Grace Church NOLA

A message based on Matthew 2:1-15: After Jesus’ birth—which happened in Bethlehem of Judea, during the reign of Herod—astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn ruler of the Jews?  We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay homage.”  At this news Herod became greatly disturbed, as did all of Jerusalem.  Summoning all the chief priests and religious scholars of the people, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they informed him.  “Here is what the prophet has written: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,  are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,  since from you will come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”Herod called the astrologers aside and found out from them the exact time of the star’s appearance.  Then he sent them to Bethlehem, after having instructed them, “Go and get detailed information about the child.  When you have found him, report back to me—so that I may go and offer homage, too.”After their audience with the ruler, they set out.  The star which they had observed at its rising went ahead of them until it came to a standstill over the place where the child lay.  They were overjoyed at seeing the star and, upon entering the house, found the child with Mary, his mother.  They prostrated themselves and paid homage.  Then they opened their coffers and presented the child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were warned in a dream, not to return to Herod, so they went back to their own country by another route. After the astrologers had left, the angel of God suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph with the command, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you otherwise.  Herod is searching for the child to destroy him.”  Joseph got up, awakened Jesus and Mary, and they left that night for Egypt.  They stayed there until the death of Herod, to fulfill what God had said through the prophet:  “Out of Egypt I have called my Own.” 

A message based on Luke 2:21-40: When the eighth day arrived for the child’s circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.When the day came for them to be purified, as laid down by the Law of Moses, the couple took Jesus up to Jerusalem and presented him to God. For it is written in the Law of our God, “Every firstborn heir is to be consecrated to God.” They likewise came to offer in sacrifice “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accord with the dictate of the Law of our God.Now there lived in Jerusalem a man named Simeon. He was devout and just, anticipating the consolation of Israel, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. She had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn’t see death until he had seen the Messiah of God. Prompted by her, Simeon came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child, Jesus, to perform the customary rituals of the Law, he took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Now, O God, you can dismiss your servant in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the peoples to see— a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”As the child’s mother and father stood there marveling at the things that were being said, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, the mother, “This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that is rejected, so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare. And a sword will pierce your heart as well.”There was a woman named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was a prophet. She had lived a long life, seven years with her husband, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple, worshipping day and night, fasting and praying. Coming up at that moment, she gave thanks to God and talked about the child, Jesus, to all who anticipated the deliverance of Jerusalem.When the couple had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the Law of God, they returned to Galilee and their own town of Nazareth. The child grew in size and strength. Jesus was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was with him.

A message based on Luke 1:57-80:  When the time came for Elizabeth to deliver, she gave birth to a son.  When her neighbors and relatives heard that God had been merciful to her, they shared her joy.  When all had assembled for the circumcision on the eighth day, they intended to name the baby after his father Zechariah.  But Elizabeth spoke up, “No, he is to be called John.”They pointed out to her, “But no one in your family has this name.”  Then they made signs to the father to find out what he wanted the child to be named.  Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.”  They were all astonished.  Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.  Their neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea, people were talking about these events.  All who heard the news stored it in their hearts and said, “What will this child turn out to be?”  For God’s hand is with him.  Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Blessed are you, the Most High God of Israel— for you have visited and redeemed your people.   You have raised up a mighty savior for us of the house of David, as you promised through the mouths of your holy ones,  the prophets of ancient times: salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all our foes.   You have shown mercy to our ancestors by remembering the holy Covenant you made with them,  the oath you swore to Sarah and Abraham,  granting that we,  delivered from the hands of our enemies,  might serve you without fear,  in holiness and justice,  in your presence all our days.   And you, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,  for you’ll go before our God to prepare the way for the Promised One,  giving the people the knowledge of salvation through forgiveness of their sins.   Such is the tender mercy of our God,  who from on high will bring the Rising Sun to visit us,  to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”In the meantime, the child, John, grew up and became strong in spirit.  He lived out in the desert until the day he appeared openly in Israel.  

A message based on Luke 1:39-55:  Within a few days Mary set out and hurried to the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of the Messiah should come to me.  The moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who believed that what our God said to her would be accomplished!”Mary said: “My soul proclaims your greatness, O God,  and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior.    For you have looked with favor  upon your lowly servant,  and from this day forward  all generations will call me blessed.    For you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,   and holy is your Name.    Your mercy reaches from age to age  for those who fear you.    You have shown strength with your arm;  you have scattered the proud in their conceit;  you have deposed the mighty from their thrones  and raised the lowly to high places.    You have filled the hungry with good things,   while you have sent the rich away empty.    You have come to the aid of Israel your servant,   mindful of your mercy—  the promise you made to our ancestors—  to Sarah and Abraham  and their descendants forever.” 

A message based on Matthew 3:1-12:  At this time John the Baptizer appeared in the desert of Judea, proclaiming, “Change your hearts and minds, for the reign of heaven is about to break upon you!” It was John that the prophet Isaiah described when he said, “A herald’s voice cries in the desert:  Prepare the way of our God, make straight the paths of God!’”John was clothed in a garment of camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist.  Grasshoppers and wild honey were his food.  At that time, Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him.  John baptized them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. When John saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to be baptized, he said to them, “You pack of snakes!  Who told you to flee from the coming wrath?  Give some evidence that you mean to reform!  And don’t pride yourselves on the claim, ‘Sarah and Abraham are our parents.’  I tell you, God can raise children for Sarah and Abraham from these very stones!Even now the ax is laid to the root of the tree.  Every tree that is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  I will baptize you in water for repentance, but the One who will follow me is more powerful than I.  I’m not fit even to untie the sandals of the Coming One!  The One who is Coming will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, his winnowing-fan will clear the threshing floor.  The grain will be gathered into the barn, but the chaff will be burned in unquenchable fire.” 

A message based on Mark 13:24-37: Jesus said, “But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Promised One coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then the angels will be sent to gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”"Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Promised One is near, right at the door. The truth is, before this generation has passed away, all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it—neither the angels of heaven, nor the Only Begotten—no one but Abba God. Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come. "It is like people traveling abroad. They leave their home and put the workers in charge, each with a certain task, and those who watch at the front gate are ordered to stay on the alert. So stay alert! You do not know when the owner of the house is coming, whether at dusk, at midnight, when the cock crows or at early dawn. Do not let the owner come suddenly and catch you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all: stay alert!”

A message based on Luke 21:5-19: When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” They asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then Jesus said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

A message based on Luke 6:20-31:  Then Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.“But I say to you who are listening:  Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.  If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.  Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 

A message based on John 8:31-36:  Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

A message based on Luke 18:1-8 (NRSVue):  Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.  He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’  For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God grant justice to God’s chosen ones who cry out day and night?  Will God delay long in helping them?  I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to them.  And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

A message based on Luke 17:11-19:  On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.  As Jesus entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him.  Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  When Jesus saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  And as the ten men went, they were made clean.  Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.  He prostrated himself at Jesus’s feet and thanked him.  And he was a Samaritan.  Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean?  So where are the other nine?  Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?”  Then Jesus said to the man, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

A message based on Luke 17:5-10: The apostles said to the Lord Jesus, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”

A message based on Luke 24:44-53:  Then Jesus said to the apostles, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in Christ’s name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”Then Jesus led the apostles out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

A message based on Luke 8:22-25: One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing Jesus fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to Jesus and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?”

A message based on Luke 5:1-11: Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. Jesus got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked Simon to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

A message based on Luke 14:1, 7-14:  On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host, and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.  For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your siblings or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

A message based on Luke 13:10-17: Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.  She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”  When Jesus laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.  But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day.”  But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites!  Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it to water?  And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”  When Jesus said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.

A message based on Hebrews 11:29—12:2: By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.  By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.  By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,  who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,  quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.  Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.  Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented  of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised,  since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

A message based on Luke 12:32-40: Jesus said: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

A message based on Luke 12:13-21:   Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  But Jesus said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And Jesus said to the crowd, “Take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”  Then Jesus told them a parable:  “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.  And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is being demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”