Full And Abundant Life

HoHum:

Four ministers were discussing the pros and cons of various Bible translations and paraphrases. Eventually each stated which version, in his opinion, was the best. The first minister said he used the King James because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures. The second said he preferred the New American Standard Bible because he felt it comes nearer to the original Greek and Hebrew texts. The third minister said his favorite was the paraphrased Living Bible because his congregation was young, and it related to them in a practical way. All three men waited while the fourth minister sat silently. Finally he said, “I guess when it comes to translations and paraphrased editions of the Bible, I like my Mom’s translation best. She put the Word of God into practice every day. It was the most convincing translation I’ve ever seen.”

Today is Mother's Day and this can be difficult for a woman because unable to have children, their children have died, their mother has died, or they have a troubled relationship with their mother. Try to be sensitive but sometimes make the sermon so syrupy sweet that say nothing of substance and can actually make it more difficult that it needs to be.

WBTU:

Skipping ahead in Revelation- talked about the opening of the seals but did not get to the 7th one- trumpets start in 8:6 through chapter 9. Chapter 10 has the angel and the little scroll. Chapter 11 has the 2 witnesses. The end of chapter 11 has the seventh trumpet sounding. Read Revelation 11:19. That is the end of the first half of Revelation. Much still to cover. Skipping ahead because chapter 12 is talking about a pregnant woman. Read 12:1-2- mothers know what this is talking about!!! Jody Owens had a retreat and talked about how the family resembles the relationships of the Trinity. Father and mother and then when have a child this glorifies God. We are co creators with God in making another human life. One of the greatest qualities of a woman is the ability to give life to another human being- happens in the woman. This is something that a man cannot do (and why in the world would he want to). Adam Deibert said, “I know Angela (his wife) once told me when she was pregnant with our second son, that if men had to give birth to every child, there would be no families with 2 children, because the men would do it once, and never want to do it again. Jesus said in John 16:21: “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” Good for those mothers- It’s all coming back to me now when the child is about to come. I am sure this did not happen in those delivery rooms- read 12:3-4. Have delivered a sermon about the dragon in the nativity scene but this is mother’s day not Christmas. Next, told about the new baby- read 12:5. Next, we are told about how the mother is given protection and provisions- read 12:6. The rest of the chapter we will look at another time because it elaborates on these 3 characters. Who are they?

1. The woman- this is talking about the church. Now the Israelites would not have necessarily used the word church but this stands for God’s chosen people throughout the ages. Started in Genesis 3 where we are introduced to the serpent- Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” We see that conflict going on throughout the OT. When we come to the NT we see Jesus being born of the virgin Mary. However, this is talking about more than just Mary. Yes, it happened in Mary’s womb but the seed of Abraham would not have been conceived if the people down through the years had been unfruitful. Romans 9 Paul is talking about his own people, the Israelites, and he says in vs. 5 “and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah.”

2. The male child- yes, this is talking about Jesus Christ. “Rule the nations with an iron scepter”. This comes from Psalm 2:9 which is definitely Messianic. Revelation has already referenced this in 2:27. What about “her child was snatched up to God and to his throne?” This is talking about the ascension. Covering a lot of ground here- yes, we go from his birth to the ascension in just a few words. Jesus was on this earth for approximately 33 years when he was crucified, buried, resurrection and then ascended to the Father’s right hand. The dragon is unable to devour the Christ.