in the word | week of Dec. 14, 2009

Posted by acgosser on December 14, 2009

Day 1: Read Luke 2:1-5
This was no speedy ride to the hospital for their baby’s birth. Mary and Joseph traveled about one hundred miles across rough terrain during Mary’s final stages of pregnancy. So many questions must have been going through their minds: Mary’s condition, separation from their families, housing in Bethlehem, safety while traveling…  What lies ahead for them? Journal your thoughts.

Day 2: Read Luke 2:6-18
Glory to God in the highest! A savior has been born. He is Christ the Lord! Yet, he is born in a stable, placed in a feeding trough to sleep, and wrapped in strips of cloth for warmth. His first visitors were ordinary shepherds. Christ comes to all, even to you! Do not be afraid. The Good News is for all people. Receive him and be full of joy. Receive him!

Day 3: Read Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 2:21
What’s in a name? Do you know the meaning of your name? Look it up here. How did Jesus get his name? The angel told Joseph to give the baby the name Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins.” Immanuel, “God with us.” What do these names mean for you personally? Journal your response.

Day 4: Read Luke 2:22-24
In obedience to the law of the Lord, Joseph and Mary consecrated Jesus to the Lord. Consecrated means to “dedicate” or “devote.” If you have ever dedicated a child or children to the Lord, reflect upon that event. What did it mean to you at that time? Perhaps, events have occurred since that occasion that you never imagined. Consider how Joseph and Mary might have responded to events that occurred later in Jesus’ lifetime. Write you reflections down in your journal.

Day 5: Read Luke 2:25-38
The child’s parents marveled at what was said to them. Imagine what they must have thought and felt in response to Simeon’s and Anna’s words… God, why did you choose me to parent this child? I am unworthy. The enormity of the responsibility and privilege to raise God’s own son! And the piercing of their very souls, the depth of their love as well as the anguish they would suffer over the course of his sufferings. Journal your thoughts.

Day 6: Read Luke 2:39-40
Joseph and Mary did everything required by the law of the Lord. Most of all, they loved their son! Their child, God’s child, grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and grace. In what ways did Jesus grow strong? In what ways was wisdom and grace evident in Jesus’ life? You have the same resources available to you that Jesus had; God himself can make you strong and fill you with wisdom and grace. Consecrate yourself to God, obey his laws, and ask him to make you strong, to fill you with wisdom, and to fill you with his grace.