Acts 13:13-52 Old Testament; Our History

Acts 13:13-52 NIV
Every Sunday, the Sunday School Youth assist in leading the prayers of the church. Before we do this, I usually pause during the service to see what they learned during Sunday School. (I don't do children's sermons well - so I don't do them.) This past Sunday, I was just a little surprised when I asked them what they had learned and the response was that they had learning about Absalom. They actually knew the whole story including how he had turned on his father, David. I wondered how many of our adult members knew the story of Absalom. (I didn't ask for a show of hands.) Knowing our history is very important to help us know who we are and where we are going. That history can be found in the pages of Holy Scripture which definitely includes the Old Testament.

Each Sunday we begin the readings from scripture with the old testament. I have been questioned (a few times) about doing things the same old way every single Sunday and have been told that following this order of service tends to be boring. As we read Acts 13 we can see that this order is not exactly something new that the Lutheran church or any other has just made up out of thin air. There is a purpose to it all.

When Paul proclaimed the Good News in the synagogues, he began by reminding the people of their history. He began by reminding them why they need the Good News of Jesus Christ in the first place. We need to be reminded of all that God has done and will do for His people. We need to be reminded of the reasons God sent His Son to be our salvation. We need to remember our history, for it is indeed our history - the history of the church - and so we begin with an old testament reading every Sunday.

God's Peace - Pastor Judy

Matthew 1 - He Has Come!

     "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)." (Matt 1:22-23 NIV)
     Finally... out of the prophets and into the fulfillment of them. We begin the New Testament today with the fulfillment of the promise that a Savior would come. God, Himself, would come to us, of the lineage of Abraham and David; He would come to us as any man comes into the world, born of a woman, through a natural childbirth.
     "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isa 7:14)
      But, I repeat myself... Of course to make a point. In spite of all the warnings to those who break God's law in the preceding books, that are found in the Old Testament, there was grace. The promise was there that a Savior would come for God's people. As witnessed by those who walked the earth when Jesus walked the earth; He has come!
     My granddaughter is home schooled. A few years ago, I sat listening in on one of her online (public school) history classes, in spite of her objections to me being there. The instructor was giving the class definitions for C.E. (common era); B.C.E. (before common era); A.D. (Anno Domini - The year of our Lord) and B.C. (before Christ); She looked at me and said "you mean Jesus is real?" I replied, "Are you serious? All this time, did you think I was just telling you fairy tales? Yes, he really was real."
     This history class was a very good thing. Without purposing to do it; this class verified, for my granddaughter, the reality of Jesus' life and death. We hear Matthew doing the same thing today in our reading; he begins his writings using a bit of the history of Jesus' ancestors to verify that Jesus is not just the Son of God; but, the Son of Man, as well. He really is real! Matthew uses history to remind us that a Savior, from the lineage of Abraham and David, would come. He has come!

God's Peace - Pr. J