to doubt our salvation?  

·         “Monergism” is the affirmation that salvation (justification) is GOD’S doing – a result of God’s heart, God’s righteousness, God’s works, God’s love; it’s all in and through CHRIST – His Live, His Cross, His Resurrection.  We just receive – the GIFT – earned entirely and solely by Christ.  “Synergism” is the affirmation that salvation is a cooperative, collaborative, joint effort between God and us: God doing His part, we doing ours – and TOGETHER … eventually… WE get the job done.   Which view is reflected by the boy in our opening example?  Luther said that ALL forms of synergism are “a terror to the conscience.”  How so?

Assurances:

Romans 8:29-39, For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "

John 4:14, "but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 20:28, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

1 Thess. 5:24, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Rev. 3:5, "I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."

Sanctification:

Just a word…..   PART of our teen’s “problem” was a confusion of justification (what is commonly referred to as “salvation”) with sanctification (“discipleship”).   Yes!   God calls on us to be absolutely PERFECT in the same sense that God Himself is (Matthew 5:48), God requires that we be HOLY just as He is (1 Peter 1:16).  God calls us (especially we Christians!) to VERY, VERY high things!  However, this is not the CAUSE of salvation (justification) and is not to be confused with it.  God GIVES us salvation (remember:  Jesus!  The Cross!  Easter!), but now that we are His own, He calls us to live like it.  

Since God gives the tree life – He expects fruit.  The fruit don’t make the tree alive, the tree being alive means there can be good fruit.   God gives a baby life – then expects him to grow and mature!  The growing doesn’t cause the life, the life means there can be growth.   It’s important to not confuse or blended the two – they are different issues.

Session Four: Grief

“Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned and that she has received double from the Lord’s hands.”

Isaiah 40:1-2

Grief is a universal human suffering.  It is a “heart-ache,” an inner suffering when something with which we’ve had an emotional attachment is taken away.  “Grief happens when there’s a hole in our heart.”  GENERALLY, the bigger the emotional attachment, the bigger the grief. 

• We often think of this in terms of the death close friend or relative, but how might grief result from the loss of something not ever alive? 

• “Molehills ARE mountains to ants!”   What is meant by that?  How can children experience grief?   Examples:  Friend or relative moves away, death of a pet.  How can we help children with what can be HUGE to them?  How can our early experiences with grief impact our later ones?

• “Grief is selfish.”  Agree/disagree?  Is such necessarily bad or does it necessarily make it any less real? 

• Elisabeth Kubler-Ross specified 5 stages to grief:

Denial:  “It’s not so!”

Anger:  “It’s not fair!”

Bargaining:  “Okay, but……” Let’s Make a Deal”   

Depression:  “Yes, it’s true and there’s nothing that’s going to change it…..”

Acceptance:  “Good-bye”  with no anger or depression expressed. 

Such should NOT be confused with feeling happy!  The “hole” remains!

• Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ advice for helping the grieving:

Be there.

Be real.   Embrace appropriate hope but don’t deny reality

Accept their feelings even if you don’t agree with them.

Be respectful.   Give them as such dignity and involvement as possible.

What would you ADD to her advise?

• If possible, share a time when you had the “hole-in-the-heart” of grief?  What helped YOU? 

Read Luke 7:11-17

• How did Jesus feel toward this mother (verse 13)?  Why?

• The woman was not alone!  What importance is there in that?  (See Romans 12:15)

• Jesus says, “Don’t cry.”  Why? 

• While it seems Jesus CAN (and not infrequently does) extend life, and CAN (although perhaps rarely does) bring loved ones back from the dead, what comfort does this account give to the grieving?  

Read Mark 5:22-24, 35-42

• What did Jesus mean by “Do not fear?”   And “only believe?”

• What did Jesus mean by “sleeping?”

Read John 11:5-44

• Read verses 5, 23, 35 and 38.  What was Jesus’ reaction to this grief?

• What does Jesus mean by “sleep” in verse 11?

• What important aspect is revealed in verse 19?

• What faith does Mary reveal in verse 24?

• What did Jesus do?  Does He always raise people (only to die again)?  Does He always raise them? 

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 18. 

• Does Jesus say we are not to grieve?

• What does it mean, “as others who have no hope?”

• How can we comfort each other (verse 18)?

Read First Corinthians 15:20-22, 35-58

• Verses 20-22.  What central Christian point is here?   Why are all Christian funerals Easter celebrations?  How do they celebrate Jesus’ mission: “I have come that you may have life….”

• What glorious gospel is here?  What mystery is here?

Some Scriptures:

John 3:16 _________________________________________________________________

John 11:25-26 ______________________________________________________________

John 14:3 _________________________________________________________________

Romans 8:35-39 ____________________________________________________________

Romans 14:8 ______________________________________________________________

Philippians 1:21 ____________________________________________________________

Psalm 23:4 ________________________________________________________________

Psalm 33:18-19 ____________________________________________________________

Psalm 49:15 _______________________________________________________________

Matthew 5:4 _______________________________________________________________

Isaiah 53:3 ________________________________________________________________

Luke 22:41-44 ______________________________________________________________

Psalm 31:10-14 _____________________________________________________________

Psalm 30:5b _______________________________________________________________

Romans 12:15 _____________________________________________________________

Luke 6:21 _________________________________________________________________

Revelation 21:9-27 __________________________________________________________

Session Two: Marriage & Family

“Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended and her iniquity is pardoned and that she has received

double from the Lord’s gracious hand.”   Isaiah 40:1-2

“There’s Trouble at Home!”

Some look back at some “Golden age” of marriage and the family (usually one they didn’t live in – or “remember” with very filtered minds!).  Truth is, Ward and Joan Clever were a mythical creation of Hollywood writers (complete with her pearls and high heals cleaning the house).  BUT, no doubt, things are not so golden.  Roughly half of all marriages end in legal divorce – and a whole lot more all but legally end.  And of course, many “marriages” today aren’t legal marriages at all and so don’t show up in the statistic; one estimate is that 80% of persons who “live together” with some permanence (whether legally married or not) “terminate.”  And RARELY is it nice or pretty.  And there’s usually a long (and ugly) “history” leading up to it.  

Sometimes it’s just as ugly for those that STAY together; it just may last longer. 

God intended marriage to be a union, a blessing, a partnership through the joys and struggles and journey of life.  We can make it almost everything BUT what God intended.  For many families, it’s not a blessing.  It’s a curse.  One they may avoid (emotionally if not literally), perhaps loosing themselves in work or kids or…..

Most first-born children are at least born out of wedlock (if not conceived so); in some sub cultures in America, it is RARE that kids know who their father is – not that they know him, but that they even can know his name.  In some families, kids and parents are at war, and the kids are winning.  It’s not unusual for parents to feel the only solution is to give up and the kids run free.  Parents may have embraced that little baby as a precious gift of God!  But they may soon regard that child as a curse.  Home life can be the worse part of life….

• How have you seen this among your friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers?
• Do you think it’s worse than before?  Why/why not? 
• What pressures does all this create on the family?  Community? 
• Do you think God cares?
• How have YOU tried to be a source of courage, comfort?  Hope and help?  How did that go?

Read John 2:1-11

St. John (by divine inspiration) probably tells this account – here very early in his Gospel – to get to his point that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  It is His first recorded miracle.  But there’s something else going on here, too.

• What is the family occasion? 
• Why do you think Jesus, Mary and the disciples are there?
• There’s a crisis!  What is it?  In the great scope of things, does it seem hugely important?
• Why do you think Mary gets involve?  What does she feel about Jesus’ concern even without asking him (remember: he have never before done a miracle)?
• What did Jesus do?  Why? 
• What was the response? 
• What does this tell you about Jesus and our family issues?  Does the issue need to be HUGE to him or just to you?
• MARY was the first to intervene, what does that say about you and me?
• Jesus was made a part of the family for this; what does that say about our marriages and families? 

For struggling marriages and families, what “comfort and courage” “ help and hope” are found in the following:

Mary’s counsel in John 2:5 _____________________________________________________

Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21 ________________________________________________

Philippians 2:1-11 ____________________________________________________________

Galatians 5:22-23 ____________________________________________________________

Ephesians 5:31 ______________________________________________________________

Ephesians 6:1-4 _____________________________________________________________

Matthew 6:33 _______________________________________________________________

For parents with a child (or children) who “blew it,” Genesis 3:11-13 _____________________

Romans 8:31-39 _____________________________________________________________

And of course, all those Scripture PROMISES we looked at last week about forgiveness – received and extended!

Carl's Garden

Carl's Garden

 Carl was a quiet man.. He didn't talk much.
He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake.

Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, No one could really
say they knew him very well.

Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning.
The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us.

He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII.

Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, He may not make
it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random
violence, gangs, and drug activity.

When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring
for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his
characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.

He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared
finally happened..

He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members
approached him.
Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a
drink from the hose?"

The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a
malevolent little smile.

As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing
him down.
As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way,
Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.

Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg.
He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help
him.

Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't
get there fast enough to stop it.

"Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped
Carl to his feet.

Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.
"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday."

His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose.
He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water..

Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you
doing?"
"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm
reply.

Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only
marvel.
Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned.. Just as before their threat was
unchallenged.
Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.

This time they didn't rob him.
They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the
icy water.

When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the
street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at
the hilarity of what they had just done.

Carl just watched them.
Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on
with his watering.

The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling when he
was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him.
He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.

As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of
his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the
expected attack.

"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time."

The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to
Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his
pocket and handed it to Carl.

"What's this?"
Carl asked. "It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back.
Even the money in your wallet" "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would
you help me now?"

The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned
something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you
we picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it But every time
we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you
tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept
showing love against our hate."

He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so
here it is back."

He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to
say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess."
And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took
out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet,
he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride
that still smiled back at him from all those years ago..

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his
funeral in spite of the weather.

In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know
sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.

The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life.

In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make
your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his
garden."

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care
for Carl's garden."

The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock
was heard at the minister's office door.

Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands
holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young
man said.

The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the
stolen watch and wallet to Carl.

He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As the
minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care
of Carl's garden and honor him."

The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers
and vegetables just as Carl had done.

During that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent
member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory
and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care
for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife
just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."

"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed
keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?"

"Carl," he replied.

That's the whole gospel message simply stated.

Take 60 seconds give this a shot! Let's just see if Satan stops this one.

All you do is:

1. Simply say a small prayer for the person who sent you this.

God bless this person in whatever it is that You know he or she may be
needing this day!

2. Then send it on to five other people. Within hours five people have
prayed for you, and you caused a multitude of people to pray to God for
other people.

Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life for doing the
thing that you know He loves.

GOOD FRIENDS
ARE LIKE ANGELS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE THEM TO KNOW THEY ARE THERE