Thursday 8/30/12 The Story 4

Luke 2:41 - Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.  42 When He was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.  43 After the Feast was over, while His parents were returning home, the Boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  44 Thinking He was in their company, they traveled on for a day.  Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  45 When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him.  46 After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  47 Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers.  48 When His parents saw Him, they were astonished.  His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us like this?  Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  49 "Why were you searching for me?" He asked.  "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  50 But they did not understand what He was saying.  (NIV)

Matthew 3:1 - In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  (NIV)

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for another great night and a great and blessed day.  Thanks for all You do for all of us, thanks for the messages of the week.  Dear Father, please watch over our schools and all who enter them.  Lord, as school opens again for the year, bless the kids and all the employees, and protect those bus drivers, Lord, and please, I pray, You will be at our schools, I pray that parents teach their children to sit with others at lunch and pray, and let all concerned see them pray and hear them talking to You.  We pray they will set an example for others to follow, as Jesus set the example for us to follow.  In Jesus' name, I ask that our prayers are covered according to Your will.  Please place Your healing hand on Barbara Paulus, please heal Ronny Boyd, and also Dorothy Nagash.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Good Thursday, my dear brothers and sisters, and yes, the day we pray for our schools and all who go through the doors.  Please pray for Barbara Paulus who has an infection, for Ronny Boyd, who has Parkinson's disease, and Dorothy Nagash, gallbladder surgery.  Now for a praise report.  What a great day, I received a call last evening to go to a local food store and pick up leftover bread for a church that could not use it, and just yesterday we put a freezer back online after a defrost.  Yes, we freeze all of our bread as soon as we get it so nothing gets wasted.  Some of you will more than likely be leaving work early tomorrow, and/or not going at all.  Please be safe on the road.  Let me get right to the message, and I wil try and keep it short today.

The Story (Day four).  Yesterday when I closed I asked some questions.  "Did Jesus smart mouth His mother and earthly father?  Did Jesus really talk back to them?"  Well, let's look at that part of the scripture.

Luke 4:48 - When His parents saw Him, they were astonished.  His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us like this?  Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  49 "Why were you searching for me?" He asked.  "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  50 But they did not understand what He was saying.

We see Mary and Joseph were looking for their Son Jesus, so let's deal with that first.  Today if we left an area without taking care of our children, to be sure they were with us, we would be in big trouble if, say, Children and Youth would find out.  But things were different back then, except for Jesus, of course, but this was when Jesus was just a child.  So did Mary and Joseph forget their child?  No, they thought He was with them, but after a day of not seeing Him, they got concerned, so they headed back to search for Him.  After three days, they located Jesus in the Temple.  Mary and Joseph were upset, and if you have children, you would know why.  If you had one go missing, and with a lad of twelve or younger, you would really go nuts. Even when they are older, if you don't hear from them, it is hard, trust me, we know!!

So anyway, Mary and Joseph were upset, and they should have been, and when they found Jesus, Mary said to Jesus, "Son, why have You treated us like this?"  Then Jesus said this.  "Why were you searching for me?"  "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  My answer to this would be it would depend on the tone of voice that was used.  It could have been done in a soft caring voice or loud and harsh, you know what I am talking about.  A lot is how someone says something.  If Jesus' words were snappy, then He might have been talking back.  For me, I think He would have been kind and gentle, maybe pausing as He answered His mother, maybe even holding her hand.  You see, I think this was for a reason, and here it is.  Jesus is of course God, who created Heaven and Earth, and also gave the ten commandments, one of which is "Honor your father and mother."  So I feel that Jesus would set an example there, just as He did for us His entire life.  So what do you think?

Okay, I promised I would keep it short and I also promised that I would say a bit about what happened next ... So let me say a bit:  REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR ... and I will pick it up there tomorrow.

Go forth and share your blessings.  Love ya, Pastor Dan.