Advent 16 - In the Beginning
DAY 16 - In the Beginning
Psalm 90:10-12
“Have you got any proof?â€
Many times we are asked to provide proof. Whenever you exit and reenter the country, you have to provide proof of citizenship. If you buy alcohol at the store, you have to provide proof you’re 21. If you get pulled over for speeding, you have to provide proof of insurance. Prosecutors must provide proof to convict someone of a crime. Many of us ought to ask, “What’s the proof?†to some of the silly things we read online!
We have to give proof about a lot of things. Christians say that God is love and that God loves us. What’s the proof? How do we know that God loves us?
This week we focus on God’s gift of love - that is, God’s love for us. This week we look at the Gospel of John’s introduction to Jesus.
No Gospel introduces Jesus like John. Matthew starts with Jesus’s family tree before talking briefly about his birth. Mark starts with John the Baptizer. Luke starts with angels, shepherds, Mary, and Joseph. John zooms out - way out. Jesus’ story doesn’t begin in Bethlehem. Not really. Jesus’ story starts “in the beginning†- THE beginning! John clearly echoes the opening line of Genesis.
John packs a lot into this introduction but four things stand out. First, he says the universe has a beginning. The Big Bang, the explosion of energy that started the universe, is widely agreed on as fact. It didn’t use to be. It was actually resisted for a long time by atheists because “it looked far too much like creation†(cf. Questions of Truth, 41, by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale). Science, philosophy, and theology all agree that the universe had a beginning.
We’ll look at John’s other three points tomorrow, but this first point alone is sobering. We are not accidents that randomly exist. We have a beginning and we have an end. It’s not morbid to think about the limits of our life. It’s good and healthy, especially in Advent. Psalm 90 teaches us that there is wisdom in “numbering our days.†Life begins and life will end.
REFLECT
Think about the fact that life has a beginning and an end. What thoughts and feelings does that stir up?
PRAY
God of grace, your eternal Word took flesh among us when Mary placed her life at the service of your will. Prepare our hearts for his coming again; keep us steadfast in hope and faithful in service, that we may receive the coming of his kingdom, for the sake of Jesus Christ the ruler of all, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN.
Psalm 90:10-12
“Have you got any proof?â€
Many times we are asked to provide proof. Whenever you exit and reenter the country, you have to provide proof of citizenship. If you buy alcohol at the store, you have to provide proof you’re 21. If you get pulled over for speeding, you have to provide proof of insurance. Prosecutors must provide proof to convict someone of a crime. Many of us ought to ask, “What’s the proof?†to some of the silly things we read online!
We have to give proof about a lot of things. Christians say that God is love and that God loves us. What’s the proof? How do we know that God loves us?
This week we focus on God’s gift of love - that is, God’s love for us. This week we look at the Gospel of John’s introduction to Jesus.
No Gospel introduces Jesus like John. Matthew starts with Jesus’s family tree before talking briefly about his birth. Mark starts with John the Baptizer. Luke starts with angels, shepherds, Mary, and Joseph. John zooms out - way out. Jesus’ story doesn’t begin in Bethlehem. Not really. Jesus’ story starts “in the beginning†- THE beginning! John clearly echoes the opening line of Genesis.
John packs a lot into this introduction but four things stand out. First, he says the universe has a beginning. The Big Bang, the explosion of energy that started the universe, is widely agreed on as fact. It didn’t use to be. It was actually resisted for a long time by atheists because “it looked far too much like creation†(cf. Questions of Truth, 41, by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale). Science, philosophy, and theology all agree that the universe had a beginning.
We’ll look at John’s other three points tomorrow, but this first point alone is sobering. We are not accidents that randomly exist. We have a beginning and we have an end. It’s not morbid to think about the limits of our life. It’s good and healthy, especially in Advent. Psalm 90 teaches us that there is wisdom in “numbering our days.†Life begins and life will end.
REFLECT
Think about the fact that life has a beginning and an end. What thoughts and feelings does that stir up?
PRAY
God of grace, your eternal Word took flesh among us when Mary placed her life at the service of your will. Prepare our hearts for his coming again; keep us steadfast in hope and faithful in service, that we may receive the coming of his kingdom, for the sake of Jesus Christ the ruler of all, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN.
Posted in Winter 2022
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The Way DAY 9 - Full of the Holy SpiritThe Way DAY 10 - Defeating Your DefeatersThe Way DAY 11 - The Year of JubileeThe Way DAY 12 - FreedomThe Way DAY 13 - Freedom to LoveThe Way DAY 14 - Ditch "What About Me"The Way DAY 15 - The Way of LoveThe Way DAY 16 - The TeacherThe Way DAY 17 - What is the Kingdom of God?The Way DAY 18 - Trust and ObeyThe Way DAY 19 - Follow MeThe Way DAY 20 - Differences and DisagreementsThe Way DAY 21 - Jesus and Mr. RogersThe Way DAY 22 - Respond Like JesusThe Way DAY 23 - Bend Toward MercyThe Way DAY 24 - Burden or Bless?The Way DAY 25 - BONUS: The TwelveThe Way DAY 26 - Happy?The Way DAY 27 - Excessive GenerosityThe Way DAY 28 - What is Love?The Way DAY 29 - Give What God Gives
March
The Way DAY 30 - Follow the LeaderThe Way DAY 31 - Dinner with a PhariseeThe Way DAY 32 - Don't Be the HeroThe Way DAY 33 - God's GraceThe Way DAY 34 - The Grace You ShowThe Way DAY 35 - Our Sin and Our SaviorThe Way DAY 36 - Jesus and ParablesThe Way DAY 37 - The Farmer and the SeedsThe Way DAY 38 - The Seed and The SoilThe Way DAY 39 - The Good HeartThe Way DAY 40 - Who is Jesus, Pt 1The Way DAY 41 - Who is Jesus, Pt 2The Way DAY 42 - They Saw His GloryThe Way DAY 43 - Your Next StepThe Way DAY 44 - His DevotionThe Way DAY 45 - The Leadership of JesusThe Way DAY 46 - Pick Up Your CrossThe Way DAY 47 - Daily DenialThe Way DAY 48 - Forgive Like JesusThe Way DAY 49 - Trusting God
April
Because of Easter DAY 1Because of Easter DAY 2Because of Easter DAY 3Because of Easter DAY 4Because of Easter DAY 5Because of Easter DAY 6Because of Easter DAY 7Because of Easter DAY 8Because of Easter DAY 9New Devo Starts SoonPsalms DAY 1Psalms DAY 2Psalms DAY 3Psalms DAY 4Psalms DAY 5Psalms DAY 6Psalms DAY 7Psalms DAY 8Psalms DAY 9Psalms DAY 10Psalms DAY 11Psalms DAY 12
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June
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