1.  Luke has been called the writer who most presents Jesus through the eyes of women and the Gospel starts from the beginning with two women – Elizabeth and Mary. Not just two women but women in very difficult circumstances. One with no child late in life and the other with a child early in life but unmarried. There are several miracles in the Bible related to a woman not having a child. Sarah and Abraham, Rebekah and Isaac, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, Samson’s mother, and the Shunammite woman and her elderly husband. To be without a child is not only to be without a family or security for…

1.  The final chapters in the book and the final chapter in the life of Moses. What are some of the major points of the book? The importance of remembering: What are we to remember? Remember is not simply reminiscing about the past and how good it was. That is living in a world that probably never existed. Remembering is not melancholy or living in regrets. Remembering is not an anchor that keeps us from moving ahead but a keel that keeps us balanced and steady. It is something Moses calls the people together to do before they move ahead into the future. The right kind of remembering prepares us…

1.  What is greatness? Several times in the Gospels the disciples ask Jesus who will be great in the Kingdom.  It’s not a bad question.  In fact, it’s a question I encourage younger people to ask themselves.  How you define greatness makes a difference…and you cannot know unless you ask.  It’s the question we should be asking when we are young and should keep asking all our lives.  Yet, one time in particular the disciples ask Jesus what it means to be considered great or more literally to have the appearance of greatness.  It’s a totally different question, isn’t it?  It’s one thing to have a genuine interest in the…

1. Establish the characters Penninah – unbearable – year after year, relentless Elkanah – loving, accepting, bewildered Eli – failed priest with wicked sons to follow him Hannah – years of pain, grieving, bitter soul Many biblical characters live for years with unrelieved pain. Jacob and Leah. Sarah and Hagar. Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children or I’ll die.” 2. What was their relationship with each other? Hannah and Penninah: Rivals. One has his children and the other his love. Elkanah and Hannah: Love without knowledge or understanding of Hannah Eli and Hannah: A priest with great sorrow and a woman with great grief. His pain is his children…

Numbers 9:18-23: 18 At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted,…

It’s not uncommon for the children of the anointed to fail. Cain, the son of Adam is the first murderer. Two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu fall dead when they make an unauthorized offering. Earlier in the book of 1 Samuel, Eli’s sons are corrupt and wicked priests who are killed after making themselves contemptible. David’s son, Absalom, turns on his father and commits treason. So, it is not a complete surprise when Samuel’s sons do not live up to the standards of either the Lord or their father. They “turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.” God does not often create dynasties, does he?…

Crystal Cathedral is in the news for bankruptcy and then selling to the Catholic Diocese for $57 million. They could not support the vision of an individual or make it to the next generation in the family. Jehovah’s Witnesses is an example of a successful but accidental example of succession. It is stronger now and growing faster than when the founder was alive. There are 7.2 million members worldwide and growing at a rate of 2.5% annually. There are 107,000 congregations. At the annual memorial event (the Lord’s supper) there are over 18 million people attending. On the downside, they have a very low retention rate with only 37% of…

In “Young Man Luther”, Erik Erikson says, “Ideological leaders, so it seems, are subject to excessive fears which they can master only by reshaping the thoughts of their contemporaries; while those contemporaries are always glad to have their thoughts reshaped by those who so desperately care to do so. Born leaders seem to fear only more consciously what in some form everybody fears in the depths of his inner life. and they convincingly claim to have an answer.” I think this is true and I think often new movements and religions are a reflection of the leaders ultimate resolution of their great personal “struggle” getting played out by attracting those…

1.5 billion believers and 23% of the world’s population. After Christianity, it is the second largest religion in the world. Again, as we go through you can think about the differences and similarities with Judaism from last week and our own beliefs as Christians. A.  Muhammad was born in Mecca, Arabia in 570 AD. He was an orphan at 6 years old and was raised by his uncle who traced his line back to Ishmael – the son of Abraham and Hagar. He became a merchant/trader and married a successful businesswoman when he was in his 20’s. At 40 he went to the desert outside Mecca (Mt. Hira) and received…

A cynic was once asked why he still believed in God. His answer was, “Because of the Jews.” He still believed in God because despite all the attempts by so many to eliminate them they had survived. Only God could do that. Why is that? What do they believe about God that makes them survivors against all the odds? How do they persevere? First, we should distinguish between practices, values and belief. Practices are rituals, special days, rules and regulations that people observe because they have a shared identity. In Judaism, there are 613 commands that govern daily life. Some of them are familiar to us – not eating pork,…