Scripture and Sermon Slides December 29, 2013

Gospel Reading Matthew 2:13-23

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Listen and Learn Matthew 2:13-23 December 29, 2013 Rev. John W. Landis

What a Downer! Particularly right after Christmas Yet, it is the reality of life – There are up days – There are down days The question (always) is what are we to learn from this?

Lessons

Listen to God Joseph Did! – With Mary – Getting out of town – Coming back The Magi did

We need to keep our antennae up Magi – Herod – They could have been fooled – They could not have cared Joseph – leaving – It would have been easy to miss the message from God because of all the things that were happening “Trust your GUT!”

– Herod was evil – Didn’t hesitate to kill his own wife and children when he thought that they were after his throne – Herod ordered the execution of all political prisoners on the day of his death so that there would be weeping throughout the Kingdom. – Those who order the death of innocents are always evil or at least doing evil That is why terrorism, no matter who does it, is wrong There is Evil in this world

Evil generally grows out of Selfish Interest When the focus changes from God, others then us, Evil has infiltrated! Herod wanted everything to be about him Once it starts to grow, there is no telling where it will manifest or end

Sometimes Things happen that are out of our control Don’t blame yourself for things that are out of your control Herod did – The Magi did not cause the death of the children- Herod did What is your motive for doing what you are doing? – If you do what God is calling you to do, you cannot be blamed for the consequences Control the Things you can Control!

Do what you can! There is still “wailing in Ramah” – Children die because we do not pay attention – Children die because we are not willing to give them voice – ABUSE – HOMELESSNESS – POVERTY – WAR

Once God has made clear what God wants done...Get Moving Don’t hang around and ask questions Don’t plan it to death Get into action and trust God to correct course as you go

Good Times don’t last forever But they do return – Everything happens in cycles Enjoy the good times when they are here Put away some resources for the bad times – That includes memories

God watches over us If we listen and pay attention Even if something bad does happen to us, God does not abandon us! No matter what happens, the promise of the Christ Child is that the best is yet to come!

After all, isn’t Life with God better in all ways than life here? Isn’t that why Jesus came We just need to listen and believe the message

Listen UP!

Don’t be afraid, Christ has come! Christ is coming again!

Listen Hear Learn Believe Get ready Spread the word!