Sonoma Valley Church of the Nazarene
Find God, Find Hope
Memory Verse
Activity
Have the kids create tickets using craft or construction paper. They can get creative with what the tickets say but the gist of it should be that this is a ticket allowing them to follow Jesus!
Traditionally Matthews gospel chapter 2 focuses in on the rightful worship of the three wise men from the East at Christmas, but there is much more to the story. Reading Matthews gospel in August allows us to look at what else Matthew wants us to see. This week we contrast the Biblical theme of Kingdom of God with that of Empire. Join us live on the lawn at 10 or online.
Last week we felt compelled to ask for donations of “gift cards” for those in our area who are food and housing insecure or have lost their jobs due to the pandemic or been displaced or impacted by the fires. Your response has been overwhelming for which we are deeply grateful. Deb and I are out tomorrow to purchase the cards and combine them with other gifts from the Inter-faith ministerial association to be distributed to the health center, La Luz (rent and utility assistance) and F.I.S.H (local food bank)whose resources have been depleted due to demand.Thank you all
In the latter half of chapter 1 we are shocked by the words “i’m pregnant.” Matthew speaking to his fellow Jews is trying to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah they have all been waiting for. As such, he reminds them of a prophecy deferred and a sign given, pointing to the promise of God’s presence with us.
It doesn’t matter where your story begins, it how it finishes that matters. Matthew is the only gospel writer to begin with a genealogy; and you can tell a lot about a story by how the author begins. So what story is Matthew telling?
After Jesus introduces his disciples to the Lords Prayer he continues to provide more instruction by telling a story about a man who asks his friend for three loaves of bread to feed an unexpected guest who arrives in the night.
This sermon is a continuation of a previous sermon on praying through the psalms (what do King David and Bob Dylan have in common), focused this week and next on the Lords Prayer.
