This Week: Isaiah 35:1-10, ,Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11

Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Family Lectionary Study;

Sundays from 9:15 to 10:15 in the Prayer Room

Set the Church-year Calendar. This is ADVENT. Advent is a time of waiting an preparation.

Opening

Opening prayer by leader, or invite another participant to pray, or use:

Almighty God, who sent your Servant John the Baptist to prepare your way before you, grant that everyone who serves you as teacher or minister may also prepare your way, so that we may be found an acceptable people in your sight. Amen.

Advent, our time of preparation before experiencing Christ's birth into the world through the “kiaros” of sacred time, is now more than half over. Secular preparations for Christmas are in full swing: presents being bought, cookies being baked, decorations being hung. How are our spiritual preparations coming? Do we need to “dig in” more for the next two weeks? How many praying days are left until Christmas?

Review of Last Week

Last week's lessons focussed on the coming of the Kingdom of God, starting with Isaiah's description of the Peaceable Kingdom;

What was the sermon on? -

What was the Gospel lesson? - John the Baptist's ministry, and his prophecy that the promised Messiah would follow after him.

Did anyone have any insights about...

The memory work for this season is Matthew 1 13-23 – but try just to get the first verse!

Review responses to last week's homework:

  1. What examples of hurt and destruction have you observed here in our city over the past week?
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  2. What would our city be like, if the “Peaceable Kingdom” were realized here, and no one were to “hurt or destroy” in all of this city?
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  3. What is the similarity (if any) between the Baptism preached by John the Baptist and the Baptism by which we become Members of Christ?
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  4. Why do you think John the Baptist was so harsh to the Pharisees and the Sadducees?
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Memory Scripture

18   Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19   Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20   But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21   And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22   Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23   Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Bible Passage

Isaiah 35:1-10
Isaiah is about the centre of the Bible. This is another view of the promised Kingdom, augmenting the view of the Peaceable Kingdom that we saw last week.

James 5:7-10
This letter of James comes near the end of the Bible. The Gospels are about three quarters of the way through the Bible; then Paul's letters take up about three quarters of what's left. James is the first of the letters that are known not to have been written by Paul; it comes right after Hebrews.

What are the similarities between the first reading, and what James is describing in this letter?

Matthew 11:2-11

In last week's lesson, John prophesied Jesus' coming. How do John's words in this lesson compare to last week's lesson?

Re-read verse 11.11 – what does this mean for us?

Pew-work Hand-outs

“Pew-work” is like Home-work, except that it is done in the pews, instead of being done at home. Because it is focussed on the readings (as the sermon, presumably, also is) it can be done during the sermon to help the listener concentrate. Or, it can be done while waiting for everyone else to finish their communion. It isn't done during prayers, or hymns, or the readings, because

During the Readings, we listen

Adult Student's Pew-work

Middle-school Students' Pew-work

Elementary-School Students' Pew-work

Pre-Schooler's Pew-work