Num.9:1-14 Bible Study

Why are we starting in Numbers 9?  Because strange though it first sounds, this is where the Book of Numbers starts.  Compare Num.1:1 (the first day of the second month of the second year...) with Num.9:1 (the first month of the second year)...  and we know it was before the 14th (9:3).  Which raises the question, ‘Why 8 Chapters of legislative material before we get to the action?’.  In part because Num.1-8 sets the context.  It shows how everyone in the Church in connected to and invested in the ministry of the Tabernacle (i.e. the proclaiming of the Gospel to the nations).  That extended introduction also contains the first census (numbering of the people) from which the Book takes its name.  Before we get into the narrative of the journeyings of God’s people, we need to know who those people are, and what it is that defines them.

And so we join the ancient Church a year after their liberation from Egypt.  That year has been spent en route from the land of their captivity (3 months) and then camped at the foot of Sinai.  Whilst there they have been building the Tabernacle, and learning how to worship the LORD there.  Now they are getting ready for their first ‘trial run’ (see 10:11-34 for the first 3-Day journey).  Moving a mass of people the size of the Church is a huge logistical undertaking, and we learn the elegant organisation required.  But first: Passover ‘...in accordance with all its rules and regulations’ (9:3).

That might seem restrictive.  By and large, we don’t appreciate our worship being constrained by rules and regulations.  In our time we tend to prize freedom (and in some cases, spontaneity) as marks of true, spiritual worship.  But that is because, by and large, we have forgotten that as we worship in accordance with the Lord’s directives, He is teaching us about Christ: about His work for us, and about the discipleship to which He is calling us.  This profound Spiritual dynamic in our gathered and formal worship might be news to us, but it has always characterised truly Christian worship.  We need to step back from our obsession with what we want to say in worship, and learn to listen to what He wants to say, and with what He wants us to say!

Questions:

What does it mean to say that ‘some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body’ (v.6)?  Why does coming into contact with death mean they can’t join the worship of the people of God? 

Is there anything today that would mean we can’t join the worship of the people of God?  Can we be rendered unclean in the same way? 

What is the attitude of those who were going to have to miss out on the celebration of the Passover?  Do we ever feel the same about the corporate worship of God’s people?

Why is Moses so cautious about responding to the peoples’ question (v.8)? 

Having read through Num.9:1-14, what would you make of someone who could in the worship of the Church, but decided not to?   Why is the treatment of someone who could have celebrated the Passover but didn’t so severe?  Should this be our attitude today?

How does the Passover teach us about Christ and the Gospel?

There is more going on here than you might realise.  If you want to explore this further you can do so at the Jews for Jesus website.

Who is ‘the foreigner’ that the Lord has in mind in 9:14?  What does this teach us about the nature of the Old Testament Church?  How then should we respond to the idea that in the Old Testament, the Church is an ethnically specific reality (i.e. about a particular race)?

Num.9:1-14 Ideas for Family Worship

Why not have a simple Messianic Passover meal for dinner tonight?  Roast lamb, pitta (unleavened bread), grape juice / wine, parsley (instead of bitter herbs) - I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to have salted water (to remember the tears shed).  You could read the story of the Passover, or watch the film, ‘Prince of Egypt’ and talk about how Jesus is the fulfilment of the Passover.  There are more complicated versions of the Messianic Passover on line, but this would get the idea across.  There is a full account in Ex.12, and bit of liturgy that goes with the meal in Ex.13:14-16.

As you enjoy this simple meal together, talk as a family about what it means to live in a way that is enslaved to sin, under the tyranny of the devil, and under the shadow of death.  And what it means to be liberated to live as the people of God.  There are all kinds of bases you could hit, such as Jesus’ teaching in John 8:31-47; or exploring how ‘celebrity culture’ is born out of our fear of death; or exploring the difference between slavery and freedom, and what it means to be free as a Christian. You might find it helpful to connect it with Communion (see e.g.. Matt.26).

For younger children, you might find this a helpful resource:

Jesus Storybook Bible, ‘God to the rescue’, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlWC0nQoOI

As parents we are chief evangelists and disciple-makers when it comes to our children.  This gives us an incredible opportunity to talk with our children about what it means to trust in the death of Christ for salvation...  why being good or having your own bespoke spirituality isn’t really going to help...  we can talk with them about how the Lord delivered His people and then taught them how to live by giving them the 10 Commandments.  We can explore what it means to be those who obey everything HE has commanded...  and all in the context of a meal!!

Enjoy.

Zech.9:9-17 Bible Study

Zechariah is prophesying during the re-building of Jerusalem by those who have returned from exile.  There weren’t as many of them as you’d like to think, and as it turns out they were fearful and easily intimidated by the locals.  They had bribed officials, threatened open violence, and written to the king warning him that if Jerusalem was built, there would be sedition.  All this conspired to bring the work of rebuilding Jerusalem to a standstill (Ezra 4:24).  In response, the Lord raised up two preachers: the prophets Haggai, and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1).

We might feel that isn’t the most helpful of responses...  and if that is the case, we’d have been even less impressed by Zechariah’s message.  Faced with enemies all around, the idea of a lowly king riding on a donkey (Zech.9:9) hardly inspires courage and confidence.  How little we understand the ways of the Lord.  Zechariah’s message centres on the disturbing idea that the Lord is sovereign over the nations (even those who oppose Judah), and that as such He will draw them with His grace into the very Church they now oppose.  Peace will extend across the nations.  Shalom.  Rest.  This is something far more profound than victory through the domination, the annihilation of enemies.  That is all we have the imagination to envisage.  But the foolishness of God far transcends the wisdom of humanity, and His victory is not at the expense of righteousness (9:9).  The meek will inherit the earth...  and there is none more meek than the king who comes to us lowly and riding on a donkey.

Paul writes:   God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col.1:19-20).  This is the blood of the covenant, the spilling of which was foreseen by the mighty Zechariah (9:11).  The donkey-king comes to die, not kill; to be defeated not to defeat.  And in that moment of inversion, He changes everything.  A New Creation is inaugurated.  A New Creation in which prisoners are rescued from pits, and are shackled to hope (9:12).  A New Creation in which chariots and war-horses are taken away and battle-bows are broken (9:10).  A New Creation in which the King will rule over those He has saved (9:16) with justice, and faithfulness, and integrity, making full provision for those in His care. 

Questions:

How do you reconcile the picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with the vision of Jesus we are presented with in Rev.19:11-21?  Why are both needed?  What happens if we only have the lowly Jesus on the donkey? ...and if we only have the war-wager on the white horse?

Which inspires a response of love, commitment and worship?  Why?

What glimpses of Rev.19:11-21 can you see shining through in Zech.9:9-17 (you can take in the whole of Zech.9 here)?  Can you see in Zechariah’s prophecy evidence of the King who ‘wages war’ (Rev.19:11)?  How does that affect the way we read this prophecy being fulfilled on ‘Good Friday’ (e.g. Matt.21:1-11)?

What is the difference between meekness and weakness?  How does meekness achieve such extraordinary results?  Where have you seen meekness in action? 

How does Jesus example help us as we find ourselves in situations where we too must refuse to resist an evil person, but rather turn the other cheek; or where we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us?  Have you ever put such teaching (Matt.5:38-48) into practise?  What happened?

Read Zech.9:13. Does Zechariah envisage the Church being implicated in the execution of God’s judgment against the sons of Greece?  How do you make sense of that?  Have a look at I Cor.6:1-3.  What does this mean? 

What is there about the New Creation that really captures your imagination?  How does your vision of the New Creation shape your experience of discipleship here and now?

end note on Zech.9:13.  After Alexander the Great defeated Persia (and during his campaigns Syria, Tyre, Sidon and Philistia was conquered as per Zech.9:1-8), the Jews did in fact fight the Greeks, and gained an incredible victory.  Alexander died unexpectedly in 323 BC, and his empire was divided into four.  A ruler called Antiochus eventually ruled over one of these fragments, and against the background of a growing Roman Empire, sought to instil unity by in his realm around his pagan Greek culture. When the Jews resisted, it resulted in war during which the Jewish forces under Judas Maccabeus won a series of stunning and frankly, unlikely, victories.  This secured a century of independence until the Romans invaded in 63 BC.

Family Worship ideas for Holy Week

So here is link to a PDF doc that lays out activities, discussion starters, prayers etc. for use thorughout the week running up to Easter:

Entering as a family into a period such a holy week gives you the chance to work on something over a few days. Something as simple as printing off depictions of key events throughout the week (or printable colouring pages) which can be put up in the home. That can create a montage of Jesus’ journey through the cross to resurrection.

There are so many incredible ways of talking about all that Jesus acheives in His Passion. We all face the temptation to reduce this moment to a single idea - often something such as forgiveness of sins. As true as that may be, it falls drastically short of all the Bible has to teach us. His death is about victory over evil, cleansing the whole of creation (including us!), redeeming death so that it is no longer something we need to fear but becomes a servant that carries us to Christ, it gives us an example to follow, a revelation of God’s heart to delight in, and a vision of true spiritual power to develop. His resurrection is not simply His triumph over death. It is the birth of a new creation, our being ushered into a new way of Divine living. It is the securing of our future, the fulfilling of the past Levitical Priesthood, and the guarantee of our righteousness.

As a parent (or grandparent) you might it helpful to revisit out Jesus Centred Life term on the Work of Christ. that will give you plenty of ideas about how to talk with your kids about all that is acheived in the first Easter. Or if you are using ‘To be A Christian’, have a look at Q&A 59-70… I’ve included them here in case its useful. If it isn’t, jsut stop reading here - there’s nothing else after the questions below except one other downloadbale idea - the Holy Week Calendar!

59. Why did Jesus suffer?

Jesus suffered as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could have peace with God, as prophesied in the Old Testament: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 52:13–53:12, see 53:5; John 1:29; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

60. In what ways did Jesus suffer?

On earth, the incarnate Son shared physically, emotionally, and spiritually in the temptations and sufferings common to all people, yet without sin. In his agony and desolation on the Cross, he uniquely suffered in my place for my sins and, in so doing, revealed God’s love and compassion for fallen and suffering humanity. (Psalm 22:1–24; Matthew 4:1–10; 27:26–50; Hebrews 4:14–16)

61. How do Jesus’ sufferings help you?

Jesus has experienced our sufferings, understands our sorrows, and is able to sympathize with our weakness. Therefore, I should bear my sufferings with perseverance and hope, for my Savior is with me in them, and through them I will come to know him more fully. ( Job 9:32–35; Psalm 22:22–26; Isaiah 53:4–7; Luke 4:1–13; Hebrews 4:14–5:10)

62. Why does the Creed say that Jesus suffered under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate?

The Creed thus makes clear that Jesus’ life and death were real events that occurred at a particular time and place in Judea in the first century AD. (Psalm 2:1–6; Luke 3:1–2; 23; Acts 4:24–28).

63. What happened at Jesus’ crucifixion?

Jesus was executed as a common criminal. He was scourged, mocked, and nailed to a Cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. Though believing in christ humanly a miscarriage of justice, his execution fulfilled God’s plan of salvation. (Psalm 22:1–21; Isaiah 53:8; Matthew 27:22–26)

64. What did Jesus accomplish on the Cross?

Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures by dying on the Cross as a sacrifice for sin in obedience to his Father. He thereby showed the depth of the love of God for his fallen creation, satisfying the justice of God on our behalf and breaking the power of sin, Satan, and death. (Leviticus 23:18–21; Psalm 34:15–22; Colossians 2:13–15; Hebrews 10:11–14)

65. What does Jesus’ death mean for you?

Jesus bore my sins and died the death that I deserve, so that I could be saved from sin and eternal condemnation and reconciled to God. (Psalm 32:1–2; Isaiah 53:10–12; Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:8–10; 2 Co rin thi ans 5:17–21)

66. Why does the Creed make a point of saying that Jesus died?

The Creed makes the point to emphasize that Jesus died a real, bodily death such as all people face because of our sins. (Psalm 22:14–15; Isaiah 53:8–9; Matthew 27:45–50; John 19:30–35)

67. Why does the Creed emphasize Jesus’ death in this way?

The Creed emphasizes Jesus’ death to counter suspicions that Jesus did not truly die on the Cross, to celebrate the fact that he died there to secure our salvation, and to prepare our minds to grasp the glory of his bodily resurrection. ( John 19:31–34; 1 John 5:6–8)

68. What does the Creed mean by saying that Jesus descended to the dead?

That Jesus descended to the dead means that he truly died and entered the place of the departed. (Psalm 16:9–10; Acts 2:25–32; Ephesians 4:9–10; 1 Peter 3:18–19)

9. What does the Creed mean when it affirms that Jesus rose again from the dead?

It means that Jesus was not simply resuscitated; God restored him physically from death to life in his resurrected body, never to die again. His tomb was empty; Jesus had risen bodily from the dead. The risen Jesus was seen by his apostles and hundreds of other witnesses. (Psalm 30:1–5; Luke 24:1–12; John 20:1–18; Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8)

70. What kind of earthly life did Jesus have after he rose from the dead? Following his resurrection, Jesus spent forty days visiting and teaching his followers. He appeared to his disciples, spoke to them, invited them to touch him and see his scars, and ate with them. (Luke 24:13–49; John 20:19–29; Acts 1:1–8)

this idea can be downloaded here.

Family Worship Ideas Luke 5:27-39

Click Below to download Family worship Ideas on Luke 5:27-39

Luke 5:17-26 Ideas for Family Worship

This is one of the most visual and visually dramatic of Jesus’ miracles.  Where else do you see people dismantling a house in order to get someone to Jesus.  There are plenty of craft activities available for you to do as you engage your child(ren) in this passage: for example here, there is a crossword you can do here, and a video to watch here:

There are some big ideas in the passage.  The religious leaders accuse Jesus of ‘blasphemy’ (5:21).  It’s going to be worth your while exploring that.  In this context that seems to focus on the idea of taking to yourself something that is only God’s prerogative!  If only God can forgive sins, then if someone presumes to do that, it’s a pretty big claim.  Of course – it is one Jesus can legitimately make, because He is God...  something this passage goes someway to clarifying for us.  It does of course raise the obvious question about why we are then commanded to forgive sins too (e.g. Matt.6:14-15).  What is the connection between God’s forgiving of sin and our forgiving of sin? 

you might want to explore what it means to be forgiven? ...and perhaps what forgiveness is not.  forgive and forget is (a) not possible, and (b) not a Biblical idea.  I think you’ll find the same is true of trying to forgive people who don’t repent (see Luke 17:3-4) – not even God forgives those who don’t repent!  Are there any other ideas bout forgiveness that might have been picked up that need to be clarified or corrected?  This would be a great opportunity to find out!  What a great conversation that could turn out to be...  and then a basis for praying together? 

There is a good story (Parable) Jesus tells about forgiveness at Luke 7:40-48

helping our child(ren) and young people think through the reality of forgiveness is an important part of them navigating their spiritual experience.  The Catechism that we use at DTP might help here:

196. What is God’s forgiveness?

God’s forgiveness is his merciful pardon of sin and removal of the guilt that results from our disobedience.

197. On what basis do you ask forgiveness?

I ask God our loving Father to forgive me through his Son, Jesus Christ, who bore my sins upon the Cross, so that through faith and Baptism I can receive his righteousness.

198. Does God forgive your sins?

Yes. In Christ, God freely forgives the sins of all, including me, who sincerely repent and in true faith turn to him.

A good memory verse might be: Ps.32:1-2, Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

You can download a single side of A4 version of this here.

Luke 5:12-16 Family Worship Ideas

One of MIE’s Global Mission Partners is Leprosy Mission.  Why not head over to their website and see what they get up to.  There are plenty of stories, insights about their work, things to do, situations to pray for and ways to get involved, including using Lego™ and help raise awareness about Muzaffarpur Hospital!

A lot of the encounter with Jesus in this passage is built around the idea of ‘cleansing’.  In Leviticus, leprosy is a picture that helps us to grasp the reality of sinfulness (NOT saying that those who had leprosy were any more or less sinful than anyone else!). You’ll notice the man asks to be made clean, not healed.  And Jesus says: ‘Be Clean’.  the idea is stronger than ‘sin makes us dirty’, but that’s pushing in the right direction.  There are no end of ways to engage with this in interactive and fun ways.  From using a basketful of dirty laundry, a pile of dishes, or deliberately making something dirty and then washing it… to something a bit more labour intensive  (or you could just watch the video…)

You cold get some washable ink pens, and write / draw pictures that represent sinful thoughts, words or actions on a sheet. Washing it so that it is cleansed could be a great activity to help your child(ren) ‘see’ what Jesus longs to do when we repent ofo ur sin.

…Or you could do some craft work around Psalm 51:1, or perhaps Ps.51:10, which could then be memorised, or turned into a prayer…

The idea of cleansing from our sin is a powerful one that helps us to think not just about being forgiven, but of our being ‘de-contaminated’ – having sin ‘washed out’ of us so that it doesn’t shape us anymore.  A river polluted at source carries that pollution down stream with it.  Jesus speaks of our heart a bit like this: out of the overflow of our heart, we act and speak and think (see e.g. Matt.15:18.  Once our heart is cleansed, then what flows out of it is clean too.

You can download this as a 1 side of A4 printable PDF here

Luke 5:1-11 Family Worship Ideas

Click here to download the Family Worship Ideas pack in it’s new format for W/B 25/02/24

Luke 4:31-44 ideas for family worship

In a couple of weeks, we’ll be exploring the idea of Jesus as Priest and how as Priest His job is to keep what is unclean out of the Church.  While it comes very much into focus in Luke 5, we already see Jesus dealing with all that is broken and unclean (impure, 4:36).  The idea of sin as something that contaminates us and our world will be a part of that discussion, but for now a simple recognition that Jesus alone can actually fix the world (and us as part of that world) is a great place to start.  I’ve always liked the idea of light and darkness.  Watching a Sunrise (ps.19); lighting a candle in a dark room; shining a torch in the back garden at night time; or just flicking the switch for a bedroom nitelight… all simple ways of showing that Jesus (as light of the world) drives back darkness.  Wherever light is, darkness isn’t.  We see that enacted in the passage before us.

To be a Disciple of Jesus is to recognize His authority – though it’s baffling how many people try to be Christians whilst still deciding for themselves what they will believe and how they will live.  The whole point of this section of Luke’s Biography of Jesus (Gospel) is showing us that He has authority – absolute authority.  This gives you a great opportunity to explore how as a parent, your authority in the home is about helping your child(ren) to learn how to relate to Jesus’ authority.  When your kid(s) learn to obey you they are being given the tools that will help them learn to obey Jesus (Matt.28:19-20).  You can explain why the rules of your home are what they are…  reflecting the rules of God’s home; and why you teach your children to obey ‘first time and straightaway’… because that is how we should obey the Lord.   In fact, the only reason parents have authority is that it is delegated from God.

There are a number of ways into this…  a simple game like ‘Simon says…’ that is about following instructions; or a list of instructions that end in finding a gift; imagining a game of football without any rules or referees…  following rules (or in Jesus’ language: obeying everything He has commanded) might actually be a good thing!  Discussing (or re-reading) any favourite stories that show a Monarch as a wise and benevolent ruler might be helpful here too (Lk.4:43).

Older children might benefit from a conversation about how authority structures are reflected not just in family life, but also in Church life, and in the life of a nation?

This could be a great opportunity to explore what your child(ren) are afraid of.  There are frightening things in the world, things that can hurt or scare us.  The way to deal with that is not to pretend they don’t exist, but to know that Jesus is more powerful than any of them.  He has authority over us…  and over everything else too!  Do we trust Jesus to protect us?  What does that protection mean?  If you’ve lit the candle (see above), maybe this is a chance to chance to pray together about Jesus watching over us and protecting us from what scares us. 

Luke 4:14-30 ideas for family worship

How are you doing with memorising Ps.119:9-12?   Don’t forget there will be an opportunity at Church (on 11th) to encourage the congregation by showing us that you have committed this passage (or part of it, depending on how old you are) to memory.  That is only the first step though.  We hide His word in our heart so that we don’t’ sin against Him!  Memorising Scripture is part of hiding His word in our hearts...  but that is a means to an end!

Meanwhile at Nazareth...  things aren’t going so well for Jesus.  We often think popularity is a good sign of how good a preacher someone is.  It might be.  But on that basis you’d have to conclude that Jesus isn’t a very good preacher!  Why not spend some time as a family reflecting on what make a good preacher?  Why might people get angry with good preachers?  Why did people get so angry with Jesus?  How do we make sense of it when we find ourselves getting angry when someone is teaching the Bible?  Maybe you could spend some time praying for those at MIE who preach week by week.  This can be a great opoprtunity to help your child(ren) think through the importance of Scripture being at the heart of the Church’s worship.

Can you look ahead in Luke’s Gospel and find places where Jesus does each of the things He says he’s going to do here in 4:18-19...  depending on how competitive your kids are, this could be presented as a challenge.  How many ways does Jesus proclaim good news for the poor? ... enable the blind to receive their sight? ...set the oppressed free? ...proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour?  This could be a great way of getting your child(ren) to read through Luke’s Gospel.  You might want to have an age appropriate version to hand.  We’ll be in Luke on and off for a few years, so it might be a worthwhile investment.

When they have identified passages where Jesus does what He says he will do, then you can have a conversation – based on those passages – about what Jesus means.  Is this limited to people physical well being and circumstances? ... or does Jesus have more than that in mind?

Older children might be interested in the idea that Jesus is fulfilling the Year of Jubilee (the Year of the Lord’s Favour).  You can read about it in Lev.25 – what a great interactive way of teaching the OT Church!  How do the various elements of the Year of Jubilee teach us about who Jesus is, or about what He will do?  How would living through the year of Jubilee have helped ancient Christians to understand the Gospel more fully?

If you do nothing else with this week’s passage, it would be worth spending a bit of time on Jesus’ teaching in Lk.4:24-27.  Jesus is underlining how God’s heart has always had an eye to those outside of the Church.  God is the original evangelist.  Why not have a chat with Tracey and find out how the Alpha Courses are going? ...maybe spend some time as a family praying for those wo are turning up and hearing about Jesus...

Luke 4:1-13 Ideas for family worship

The underlying aims of family worship include bringing our child(ren) up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph.6:4).  Teaching through a Catechism, or helping children learn and understand the Bible aren’t ends in themselves.  These spiritual disciplines – and others like them – are tools that the Spirit can use to re-forge the image of Christ in us and them. 

What does that mean?  It means that we are like Jesus.  We do the same sorts of things He did...  like resist temptation by having our minds saturated by and shaped by the Word of God.  When we say we are disciples of Jesus, but don’t aspire to actually emulate what we see of Him in the Gospels, we risk sounding disingenuous.  Jesus’ relationship with the Scriptures is profound.  We have already seen that Jesus’ life before His public ministry is defined by His engagement with the Bible.  And here at the outset, it is equally clear that His awareness of who He is, and what He is to do, is likewise defined by His engagement with the Bible.  This has to be one of our greatest ambition for our child(ren): that they are like Jesus...  that, like Him, their self-understanding is demonstrably shaped by what they read and understand from Scripture.

It’s one of the reasons we are encouraging families to build into the structures of their life together the opportunity to engage with the Bible in a context of worship and prayer.

It’s also why we put such a premium on memorising the Bible.  Again, that isn’t an end in itself – but the reason Jesus is able to hold on to His Father’s vision and call on His life in the face of such severe temptation, is at least in part because He had internalised it. 

Few other things will equip us or our child(ren) as effectively for godly thinking, living and decision making more effectively than memorising and internalising the Bible.. 

Chuck Swindoll wrote, “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified”.  There is absolutely no reason to assume those benefits are exclusive to those over the age of 21. 

In our reading this week we see Jesus using Scripture He has memorised to specifically resist temptation.  It is the enacting of: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11, though see also Rom.8:13; Eph.6:17 etc.).  As we face temptation, we call to mind a word of Scripture that recalls us to the superior worth of Christ and our imitation of Him.  When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness he recited Scripture from memory and put Satan to flight (Matthew 4:1-11).

So this week, let’s simply put this into practise.  Here is a section from Ps.119 that speaks very directly to what we are thinking about.  It’ll be introduced in our Sunday Groups too.  Why not memorise it as a family?  It is 4 verses long (Ps.119:9-12), but can be shortened for younger children.

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.

There’ll be a chance to show the Church Family how well you’ve memorised the passage!  So we look forward to hearing it...

Luke 3:21-23 Ideas for family worship

For such a short passage there is an incredible sense of layers of meaning, which will really help as we fashion our Family’s Worship after Sunday’s service.  If you take a look at the Introduction I’ve written for this week’s Home Groups Bible Study you’ll see how Jesus’ baptism is the fulfilment of Lev.8 and the ordaining of Jesus to His Priestly ministry (hence Luke’s including Jesus’ family tree here after the account of the baptism – you could draw / map out your own family tree, or at least a couple of generations as a active way into the passage).  If you listen to my sermon from Sunday you’ll see that other OT passages are finding their fulfilment here.  Noah, Moses leading the people through the Red Sea, Psalm 2, and others are all in the background.  This makes these 2 or 3 verses an incredibly visual and rich moment to reflect on as a family…

If ‘Jesus as priest’ is where you’d like to focus, then the key thing to realise is that the Priest’s job included teaching, dealing with anything unclean in the camp, and sacrifice.  picking out a handful of passages from Luke’s Gospel that show Jesus doing each of these would be a great way to show our Great Priest in action! 

Why does the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a Dove?  There are many other images associated with the Spirit throughout the Scriptures, yet He chooses this one.  The scene evokes a memory of Noah’s Ark, with Jesus as a greater Noah, who comes through the water of judgment (i.e. baptism) into a renewed creation.  There are plenty of activities you can do that will show the link with Noah’s Ark and help your child(ren) begin to understand how some of those OT stories work as they point towards Jesus.  Or here is a ‘dove craft’ if that’s where you’d like to put the emphasis. There’s plenty more online.

Or perhaps the fact that this is John’s baptism catches your imagination.  Why is Jesus undergoing a baptism that is all about repentance – He doesn’t have anything He needs to repent of.  The idea of baptism as cleansing if a powerful one for children to grasp.  Simply drawing the analogy with washing might get the point across.  Alternatively, a simple craft activity: sprinkle some Icing Sugar on a baking tray.  Draw or write in the sugar things that we need to be forgiven of.  pour some (warm) water in and watch it dissolve the sugar – and whatever is written in it.   Maybe get out your children’s baptism certificate, or photos of their baptism and reflect on what it means for them to have been baptized.  You might want to use a confession that we use in Church, so that there are some familiar words that help our kids make the connections!

Part of the imagery here is that Jesus is identifying with us as sinful humanity.  In the Incarnation (the Christmas story) Jesus becomes human.  But he remains without sin.  Here, Jesus is getting into the water which everyone else’s sin has been washed into.  This is where He begins to ‘take on’ – maybe absorb (?) - our sinfulness.  It’s part of the reason why Jesus will later call the cross His baptism.

Of course, you may want to take a different line.  Something about God as Trinity, or to reflect more fully on the question of baptism...  but hopefully these few ideas will give you something to work with!

Luke 3:10-20 ideas for family worship

John’s ministry is great for family worship.  It is graphic and powerful, clear and unambiguous.  It is straightforward and we may find that our children are better at grasping John’s meaning than we are as parents.  We immediately jump into rationalising why John can’t possibly have meant what he said...  but a child reading this passage will artlessly assume he did.  They are more likely to simply want to do what John says!  So you might need to think ahead of time about how you’ll respond when they say they want to give away clothes and pocket money!   in fact, Family Worship this week could be as straightforward as working out how to help our children experience the joys of a repentant life.

Why were the people wondering if John was the Messiah?  This could be explored using a detective game format.  Looking for clues in the OT about what the Messiah would be like when He came.  Seeing how John could have been mistaken for Him...?  In what ways are John and Jesus similar?  in what ways are they different?  What imagery in their preaching is similar?  What teaching is similar... can you find elements of Jesus’ teaching the reflect what John is saying here?  But what about their deaths?  Both can be seen as tragic...  but are they?  What does Jesus’ death achieve that John’s can’t?

Another powerful image is that of Jesus baptising with the Holy Spirit and fire (3:16), and the connection this has with separation and judgment.  Jesus will destroy a world that is built on His being rejected.  That world, and the way of living life to which it gives rise, is empty waste: chaff.  We will need to help our children understand the way in which Jesus brings division, and the basis on which that division is experienced.  Any game or activity that features separating out two groups could be used as a context for this conversation.  Working out the implications of this information can be challenging – especially if we have family members who aren’t disciples of Jesus.  Maybe this is a great opportunity to bring them with you to Alpha.  This helps our children see that the most appropriate response to the prospect of Jesus’ winnowing is to be active in sharing our faith.

Luke 3:1-9 Ideas for family worship...

‘My First Books and more’ have a helpful children’s catechism that runs through the book.  This is great place to start as we get into Luke 3:1-9, and John’s baptism of repentance.

54.  What does it mean to repent of your sins?
I am truly sorry for my sins, I hate them and want to stop doing them.  I want to live to please God (Is.1:16-17).

You might want to unpack that just a bit further.  John explains that we must ‘produce fruit in keeping with repentance’.  That suggests a step beyond Q&A 54, to include a change of behaviour.  It would be great to begin to talk about what that means – though we’ll be coming back to that conversation next week!

But for this week, perhaps using the image John develops to help everyone realise that through our experience of repentance, God is changing who we are... and so we will see the fruit in our character and lives changing to reflect that.  Helping our children identify that in their own experience and lives can be a source of real joy as they see the evidence of the Spirit’s work for themselves!

I’ll leave to parental discretion whether to press the imagery on into v.9. I’d recommend we do – I think we rarely serve our children well by avoiding passages we might find difficult. Often times we find our children are far more receptive to such things, and helping them work through harder parts of the Bible is a parent’s privilege. One way through might be to put the whole question of judgment (one that Jesus Himself uses, Matt.7:19) on a less defensive footing. We may feel we need to apologise for such teaching, but in fact we can find encouragement in knowing that God will not be fooled by hypocrisy, nor will He let the wicked prosper indefinitely.

Older children might find it helpful to work through Psalm 73. They might need a little bit of help, but the basic overview is of someone who is struggling as a Christian, because of injustice and the fact that wicked people get to keep being wicked... and that is causing damage to others. Only when they consider that there is a Day of Judgement, can the rest in God’s justice.

…in the Prentice household, there would of course be some (carefully supervised!) chopping of wood as part of family devotions this week!!

Luke 2:41-52 Ideas for family worship

Well, few passages lend themselves to family worship better than this one!!  One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a clear vision for family life.  What is it parents are called to…  what is it that children are called to…  and that all fits into God’s strategy for raising mature men and women of God.  Jesus and his family submit to that vision and it is adequate for raising the Son of God, so that seems a pretty good endorsement! 

 There are at least three great conversations that you could visit with children of any age.  The first is that of Festivals.  We’ve just had one, so there is a sense of immediacy about this.

Jesus and His family go up to Jerusalem to celebrate on the of the Festivals that was embedded in the structure of the Ancient Church: Passover.  Festivals are designed to give a rhythm to the worship of the Church, constantly re-connecting us to the great works of God in the past and/or lifting our eyes to focus on the works of God in the future.  They mark our pilgrimage, and punctuate the Christian year.  Our Culture has its own Festivals, some of which they hijacked from the Church!  But working out as a family how you can mark, celebrate and benefit from your engagement with the Church’s Festivals would be a great way to use ‘Family Worship time’.  Marking them on the calendar, talking through the focus and curriculum of each, thinking of ways to engage them…  how will your family celebration interconnect with the Church-family’s celebration?

We did do an All Age series on the OT festivals (and how they connect with the NT Church’s worship) a couple of summers ago, so you might want to dig out the Youtube services from Summer 2021.

A second area to talk about would be Jesus’ engagement with the Scriptures, and His study with others.  This is a great pattern for Children to follow, and is actually how Jesus learned about His own identity and mission.   You have a great opportunity here to explore why the Bible features so much in your own life, and in the life of your family.  If appropriate, you could study together the story of the Passover (maybe over a Passover meal, see e.g. here: PASSOVER MEAL), and explore how it would have helped Jesus grow in His understanding of what His Father had sent Him into the world to do!  It’s also how we grow in ‘wisdom’ (v.52). It’d be great to read the Passover account in Exodus…

Another option would be to reflect together on Jesus’ pattern of obedience to His parents.  It always helps us to know why we are being told to do something.  Jesus’ obedience to Mary and Joseph is part of how He ‘learned obedience’ to His Heavenly Father (Heb.5:8).  Similarly, our families are schools in which we learn how to obey ‘first time and straightaway’.   It’s where we learn to trust those who love us to instruct us and train us.  If you wanted to develop the idea of imitating Christ from this passage, His humility is deeply compelling.  He submits to the structures of worship found in Scripture, to His parents, and to the limits of His humanity.  What might it look like for us to follow His example of humility?  Have a look at Phil.2:1-11 if you’re struggling to come up with an answer!

Luke 1:39-45 Ideas for Family Worship

Don’t forget that there are two great resources for families with younger (grand-)children that are particularly helpful during Advent.  The first is the travelling crib, which gives you a chance to make the Nativity scene a centre piece in your home for a few days, and to reflect together and worship.  You can find out details and get ideas from Lizzie Kent, who does so much to support our Family’s and Children’s ministry at MIE.  Alternatively, you can use the Jesse Tree Resources, which can be found [here].

If you are focussing on this week’s passage (Lk.1:39-45), you might want to read the introduction to the Bible Study I’ve written for Homegroups to use.  It reflects on the humanness of those caught up in the events leading up to and surrounding the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  These are people capable of great faith and great fragility.  I try and capture that with the idea that we are a blend of dust and glory.  You could explore this with your child(ren) or grandchild(ren) as you mix gold glitter with play-dough and form it into the figures of the Nativity. 

We can also reflect in our Family’s worship on the importance of encouragement.  Mary is so vulnerable to gossip and slander.  At this point she remains misunderstood and rejected by those closest to her.  That is in part why she gets ready and hurries to a town in the hill country.  But Elizabeth and Zechariah can support her in ways she can’t even begin to imagine.  They too have experienced an angelic visitation and a miraculous conception.  They understand far more deeply than Mary could have anticipated.  Imagine her relief when – after all the defamy she and her Child have been subject to, Elizabeth assures her that both she and her Child are in fact ‘Blessed’.  Who can you encourage in these days running up to Christmas?  Someone in MIE?  Someone further afield who is perhaps experiencing marginalisation for their faithfulness to God? 

For the more artistic, why not copy out Elizabeth’s song, and decorate it as you meditate on what she exclaims by the Spirit?    How does Mary – as the mother of Jesus – have a unique love and worship for Him?  How can we honour her as ‘Blessed among women’ without venerating her in  a way that would be inappropriate?  What is the Spirit doing for Mary as she visits with Zechariah and Elizabeth?  And what is the Spirit doing for them?

For older children...  how does this short story help a ‘Theophilus’ to ‘know the certainty of the things you have been taught’ (1:4)?

As a family, have think about the place of hospitality in your home.  Why not discuss passages such as Heb.3:1-3, or I Peter 4:9.  How can this become a more significant place in your discipleship together?

Why do we celebrate Christmas on 25th December?

There are a lot of traditions associated with Christmas. That’s true of families, Churches and - often less helpfully - wider society. Amongst those in the latter category will be the usual tedious outpouring of articles and pundits pontificating on a plethora of myths that are designed to benignly undermine and discredit the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, or as it’s known to most of us: Christmas.

Amongst these will be well-worn myths calling into question the historicity of the Gospels’ accounts of history. We’ll be told that the virgin-birth wasn’t ‘virginal’, and likely was never expected to be; the star wasn’t a ‘star’; there were no angels, and they didn’t appear to shepherds… and that it was all really just another ordinary day in Bethlehem that somehow got out of hand in a rather Monty-Pythonesque sort of way!

And irritatingly, this wearying nonsense will be presented as if it is the result of cutting edge scholarly research, the conclusions of which are now beyond reasonable doubt. And of course, written between the lines will be the slightly patronising dismissal of those ‘poor uneducated Christians’ who still believe all that primitive imagery and legend as if actually happened… And with a despairing chuckle, said pundit will shake their head on cue, grateful that they are counted amongst the enlightened ones… Ho! Ho! Ho!

But there is another, way of undermining our celebration of the birth of Christ, which calls into question the origin of the Festival. Jesus, we are assured was not born on 25th December. We’re all expected to be shocked and traumatised by this revelation. What’s worse we’re told - before we’ve managed to catch our breath - the whole thing is just a Christian veneer plastered over a pagan celebration in a clumsy and rather ill-conceived attempt at evangelism. The story is that a variously attributed pagan festival (Saturnalia is common) was celebrated on 25th December, usually associated with the winter solstice, or the sun, or light, or fire… something warming to keep us going through the depths of winter. And then those pesky Christians, trying to stop everyone having fun, hijacked it and turned it into a Church service. After all, why invent your own festivals when you can just nick someone else’s.

It’s all rather irksome, especially when re-iterated by Christian leaders, trying to be edgy and radical.

Like I said, tedious. I do wish Christians would read history… actually, just generally read. And read longer than it takes to learn how to ask (sometimes important) questions. That’s a serious point actually. A lot of Christians have read enough to know there are questions to be asked, and then they stop, as if living with those questions is a virtue. It isn’t. Keep reading and you’ll find that there are generally great answers to those questions… and that actually the questions aren’t particularly new or revolutionary. The same tired questions and attempts at undermining Christianity have been around almost as long as the Gospel itself. They certainly aren’t the result of contemporary scholarship! They aren’t new, radical, or edgy…

Anyway - I’ve drifted a bit. Why do we celebrate Christmas on 25th December. Well it’s all to do with a Libyan genius, a polymath called Sextus Julius Africanus. As far as we can make out he lived c.160-240 AD, was incredibly well travelled, served for a while as a soldier in Rome’s legions, and afterwards seemed to enjoy some political prestige in the Empire, with access to the Imperia Court. He was also incredibly well educated, and studied at the Christian Catechetical School (an early DTP) at Antioch around 215, possibly under the Church Father, Origen.

Julius wrote a book in which he sought to provide a unified history of the whole world. Like I said… educated, though to be fair there was less history 1,800 years ago. And for a variety of reasons to do as much with theology as history, he arrived at the conclusion that the appearance of Gabriel to Mary (and thus her conception) would have happened on 25th March - which was the date of the Spring Equinox in 1 BC. I’m not saying I agree… just that it’s what he thought.

It doesn’t take a polymath to work out that 9 months after 25th March would have been the 25th December. And so he proposed the Church celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Christ then. And after about a century of discussion and debate, some of the Church decided they would. Not all of the Church. The ‘Eastern’ Church that looked more to places like Alexandria and Antioch for leadership, thought 7th January made more sense (which in itself calls into question the whole' ‘we nicked a pagan festival’ narrative). But, I’m not getting into why they did that just now (it was to do with different calenders)… though they still do think we should celebrate Christmas on 7th January.

But the point is, there isn’t a pagan festival in sight. We might not agree with the (theo-)logic of the decisions the Early Church made, but we can at least try to understand why they made them; and not just go along with some nonsense about them rather clumsily and stupidly hijacking a festival that didn’t even belong to them! By and large, the Early Church Fathers had good reasons - and by good I mean Biblical and theological - for structuring the Church’s worship as they did. And some yahoo pastor trying to be edgy 2,000 years later, or some scholar hoping for their five minutes of fame on daytime TV, churning out the same old tired cliches really isn’t something that should bother us overmuch.

Luke 1:5-25 Ideas for family worship

This is such a great passage for All Age worship, especially for younger children.  It is multi-sensory, and helps create a context for praying together.

The altar of incense is in the Temple, right up against the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.  IT’s right in the midst of the Ark (throne of the Father), the Table of the Bread of the Presence (Christ), and the seven-branched lampstand (Holy Spirit).  The Altar itself, and the incense rising from it, represents the Church at prayer (e.g. Rev.8:2-4; Psalm 141:2, hence the comment in Luke 1:10).  That in itself is pretty amazing.  When the Church is praying we are right at the border between heaven and earth (what the Curtain represents), and is caught up into the midst of the life of the Trinity.  We are joining the Fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Both the Son and the Spirit are described as interceding for us (Heb.7:25 ; Rom.8:27). 

So, why not lay out the Temple so that everyone can see it (there is a plan below).  Or if you are feeling creative, and have time in the midst of getting ready for Christmas (!), why not make an Altar of Incense, and burn some incense so that you can smell and see the smoke.  Then just add your prayers.  You may want to have written those before hand if you or your children aren’t confident praying out loud.  If you can’t think of anything else to pray about, why not pray for some of the Christmas events going on over the next few weeks, or the Alpha Course in January? Here is a plan of the Tabernacle, on which the Temple was modelled:

And this is what the Alter of Incense looked like:

OR:

You might find it helpful to take the opportunity to talk together as a family about what it means to turn the hearts of children to their parents (1:17).  What do you think this means?  What does it look like?  How does it tie in with e.g. the 5th Commandment?  Why might parents and children’s hearts not be turned ‘to’ each other?  What can you do about it?  This gives us a chance to talk with our children about what it means for us to love them and for them to honour us, as we lead our families in the worship of the living God.

Or another angle might be the rebuke that Gabriel gives as Zechariah questions his words, brought as they have been from the ‘presence of God’.  How should we respond to such words?  What should such words evoke in us?  How are such words brought to us today? 

And don’t forget to use the Jesse Tree Family Worship for Advent if that works better for you. You can find it on the MIE Website, here.

Luke 1:1-4 Ideas for family Worship

Luke is a Doctor (Col.4:14).  And he brings his training and experience as a Doctor to the health of the Church.   When he sees a disease spreading through the ‘body of Christ’ he is quick to diagnose it and treat it so as to restore health.

The disease Luke sees lurking in the shadows of the Church is insecurity.  People aren’t confident in what they believe about Jesus, or why they believe it.  That’s a pretty serious thing.  If children aren’t secure and confident in their parents’ love for them, or their expectations about their behaviour, or the consistency of their character and relationship, that could lead to some serious issues.  We need confidence and security if we are to mature in a healthy way.  It’s the same for our spiritual growth.  Insecurity and uncertainty cripple our progress as Christians, and lead to unhealthy spiritual development.

Luke’s course of medication is 24 Chapters of reliable, historically verifiable history. 

Faith is often presented as a leap in the dark...  something you do when the evidence runs out.  That isn’t at all how Luke sees things.  For him, when you look at the evidence, believing in Jesus is the only sensible and informed thing to do.  To reject Him is the leap in the dark.  I’ve recommended Lee Strobel’s ‘Case for Christ’ recently.  I’d do so again here.  if not the book, then the film (2017) might make for good Christmas watching... and for conversations afterwards.

You can stream the movie online here.

This could be a great opportunity to get your child(ren) or young people talking about the questions they have about their faith.  It can be exciting to help them think and talk, and pray, their questions, doubts and fears through – and it takes away the power for those questions to undermine faith.

Some other questions you could have fun with would be: Who are the servants of the Word Luke refers to in 1:2?  He means the prophets of the Old Testament.  One of the most helpful things we could do here would be to identify a handful of the prophecies that Luke appeals to – even in the first couple of chapters of his Gospel account...  draw a timeline and draw (or make from Play Dough) different prophets and place them on the time line.  What prophecies did they make about the coming of Jesus?  How long ago?  How were they fulfilled by Jesus?  There are well over 300 – so plenty to choose from.   Celebrating God’s faithfulness and wisdom, and His ruling and over-ruling of history is a great way to worship together as a family. 

If you have older children, then as we come into Advent, you might want to do a similar exercise about the SECOND coming of Christ.  Can you piece together the Bible’s teaching about His return?  Reflect together as a family on how we can best prepare for that coming!

If you are thinking about creating an Advent theme to your Family Worship, don’t forget the Jesse Tree series on the MIE website.  It takes you right through Advent and is packed with ideas for family worship. There are some other great Advent Resources you might want to have a look at...

big truths for tiny theologians

OK - here is soemthing you can listen to with your kids, or just have them listen to on their own… Tiny Theologians is a podcast that is aimed at younger children. It comes with an array of other merch, which you can buy into or not… the podcasts themselves are about 10 minutes long, and comes with a bunch of ideas for family worship and discipleship… like: Dessert and Discipleship! I’m going to be honest - sometimes it’s a bit cheesy… but maybe kids don’t pick up on that!

anyway - you can hear the podcast here.