Something to think about – Interupting the silence 

I can too easily name and too quickly blame people, events, and circumstances that have tripped me up, interfered in my life, or kept me from getting what I wanted. Stumbling blocks.

My guess is that every one of you could tell stories about the stumbling blocks in your life. Who or what have been stumbling blocks for you? How did they get in the way and cause you to stumble or fall? Did you meet a stumbling block this past week? What happened? 

John, however, wants to make the conversation about this other guy, this stumbling block. “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 

Isn’t that what we often do or want to do with our stumbling blocks? We draw lines in the sand, circle the wagons, divide into us and them, and try to stop them. 

Jesus, however, takes a different approach. He erases the line and enlarges the circle. He isn’t so concerned about another who causes us to stumble. His concern is focused on us, not the other,

In what ways have you and I become stumbling blocks to another or to ourselves? That’s the unspoken question in today’s gospel. When have we caused another to trip and fall? When have we tripped and stumbled over our own two feet, our own life? 

Questions to Ponder

• In what kind of ways might we be in danger of causing others to stumble? (v42)
• How can these verses prompt us to consider what it means to deny ourselves, lose our life for Jesus, and gain eternal life

In light of the verses we have just read, what do you think it means to 'have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other'?

Something to think about –  Patheos

I had lunch last week with Greg Garrett. Greg is a novelist, social commentator, and professor of English at Baylor University. In addition to teaching and speaking, he is a prolific and profound writer of both fiction and nonfiction. He writes a column on religion and politics for Patheos.com. I always like to ask writers their secrets for carving out time in busy lives to produce their books. He had a great two-fold answer:

1. Write to a deadline. "I come from a journalistic background, so I write to a deadline. You allot the amount of time you have to a project, complete it, and move on."
2. Ask yourself, What do I have to give up to have the time and energy to write this book?

That's great advice for everyone who has good intentions to accomplish something, but just can't seem to exert the discipline and stomach the sacrifice needed to achieve it. In the language of a self-help book I read once, some people "yearn" to achieve things, but they don't "burn."

Greg Garrett's advice to writers translates into the best piece of advice the Rich Man never took. It's worth asking ourselves whether we are willing to take it as we encounter his story in the 10^th chapter of Mark. Like the Rich Man we admire Jesus ("Good Teacher . . ."), and we have good intentions ("I have kept all these since my youth"). But, like him, we struggle with the fact that there is a deadline for our decision for discipleship and, like him, we have trouble stomaching the sacrifices it takes.

Questions to Ponder

• How does Scripture describe the man who approached the Lord Jesus?
• How does this man address Jesus? What does this tell us about whom he thought Jesus was?
• What does Jesus require this man to do (see Mark 10:21 printed below)? Why do you think Jesus makes this demand?
• How do Jesus’ words addressed to this man apply to us?
  
  

Something to think about –  Truth Applied

Having faith does not make things easy, it makes things possible.

Faith in Jesus transforms how you think. Faith impacts how you feel. Faith alters what you do. Faith changes what you believe. God uses faith to direct your life and rearrange your priorities.

This is where Jesus encounters Bartimaeus. Mark tells us in verse 46, A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. Bartimaeus represents all of us before Jesus comes into our lives. We are spiritually blind. We live in darkness. We are dominated by it. Darkness rules our lives. We are beggars. Before God we are poor and in need of much. We are desperate and need great help. Even in that state, Jesus can give us a new life and new direction just like He is about to give this poor blind man.

From Bartimaeus we see several lessons about faith in Jesus that we need to be reminded of. Faith sees, Faith persists, Faith responds, Faith abandons, Faith asks Faith saves, and Faith follows.

Throughout the gospel of Mark we have been encouraged over and over to follow Jesus. To leave things behind, take up our cross, and die daily for Jesus. We have seen what it looks like to follow Jesus and fail Jesus. We have also discovered that Jesus is gracious, merciful and committed to our growth. We fail, He teaches, we learn. We fall, He helps us get back up.

Questions to Ponder

• What do you love most about the gift of sight
• What does being a blind beggar do to a person?
• What does Bartimaeus do when he hears Jesus of Nazareth is coming?
• Jesus asks Bartimaeus...”what do you want me to do for you?” Wow! What a question! What if Jesus asked you this today? How would you answer it?
• Bartimaeus asks for a “big” supernatural thing. Not five dollars. He wants his sight!  How might this instruct us on what we ask Jesus?

Something to think about – Steadman

I heard about a dear man standing up in a meeting where an offering was taken who said, I want to give $100—anonymously. But in this passage Jesus said the one who really moved His heart and contributed tremendously to the kingdom of God was a little unnamed, unknown widow who had no influence, who had no outward posture of being worth anything. She came and put in two tiny coins that added up to no more than a penny; but because she loved the Lord her God with all her heart, all her soul, all her strength, and all her mind, she gave it. And Jesus said, She has done more for the kingdom of heaven than all the outward performances of all these others combined. What is that saying to us?

We are so intent upon the fact that God wants some kind of activity on our part. We think that the way to serve God is to do spectacular or showy things—to win a lot of people to Christ or to give our time or work in open ways. Yet the Scriptures tell us over and over that works are just the channel. God wants performance, but only if the attitude of our heart is right.

If you cannot do anything outwardly, your attitude may still be right—your attitude toward your neighbor and friends and your children and your husband and your wife and your boss and those who irritate you. If your attitude is one of love, love received from the God who loves you, then you are advancing the kingdom of God far, far more than all that is done outwardly by the greatest saints of our day and time.

Is that not amazing! God says, You can serve me in the quiet of your home and by the gentle, sweet spirit that you display in the midst of pressures and problems. You have done more to advance the kingdom of God than those who get out and proclaim the word on public address systems everywhere. That is the way God sees life.

Questions to Ponder

• Why does the Bible have a lot to say about money and our attitude toward it?
• When it comes to money what would a complete giving of yourself to God and loving God with all that you are look like?

Something to think about –  Working Preacher

John’s trial narrative raises these questions in compelling ways. Although Pilate and the Jewish leaders may appear to be powerful, John presents Jesus as the one who exercises authority.

The charge of kingship is the central question of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Jesus never answers Pilate’s question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (John 18:33), in a straightforward way. 

John crafts his narrative so that Jesus’ kingship becomes most visible in his crucifixion. It is as if his crucifixion is his enthronement as king, the moment at which the declaration of his kingship is made public. 

As the crucifixion makes clear, Jesus’ kingship is “not of this world” (John 18:36). Worldly kings take power from others by winning battles or at least through successful diplomacy. Jesus neither fights nor allows his followers to do so. He does not mount a vigorous defense.

Instead, Jesus offers an alternative to earthly kingship. “I have been born and come into the world for this: to witness to the truth” (John 18:38). 

Questions to Ponder

• What does Pilate mean by "What have You done" (John 18:35)?
• What truths does Jesus state to Pilate in verses 33-37
• What was the reason Jesus took on flesh and came to earth according to verse 37? How does this coincide with John 1:18?

 

Something to think about –  Working Preacher

At the center of the reading from Luke for this week is the parable of the fig tree.  This parable is not, probably, what we normally think of when we think “parable.”

This “parable” is really more of an observation and a warning.  It heralds the coming of the Son of Man, calling the listener to have eyes to see the signs, and the good sense to be ready.  Jesus tells us that there are signs that indicate the arrival, the advent, the presence, and the power of the Kingdom of God.  Like leaves on a fig tree (or pimples on the brow of an adolescent), such signs can show us our redemption, and our Redeemer; this is an important part of what we need to be about as children of that Kingdom: looking for its signs. 

Luke 21 tells us that people will know fear, that earth and heaven will traumatized, and that “‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and glory.”  A difficulty, of course, is that there have been (and presumably will be many more) times when there is distress among the nations and the heavens appear to be shaken.  How will we know, when will we see, and how long must we wait?

Patience, it seems, may be exactly what is at issue for the fledgling Christian community as it awaits the day of the Lord.  

The central promise of the parable of the fig tree — that the Kingdom is near, now — is a promise that the church needs to here regularly. The Greek word here is engizo, a verb which expresses the immanence, the “coming nearness” of someone or something. 

Questions to Ponder

• In light of Jesus' words about the future, how can we live faithfully in the present?
• How does Jesus' call to watchfulness challenge you in your spiritual journey?
• What comfort and hope do you find in Jesus' words about the certainty of redemption?
• How can you apply the message of endurance and perseverance in your personal life?
• How should we live our lives knowing that Jesus' return is imminent?

Something to think about – StepohenSizer.com

“The Advent reading from Luke 3 introduces us to the three most important themes of the Bible.  They can be summed up in three questions.   The primary theme in the gospels concerns the identity of Jesus. “Who is Jesus?” The second theme has to do with the mission of Jesus. “Why did Jesus come?” The third theme has to do with the call of Jesus. “What does Jesus demand of us?”  When you read the gospels thoughtfully – you discover that every event, every story, every quote, every conversation is about one of these three themes.  It is asking or answering one of these three fundamental questions. About Jesus’ identity; his mission; and his call.  Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus come? And what does Jesus demand of me?”

Questions to Ponder

• Why does Luke mention the political and religious leaders at the beginning of this chapter?
• How does John the Baptist's ministry fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah
• How does John the Baptist’s message of the coming Messiah establish the expectations for Jesus’ ministry?

How does John’s call for repentance speak to us today, and how can we apply it to our lives?

Something to think about – Interrupting the Silence

What do you see when you look at the landscape of your life today? Where does it hurt?

We can think of last week’s gospel as being about making a diagnosis and this week’s gospel as being about prescribing a treatment. “What then should we do?” That’s what the crowds ask John the Baptist in today’s gospel. They’re asking about the treatment that will begin to heal the hurt in their lives and world.

“What then should we do?” When has that been your question and what caused you to ask it? In what ways is it your question today? And what’s behind it?

What is the self from which you are living today? That’s the unspoken question in today’s gospel. And is it really you, who you want to be, and how you want to be, or is it someone or something else?

Maybe there’s a better question. Maybe the better question is, “How then do we want to be?

If we get the “how” of our lives worked out the “what” follows pretty naturally. If we know how we want to be, the values we hold, the qualities we embody, what we are living for and what we are willing to die for, we’ll know what to do.  

Questions to Ponder

• So what was John the Baptist saying
• Who is the coming “One mightier than” (Luke 3:16) John the Baptist?
• What does John the Baptist mean by not being “worthy to loose” His “sandal strap” (Luke 3:16)?
• How does John's water baptism differ from Jesus' baptism?

Something to think about – Becky Eldridge

“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste…” 

Consider what Mary must have been feeling along the journey to see Elizabeth. Only one line captured a journey of almost eighty two miles to see her cousin. Eighty two miles traveled at best on donkey, at worst on foot. Even if Mary traveled “in haste”, it would take her days to get there. That is a lot of time to think. That is a lot of time to wonder about this life growing inside of her and the promises she had just made to God and the angel. It is a fair amount of time to walk, ride, or travel for a newly pregnant woman, too. 

So, what would that journey have looked like? What would Mary have felt, thought, and considered along on the road? 

As we move through the final days of Advent ask yourself: 

• Where has there been beauty and struggle in your own story? 
• How can Mary’s journey give you comfort and courage along the way?
• Who are those you turn to when life takes an unexpected turn?

Questions to Ponder

• How long after “the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:38), did Mary “set out” (Luke 1:39) for Zacharias' house?
• Why did she set out in that manner?
• Who is Mary's “Savior” (Luke 1:47)?
• Whose greatness does Mary's soul proclaim?
• What is the greatest thing that Jesus has done for you?

Something to think about – Center for excellence in preaching

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt once published some very intriguing data on what he calls “elevation,” which is the opposite of disgust. We all know that there are any number of things that disgust us or cause us to feel revulsion.

Happily, however, witnessing acts of moral beauty also has an effect on us: it elevates us, moves us toward wanting to perform acts of morality ourselves. 

The shepherds of Luke 2 may well be a good example of this kind of elevation. They had witnessed something of profound moral beauty and had heard a message of radiant hope.

Luke tells us in verse 18 that everyone was amazed at “what the shepherds said.” Their sense of moral and spiritual elevation was contagious. It quickly began to spread, to wow and to startle a great many people. “What the shepherds said” did all that.

The Savior whose birth we celebrate was indeed born to you and for you all. If you can hear and believe that part of what the shepherds said, then no matter what happens the rest of today or this holiday season, you will be able to join those shepherds in glorifying and praising God for all that you have seen and heard. 

Questions to Ponder

• Why did Jesus choose to be born in a barn instead of a palace? What was he communicating to us by doing that?
• What is the hope of Jesus? What did he come to do for us?

Something to think about – Heartlight

Luke lets us know that Jesus was a good kid. As he grew up, he was obedient, he grew smarter, he made God proud, and he was liked by others. Like any loving parent, Mary stored up the memories of his childhood in her heart. There were no shortcuts for the Messiah. God's Son had to grow up and live a life of character in a family just like any other child. His wisdom came as he grew. Yet all the while, God's mission for him lay ahead. Think of it: If we cannot fathom God's being fully in human flesh, what must it have been like for Mary and Joseph? Yet this divine mystery holds our healing, God's grace, and the Savior's glory. Now God calls us to grow, in all ways, to be like his Son.

Questions to Ponder

• Joseph & Mary assumed Jesus was with the caravan.  What kind of suffering/emotions did they experience when they realized they had lost sight of Jesus?  What kind of suffering happens when we lose sight of Jesus today?
• Why were the teachers amazed by Jesus?
• How has God used time and life circumstances to prepare me for his purposes