Well are you guys ready for this...I know I am! Before we dive into Matthew Chapter 1, here's a little reminder for how this is going to work. Each day you, on your own, will read a chapter from Matthew. You will then come here to the blog and read the "post" for the day. I will have a brief summary of the chapter and then have some questions for you to answer. Answer those questions on your own in a journal of some sorts. Then each day you must post a comment, not to be cool, but to be involved! My heart is that this would really feel like a Bible study and that we would all be reading each other's comments and feedback to help further our relationship with Christ and with one another!
Take a moment before you go any further to ask Christ to teach you more about Him over the next 28 days so that you will be a better "follower" of Him!
Summary...
The chapter starts off with the record of ancestors of Jesus. The names are tough to read, aren't they? What is so important about all these names and why did Matthew go out of his way to start his book off with them? The Jews were told their Messiah or Savior would come through the line of Abraham and King David...so Matthew traces Jesus back all the way not just to King David but all the way to Abraham to prove Christ is the Messiah!
We then read about the story of Jesus' birth and how it came to be. What always stands out to me in this story is how Mary was a virgin, yet was pregnant with baby Jesus! Think about today, if someone in your school got pregnant how difficult would their life become? I can't imagine what was running through Mary's mind, but she trusted God! She trusted His plan, even though it seemed crazy. Also, you have to think the same for Joseph--this whole thing had to be difficult. In fact we read that Joseph even thought of breaking off his engagement with Mary because she was pregnant, and he didn't want to deal with every thing that came along with that!
Question...
- In your life...do you trust God?
- Has He asked you to do something before that seemed crazy and if so what was it?
- If you were Mary or Joseph what would be some things running through your mind during all of this?
- Imagine Jesus as a baby...take time to really think about that. Our Lord, our King, a little infant! Doing things that babies do...cry, poop, pee, sleep! I want us to get a picture of our Lord, and this is where our study begins. Take time to think about Jesus as a baby, and pray that over the next 27 days He would teach us more and more about Him! I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!
tom
10 comments:
Hey guys its Ryan Pantaleo..Mornin! I think it would be crazy i mean in High School you are exposed to girls that are pregnant and you just think of how crazy and hard it could be. I actually had one in my class and she had to get up every so often eat snacks and go to the clinic a lot. It was crazy for sure! Im sure Joseph was going insane as well!.. He probably didnt really know what to do but seek God for wisdom which he had done.
As far as in my life i really do trust God with everything. I have recently come to the point to where i tend to not worry because i know according to scripture that if i give all my worries to God that he will take care of them and help me out for the better.
I feel like Christ has told me to do something that was crazy before. I feel like he still tells me to follow the path of becomming a Youth Pastor. With that i was like... 'wow this is cool'!!! So with that i have made goals to not wait till college to learn more about Christ and beccoming a Youth Pastor because i know i can do it now.I ask that you fellow bloggers would be praying for me and my goal to become a Youth Pastor and staying faithful to the Lord.
Im realy excited for this bible study so i can grow closer and get more familiar with Jesus Christ. I look forward to seeing others input also!!!!
Have a great day with Christ!!
Ryan Pantaleo a.k.a. Pants
Hi guys, It's Yvonne. I wonder why we know the son of God as Jesus the Christ when the angels told Joseph his name was Immanuel?
Girls can you imagine how Mary felt knowing she was a virgin and that her fiance didn't believe her?
Hi everyone, its Katrina :).
Ok so In my life I do my best to trust God. But like everyone I'm not perfect and sometimes its hard to let God have control and just trust that everything will be just as he planed it. Like letting him have my problems that I want to fix all on my own was a big thing for me, and it was hard to just give it to him.
Sometimes God asks me to do things like go and pray for some people but I feel weird about it because sometimes they are older and I don't want people to think that I'm some immature kid who thinks they know it all. So I just sit in my chair, while God calls out to me. Please pray that the next time God asks me to do something like that I would not worry about what other people think , but to do what God tells me to do.
I think if I were Mary I might have had to crawl up in a corner and die. I would have had the hardest time just trusting God. And knowing that 1. my fience wouldn't leave me and 2. that everyone wouldn't think that I was sleeping around like a prostitute. That would be SO hard for me..
Also me and my brother Andrew are going to our dads house on the 10th so pray we have a safe flight and that while we are there being encouraged to sin that we would be strong.
Thanks talk to you guys later :)
-Katrina Faith
Hey guys its Valerie Horner!
So i think this bible study is going to be amazing.I think its crazy to try and imagine Jesus Christ who died for our sins as a tiny little baby! But i know if i was put in Mary's Situation i would have some trouble trying not to worry about what other people think. But thats where Trusting God comes in! I have been doing really good latley about trusting God and just praying about everything!I dont really think God has asked me to do something crazy yet but i will let you know when the time comes:)!!Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I must say reading all these names of Jesus' family got me thinking on how unique a name is. I've come to the conclusion when I'm talking to God I'm afraid to say Jesus. To me it is a very holy word, even more so when I'm praying.
I've had pregnant girls in my classes and I see what they go through and even what I've thought about them. So much pain then joy comes along. I have no idea what I'd do with a baby in my stomach and not know exactly where it came from immediately. I'd kinda freak me out.
Answers to the Questions:
I trust God with all my soul. Sometimes it is hard, but I find myself telling God everything even though he sees me do everything. Something crazy, it seems, is constantly having the thought of me going to Guatemala for a month with people I don't even know soon. I really want to go, but it seems super crazy. It's like this scary burning passion I have. I think I'd like to do it as a graduation present instead of going to Europe next summer. If I was in Mary's place I'd be fritzing. I'd be scared Joseph would leave me and I'd want to hid it from people in my town by far. I mean I'd be carrying the Kind of the World in my stomach. Amazing privilege but an intense way to show the Holy Spirit's power.
I like thinking of Jesus as a baby... like in Talladega Nights..."Dear Lord Baby Jesus..." so new just like each one of us, so intricately made. We can be powerful but not sinless like Christ. He's kinda just like us minus the big sin problem. :)
I love you all! I'm praying for you all too! :) <3 Killer Mars
Hello Everyone,
I think that imagining our Lord Jesus Christ as a baby was pretty hard for me. I mean I can see a beautiful baby boy (Jesus) and I can kind of see Jesus crying and Mary holding him tight. But anything other than that is very hard to picture.
Hey everyone!
Trying to think about Jesus as a baby is hard for me. Even though I have two baby brothers(they aren't really babies anymore) I have a hard time picturing Jesus as a baby. I say this because when I think of him I think of the grown man who did on the cross for me. Me thinking of Jesus as a baby is like a young child thinking of their parents or adult role models as having been little kids long ago.(or not so for some younger adults.)
If I was in Mary's situation the only thing I could do would be to trust God, and the same goes for if I was in Joseph's.
I wonder how things would be different if the angel never appeared to Joseph. What would have Mary have done? How about Jesus? Those are just some thoughts that were going through my head when I was reading.
Kitti
hey guys, its Lauren Audoire. I'm so excited to start this study, I recently read through Matthew, but you see things that you didnt see before when you read through again with fresh eyes. If I was Mary, I would definately have trouble worrying about what people thought of Joseph and I.But I would have to remember who my God is, and know that no matter what people thought of me or said to me, God's got it all under control. I would trust my Father in heaven and dwell on his Word, and remember to give him all my worries and burdens and trust him to take care of me. Remember Matt 5:39, "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." I would have to let people say what they say, (no matter how hurtful) and just keep trusting God, and soon enough everyone would find out. :]
I confess, I used to skip over the names but as i learned that the Word is alive & active & it changes me i started feeling convicted. Like they must be there for a reason so i will read them, now i read & names are familiar to me like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth & their stories in the O.T. had a big part in changing me. I actually had the thought that my name is in the Lamb's Book of Life & when He is reading it i do not want Him to skip over my name-mercy no!
Totally freaks me out to think of people viewing Mary, the way people viewed me as i waddled across the stage at graduation. Hurts my heart. His ways are so different from ours.
I have had to trust Him in many crazy ways. Forgive, love, pray for & bless those this world would call my enemies. Feast on His Word & i will no longer need to satisfy my addiction. Hold every thought captive when ADD & OCD is your diagnosis! Even now I am facing an opportunity that seems crazy, my flesh says no thanks, but i have to ask is that You God?
Hey guys its Emily McCormick! I am so excited for this bible study! Its weird for me to think that the GOD of the universe used to be a baby! If I was mary and I was pregnant I would be crying by now but then again I would know God is with me through the whole thing and I could trust him no matter what!
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