-Pastor Melissa Fain- 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:46-49 NRSV Did you know Mary sings in the Bible? Well, not exactly sing, but rejoice. The Church has taken her rejoicing and her words became some of the oldest songs sung in Church buildings. This rejoicing is called the Magnificat. It’s called that because in many translations of her song it begins, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Have you ever taken a magnifying glass to something? I have. Bugs, flowers, and so many different objects look completely different when under a microscope or magnifying glass. When we magnify something, we are getting a better picture of what we want to see. What is Mary’s better picture? Well, there’s a difference between better picture, and total picture. Mary’s total picture doesn’t look so good. She’s an unwed, pregnant, teenager in a world that forces unwed pregnant women into poverty and homelessness if they are lucky. If they are not, the community throws stones at these women until they die from it. Wow, that’s bad! Knowing what we know, why is Mary singing praises to God? Why is she happy instead of scared? It’s because her soul magnified what was important: God. Her soul was showing that even a girl like her was special in God’s eyes. Those around her would show the opposite of love to her. Even her fiancé was planning to just walk away from the situation. Meanwhile, God had picked her, chosen her, told her she was important; loved. She magnified that, and it left her with no other option than to sing. Question: What good parts of life can you take a magnifying glass to this Advent season? Prayer: Dear God, thank you for making us part of your story. May our souls magnify you. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian -Pastor Melissa Fain- 24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” Luke 1:24-25 NRSV Did you know a book that takes 10 hours to read, probably took 10 months to write or longer! That’s not considering how long the publishing process takes. When you pick up a book, you are looking at the finished product. So much goes into getting to that point. Whenever we tell the Christmas story, we hear about Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. They’re part of the main story. They’re key players. So are the shepherds and the angels. They make it to the birth, which is only the end of the Nativity story. What about Elizabeth? Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin. In her old age she got pregnant. She didn’t think something like that was even possible. So, why are we talking someone other than Mary getting pregnant? Elizabeth would give birth to John, the person who would grow up to baptize Jesus. She is so important to the bigger story, the story that takes place over years, not just months. Even though she isn’t at the birth, she is just as important as Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds. God’s story is big. There are all kinds of people invited to be part of it. Maybe their job isn’t in the final product, but that doesn’t make it any less important. You don’t get to see all the people who make a big project happen, but they are still there. Elizabeth is there, rejoicing. Question: If you could celebrate someone who doesn’t get appreciated for his or her work, who would it be? Why? Prayer: Dear God, be with those I cannot see. May I be given sight to see the bigger picture. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian -Pastor Melissa Fain- 1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.' Luke 2:1-5 NRSV Did you know countries have been getting counts of their citizens for thousands of years? It is called a census. The United States does their census once every 10 years, and ours was this year! Did you know there was one in the middle of the Christmas story?! When Christmas time comes, we want to push away everything not related to Christmas. Parents don’t want to deal with bills. Kids don’t want to work on homework. We don’t want “surprises” like unexpected loss. Let’s focus only on Christmas! Only, not even the first Christmas was just Christmas. Christ was born during a census. The Roman government wanted to know where everyone called home, so they told everyone to go there. This meant Joseph and a very pregnant Mary was forced to travel to Joseph’s birth city: Bethlehem. If not for the census, Mary could have given birth to Jesus in her home, surrounded by family. Normal life continues, but isn’t that a good thing? We forget that Christmas is added to life; not that life interrupts Christmas. Life continues, and God is joining in. Question: What normal things are you dealing with right now? Prayer: Dear God, when life happens, thanks for being there with us. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian -Pastor Melissa Fain- 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:33 NRSV Did you know that God can meet us any time and any place? God is not limited by a building or schedules. God can meet us in the car on the way to practice, in our school or work, even while cleaning up messes. Isn’t that amazing? God is not limited. But we are. We can’t be at two places at once. We can’t magically snap our fingers and be someplace that’s thousands of miles away. We have limits. That’s why we need to be purposeful about setting aside time and space to meet God. But why? If God can meet us anywhere and anytime, why do we need to set aside our time and space to meet God? God wants us to take action. Think of it this way: Think of a close friend. Imagine that friend always came and visited you and took time for you. That would feel special. It would also be important for you to make time and space for that friend. Yes, it’s great that you are given time by your friend, but you must also give time to your friend in return. The manger, where Jesus was born, was a space made for God. We call it sacred. It wasn’t covered in jewels or gold. It probably didn’t even smell nice. It was just a space that became special because it was a purposeful place set aside for us to meet God. The manger is a reminder we make space to meet God. Question: Where and when do you make time for God? Prayer: Dear God, today we stop and make time to learn about you. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian -Pastor Melissa Fain- 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-4 NRSV Did you know there is something called a Christian Calendar? It’s been around for centuries! It begins this week with something called Advent. Advent is a word that means “beginning.” It takes place over four Sundays, the four Sundays before Christmas to be exact. Advent is about preparing for that special day, preparing for Christ’s birth. Preparing for Christmas! It has always been prepared for the same way. Every Sunday we are given a new word that helps us get to Christmas: hope – peace – joy – love. Many Christian faith groups celebrate these ideas with something called an Advent Wreath. The wreath itself is a circle, reminding us that God is without beginning or end. God is forever. The wreath is also evergreen. In the winter, evergreens like pines stay green. It reminds us God’s presence is with us even when everything living sleeps. Today we make our advent wreath. Today we also make our first candle: Hope. Godly Hope is like looking at a map. Have you ever seen a map? You can see so many amazing places, while you don’t actually go to those places. A map helps you plan for an adventure. Our map is leading us to Christ, on Christmas. That is our hope. We are going to do more than plan for it- Christmas is the destination! We’re going to be there in 24 more days! First, and always first, we must begin our journey in hope, by setting the destination on Christ. Question: What are your hopes? What are your hopes for Christmas? What are you hoping for in life? Prayer: Dear God, you are always with us. You want us to find your hope, seek your path, and walk your way. May we see and hear your call. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian |
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