Sunday Message - 10-18-09 (National Enquirer #2-How to Amaze Jesus)

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The "non-celebrities" of Jesus' Birth by Craig Knudsen

We just finished a 3 week series called, “Mary and Joe plus 1”, in which we highlighted some stories from Luke 1-4. What we didn’t highlight were some characters surrounding Jesus birth that can still teach us some things. You’ll have to read the accounts in Luke 2:15-52 to get anything from this, so I hope you do.
Shepherds: After SEEING Jesus in the manger they SPREAD THE WORD about the angel visitation and seeing the child as the angels said. The shepherds were the first “evangelizers” of the New Testament, just as women were the first “evangelizers” after the resurrection. These 2 classes of people were the “lowest class” of Jesus’ time, which means that anybody can tell another the good news of Jesus Christ.
People who heard the shepherds: The text says they were “AMAZED.” I thought, “What AMAZES me about God anymore?”
Mary: The text says that Mary TREASURED, PONDERED, GLORIFIED and PRAISED. I thought, “How can I TREASURE God more? How can I improve my PONDERING of the things of God? How can I GLORIFY and PRAISE God better?”
Simeon: The thing that’s pointed out about Simeon is that he was WAITING and the HOLY SPIRIT WAS UPON HIM. I thought, “What things will I be called upon to WAIT for? Is there anything I can do to be more aware that the Holy Spirit is “upon me?” Am I asking for the Holy Spirit to reveal things to me? Am I open and aware of the movings and promptings of the Holy Spirit?”
Anna: This is a woman who enjoyed placing herself in a position to hear God, experience God, talk to God, thank God, worship God, and spread the news about Jesus. Her spiritual practices were: worship, fasting, praying, giving thanks, and speaking about God. What practices am I consistently doing in order to hear God’s voice and recognize His coming?
Jesus at the Temple: Every year Jesus’ parents brought him to Jerusalem. On this trip, he stayed behind and it wasn’t discovered until 4 days had gone by. It’s not a good thing to be the parents and lose the Son of God. When the parents finally find him it says they were “astonished”…at what? That Jesus wasn’t looking for them? That he wasn’t remorseful? Then Mary says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” And then Jesus says something that might have stabbed Joseph in the heart, “Didn’t you know I’d be in MY FATHER’S house?” Mary says, “Your father,” and Jesus says, “My Father.” They needed a little reminder that he may be in this world, but he’s not their child.
All of these “musings” came from reading the text slowly, circling words (especially verbs) and asking God to point out things in the text that I needed to notice. You can do this to. And then thing through WHY it caught your attention, or why God brought it to your attention. It could be He wants to tell you something.

Bulke Bible Translation Approved

We got some great news from Kyle and Noel this morning (see the email below). A sidebar of their efforts with TruthSeekers has been the chance to get a bible published in Hindi that would reflect words and language that is acceptable to the people in the OBC – Other Backward Castes. The current Hindi bibles were translated by converted Brahmin priests, so the names used for God were words that were offensive or not even allowed to be spoken by the OBC. So in part of this journey, Kyle and Noel were trying to get official approval on an OBC translation from one of the big bible clearinghouses, and Wycliffe just singed off on it! This is HUGE – this is an answer to prayer, this is so freakin’ cool, this is God moving in India, and our friends get to be a part of it!!!!!! This is proof of everything that Craig spoke on this past Sunday – HEAVEN WINS! Go God!

Truthseekers gets some publicitity!

Our very own elder extraordinaire, Kyle, along with hubby Noel, gets some great pub on the Covenant website today. Two links describing Truthseekers:

http://www.covchurch.org/cov/news/item7332

http://www.covchurch.org/cov/news/item7330

Renters Needed

Hey CCCers - We need to find new renters for the house next door. Please spread the word or let me know if you are interested. It is 4 bedroom; 2 bath; 1600 sq ft; recently renovated. Rent is $2250/month; $3500 deposit. Contact Stacey at the church office if you are interested (office@communitycovenantchurch.org; 619-447-2675) address is 1823 Granite Hills Dr. El Cajon, CA 92019

Moms in Touch Event

Moms In Touch International is celebrating 25 years of encouraging moms to pray for children and schools. What started as the cry of one mom’s heart as her children went to public junior high school has expanded to include an estimated 175,000 moms throughout the United States and in 120 countries.

To celebrate our special anniversary, Moms In Touch International is hosting a historic prayer event on November 14, 2009, inviting Christian mothers from around the world to “Arise! Cry Out!” for the generations. We’d love you to take just 90 seconds by going to www.momsintouch.org and watching the short and compelling video about Arising and Crying Out! Could you please send this information on to any mothers that you know? It is our privilege to pray specifically for YOU as you work in our county’s schools.

To celebrate our 25 years of ministry, Fern Nichols is calling moms around the world to come together in their communities for four hours of extraordinary prayer for children and schools on Saturday, November 14, 2009. Arise! Cry Out! will be an amazing time of passionate prayer led by Fern Nichols, Pastor Miles McPherson, founder of Miles Ahead Ministries and pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, and the worship team Crimson Bridge. The event will be recorded on October 9 and 10, 2009, at the 3,500-seat Rock Church in San Diego, where our international Country Coordinators and other women from around the world will come together to pray for this generation and the next. That recording will be sent to our Host Sites, mainly partnering churches, nationally and internationally. Our prayer is to have a 24-hour wave of prayer around the world on November 14.

As Fern Nichols says, “Imagine what God could do through a generation of prayed-for children?”

For more information about Moms In Touch International, please visit our website, www.MomsInTouch.org. Our About Us section includes a Fact Sheet about our ministry and the History of MITI. You can also visit our Arise! Cry Out! section for more information on this historical event.

New Facebook Page

If you are a facebook user, check out our new facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/communitycovenant