John the Baptist, John 1:6-34

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15(John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ 26John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ 32And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

John the Baptist was the "voice of one crying out in the wilderness"...John is known for his devout faith, he was an "all or nothing" kind of a fella...and he was faithful all the way.

During this season of Lent we are given an opportunity to serve others and also to reflect upon our own faith journey. In light of John's amazing, even "larger than life" faith...I have a few questions that we might ponder....

*When John baptizes Jesus he sees a dove from heaven and also hears God's voice...have you ever sensed God's presence in such a "real" or "tangible" way?

*Does John's faith challenge you in your own faith journey?

*Do you "cry out in the wilderness" about your faith in Christ?

Joseph, Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us."

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Now...I've been wanting to write about Joseph...or at least something more positive than Herod :) . Joseph seems to me to be the ultimate "good-guy". Shocked by the news of his betrothed and her pregnancy he is going to quietly divorce her (this is a very kind act in light of the circumstances...think of the many other ways in which Joseph could have responded?!), but instead he encounters an angel in a dream (not as uncommon as it might seem to us today...Joseph has it happen 3 times), he trusts himself and his dream (and ultimately God), and he follows through.

*I want to challenge you today to choose one word that really describes Joseph...just one...and then figure out why that is the word that you chose...and maybe even how/why it applies in your own life. And if you feel so inclined..comment about it below so we can all grow from your life experience as well.

Mary, Luke 1:26-56

Luke 1:26-56

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 56And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

So much can be said about Mary...If you are following along w/ us in the POP book by Driver-Bishop I think that you will enjoy the writings about her today, especially the focus on "the Magnificat" the section of scripture, Luke 1:46-56.

Just recently I preached a sermon from this section of text as part of a larger series that myself and a small group of "pastor-type" friends did together. As a matter-of-fact, here is the link to the video (click on the word video) that I recorded going along w/ that scripture, if you weren't w/ us in church that Sunday and you feel so inclined to watch.

"Nothing is Impossible w/ God"....OH YEAH....that's what I'm talking about!!!! Mary is a wonderful example of the miraculous on so many levels....a young woman becoming the mother of God...What??!!! I have a pillow that hangs in my office, it's hung there ever since I received the wonderful news of our son, Caleb's, imminent arrival. On the pillow these words are embroidered "I Believe in Miracles"...yes I do.

*Do you believe in miracles...why? (This is a REALLY good place to jump into the blog...tell us your story :) )

Herod, Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew 2:13-23

¹³Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

I'll admit that it's taking a lot of my discipline to focus on writing and reflecting on Herod in this section instead of Joseph and his faithfulness, and even Joseph's willingness to get up, take his wife and child to a different land, based on a dream. (okay...I just focused on Joseph by writing that...oops!) We will get to Joseph in 3 days!

Anyways...Herod. Herod who was jealous of Jesus, who at times even referred to himself as the "King of the Jews", "POP, Driver-Bishop, p 7", ultimately decided that his best course of action was to kill all children that were even close to the age that Jesus would have been. It is about this act that the haunting scripture is written and words of prophecy are fulfilled “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” Just reading those words makes my heart sad...

It's amazing what Herod does in the face of possible loss of power. Maybe I shouldn't be amazed...Herod certainly isn't alone in his quest to be the most powerful, the best, the brightest, the most elevated, etc... And I am certainly not above examining myself and wondering what part of Herod dwells within me as well. Sobering thoughts...

*Have you done any soul-searching recently?

*What is it about Herod that elicits our negative response...not just his actions...but about who he is?

*How can you/I step out of the places that we find ourselves acting "Herodian" or "Herodish" :) ?

The Wise Men, Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” ⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

When I read this story I can't help but smile. Why? It reminds me of a Bible Study that I had the privilege to lead a few years ago for young adults. We were studying this text and one of the participants said...WAIT A MINUTE...is this saying that the Wise Men weren't ACTUALLY at the manger at the time of Jesus' birth??? This says they came AFTER his birth...and this sounds as if Herod sends them out as spies after they stop to ask if the king of the Jews has been born in Jerusalem. (and I might add, did anyone notice that we aren't told how many Wise Men there are...I'm just sayin'...) My friend was shocked...she kept on saying...I've been lied to! All of these years...all of these manger scenes later... She was saying these things while laughing, but still, she was definitely surprised by the revelation of a different way of seeing the story that had become so familiar to her.

And I find it interesting that even though Herod sent the Wise Men out to do his bidding, they end up being overwhelmed with joy and they worship the newborn king. Maybe that's why they are the Wise Men. Certainly a twist, something appears one way, but is revealed in a new and wonderful way.

Some questions to ponder:

*Have you ever found yourself on a "quest for wisdom"?

*Have you ever just moved on faith in the direction that seemed right, just as the Wise Men followed the star to find the king of the jews?

*Have your beliefs ever been challenged, so that you may have needed to see your faith in a new light?

Lenten Journey

Welcome to our Lenten Journey! At Church of the Saviour in Westerville, Oh, we are reading the book written by Robert Driver-Bishop entitled "People of Purpose - 40 Life Lessons from the New Testament" during the season of Lent. In addition, we will share in a bible study together using these books, and I will use the book as a basis for a preaching series. We invite you to join us on this journey by reading this daily blog and posting your thoughts, comments, prayers, etc.!

I am glad to share the journey with you,

Pastor Becky

Ash Wednesday

God the Creator, Exodus 3

I'd like to meet God face to face...like Moses and the burning bush experience. Oh, I believe I've seen God in a variety of ways and places, in so many people and circumstances. But that day in the burning bush God, Yahweh, SHOWS UP. Yahweh...in the Hebrew language it's a verb, and it transcends time...in it is the past, present and the future. Amazing...

God gives Moses very specific instructions as to what he's supposed to do, and I think that's why I like the encounter. Even though Moses responds with hesistancy, God is confident.

I have certainly responded with hesitancy, even saying very similar things that Moses said, "Who am I that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" "Who am I that I should lead a Church into a new phase of it's journey?"

I'm so glad for the God that is in the past, present and future...the God that responds to Moses...and to me, "I will be with you."

Here are some questions to ponder...and I would love to hear your thoughts...feel free to respond to this blog and to the questions by posting!

*When have you encounted God?
*Have you ever responded with hesitancy?
*What is God calling you to in this day?
*What will you do during the season of Lent, especially, to respond to this call?