Sarah43

Shepherds are outcasts of the World, as was Christ, the Good Shepherd. God is making the point, with the manger and the shepherds, that Christ is the King of the World, precisely because he is humble.

The journey to Bethlehem was difficult because Mary was close to her confinement. Traveling in winter, in late pregnancy was not easy in those times. Plus, Mary had stigma of not being married at the time. Life is not always easy, but blessings abound, if we can just be thankful and listen for God's will. I do not think there is any hardship more difficult than being without God. God lifts us up in times of hardship and gives us courage to keep walking. The flow is the world, and worldly ways, which cause death in life and ignorance of God.

Luke names the rulers to establish an historical context for the birth of our Lord.

That Joseph accepts Mary as his wife shows him to be a man of God. He was obedient, humble, and reverential. Plus he was a good father and a good husband.

In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet promises that a child will be born of a virgin mother and his name will be Immanual, or God with us. Jesus' birth of Mary is fullness of the prophecy.

The name in Hebrew means "Yahweh Saves." This is an appropriate name for Jesus as he is our Saviour sent from the Father. I believe the Angel gave the name to Mary and Joseph independently so both would know the importance of the child Jesus, and what his destiny would be.

Mary did not have many options being pregnant and carrying a baby not her husband's. At best, she would be shunned. She could even have been killed. Her only option is to trust in the Lord. By deciding to divorce her quietly and leniently, Joseph is protecting her. He shows his character by his decision, that of a gentle and compassionate man.

As the son of a carpenter, Jesus would have learned to build furniture and houses, and other things as well. He would have been exposed to many people and learned some business.

These titles are appropriate for Mary because they are accurate. I think we are hesitant to exalt her as blessed among women because we do not want to deify her, as some religions have done.

The essence of Mary's positive response to Gabriel is her surrender to God's will. We can learn to surrender by her example. Mary's response was an informed consent because Gabriel explained the matter to her when she asked. When we respond to God, we consent to listen to Him and do His will.

The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus is flesh but not sinful, as He was conceived without sin by a virgin girl and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the virgin conception is central to the Christian message as Jesus is incarnate but not sinful. He is the exception because He is God.

Mary asks the angel Gabriel how this thing shall be, where Zechariah asks why should he believe it. Both have valid points. Mary is virginal and Zechariah and his wife are both old. But Mary believes anyway and Zechariah does not.

Q1. (Luke 1:31-34) What did the angel's announcement say about who Mary's Child was and who he was to become? The angel Gabriel told Mary that her child Jesus would be the son of the Most High, and Jesus' kingdom will last forever.

Q4. (Romans 8:35-36) What kinds of perils were the early Roman Christians likely exposed to? What kinds of perils are Christians exposed to today? How does this passage reassure us? In what sense do we Christians "overwhelmingly conquer" (NASB) despite the obstacles we face? The early Christians were likely exposed to imprisonment, torture, death, persecuted for their following of the Son. We are faced with the same today, although, depending upon situation, the perils may seem to have a blander face. Both early and modern Christians were/are faced with spiritual peril, which is timeless. The world, and spiritual death, is always the same. This passage reassures us that nothing can separate us from God. That is the overwhelming triumph, that God, in so many ways, has given of Himself to us, and his gift is irrevocable.

Q3. (Romans 8:31-32) What is the significance of the statement: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Who might our enemies be? What is the evidence presented that God is for us? How does this statement make you feel? How does it affect hope? How does it allow you to act? What might: "...graciously give us all things" refer to? If God is for us, then our enemies have no power over us. In a sense we have no enemies. Our enemies might be any that seek to do us harm, spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical. Foremost of these would be Satan, prince of darkness and lies. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and the Father, and His care. The father's sacrifice of Jesus for our soul's redemption and the redemption of our bodies is evidence of this. I feel cradled and joyous, ever hopeful, and feel confident to act. God will graciously give us freedom from sin, redemption of our souls and bodies, temporal and eternal care and love.

Q2. (Romans 8:29) What does it mean to "be conformed to the likeness of his Son"? In practical terms, what does that involve in our lives? Why does Paul support this statement with ideas of our destiny? Why does he support this with ideas of brotherhood with Jesus? To be conformed to Jesus' likeness means to imitate Christ, to follow his example as we know it through the Word and through the Holy Spirit. Jesus was made flesh so we could understand Spirit in all our sinful limitations. Paul supports this statement with ideas of our destiny because he is blessed with Spirit and knowledge of what will come. He speaks of brotherhood with Jesus because we are the Father's children as Christ is.

The promise here is that God is working for our good. It means that we have to trust him implicitly because he knows us and is caring for us. The two qualifications are that we love God and have heard him calling us to his purpose although we may not understand it. This verse gives me hope because it reminds me anew to not question everything. If I am quiet, I can hear God and not the echoes of my own questions. If I hear, I can listen and respond.

Q5. (Romans 8:18-25) In what sense do we expect to experience God's glory when Christ comes? How will the suffering creation experience God's glory? How will our mortal bodies experience God's glory? In what way will our spirits experience God's glory? We will be transformed and know God as we are unable to know Him now. Suffering will end and simultaneously make sense. Our bodies will be redeemed. We will not need them as we know them now. Our spirits will be clarified and less ignorant. THe transformation will be alchemical (in a symbolic sense), in that our spirits will be released from matter, or matter will be made spiritual.

Q4. (Romans 8:24-25) What are the characteristics of a person who has lost hope? How does this person typically conduct his life? How does this differ from a person who holds an eager expectation of a better future? What is the "Christian hope"? How should it motivate us and affect our lives now? THe characteristics of a person who has lost hope ar sadness, pessimism. He conducts his life without thought or care, ie destructively to his soul, because he believes that nothing matters, "nada y pues nada." This differs from a person who has hope in that a hopeful person longs for God and godliness in this life and in the next. This should motivate us to listen to the indwelling Spirit, to see suffering in a Christian light, and to walk in the ways of the Lord as the Spirit directs us.

Q3. (Romans 8:26-27) How does the Holy Spirit act as a Helper or Mediator or Intercessor in verses 26-27? What similarities do you see between the Holy Spirit's ministry here with Jesus' teaching of the Spirit's ministry as Counselor/Comforter/Paraclete in John 14:16 and 15:26)? Why do you think we tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us? The indwelling Spirit helps us to be Holy because we do not know how to be. The Spirit is what causes us to cry out to the Lord for redemption and salvation, to ask for what is righteous, and to long for it. We tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted because we forget that it is a gift from God and think that it is part of ourselves, or self originated. It is not.

In what ways was suffering Jesus' lot in life? Why do we suffer? Why does all creation seem to be suffering? What will signal the end of that downward cycle of suffering, decay, and death? Is there anything good to look forward to in this present life? Jesus suffering was evident in the derision people heaped upon him, and in his murder. All creation must suffer because of the fall. People are sinful and visit atrocities upon each other and themselves. Flesh is corruptible and impermanent. Jesus' return will signal the end of suffering decay, and death. Despite suffering and sin and corruption, we are still blessed by the Lord in the gift of life and our knowledge of Him. Every beat of our hearts is a gift of the Lord. We have so many things to be thankful for.

In Romans 8:14-21, 28, how many times is the idea of being sons and daughters of God alluded to? What are the promises made to these sons and daughters? What do we learn about our future and our role in the future of all creation? In Romans 8:14-21, 28, how many times is the idea of being sons and daughters of God alluded to? In these verses, the idea of being children of God is alluded to at least nine times. The promise of truly knowing the glory of our Father, and our place of freedom from the bondage of fleshly existence and sin, with its resultant sufferings, is looked at by Paul as the travails of childbirth, whereby creation is undergoing the labor of being born again into true kinship with Christ and the Father. What are the promises made to these sons and daughters?

Q6. (Romans 8:15-16) How does the Holy Spirit inspire us to pray 'Abba, Father'? What is the significance of us referring to God as our Dad? What happens in our lives if we don't have some kind of personal assurance of our salvation? How do we receive this kind of personal assurance? How does the Holy Spirit inspire us to pray 'Abba, Father'? We are inspired to pray because the Spirit moves us to the knowledge that we need God's help and guidance to become as we want, right with Him. On our own, we stray miserably. What happens in our lives if we don't have some kind of personal assurance of our salvation? How do we receive this kind of personal assurance? We don't believe it and revert to old ways and sin. We receive personal assurance through prayer, reading and listening to God's word, praise and thanksgiving, fellowship with other Christians.

Q5. (Romans 8:13-14) What does it mean to "mortify" or "put to death" the deeds of the body by the Spirit? What would it look like to watch a person do this? What does it mean to be "led" by the Spirit? What does this look like in actual practice? How do "putting to death" and being "led" by the Spirit fit together? How much of this is the Spirit and how much is us? What does it mean to "mortify" or "put to death" the deeds of the body by the Spirit? What would it look like to watch a person do this? I think this means forgivness, being washed clean of sins past, and a new spiritual awareness of sin and not sinning. What would it look like to watch a person do this? I think different people would have different manifestations of Spirit. Some would have attitude and resultant behavioral changes. Some you might see the Spirit on them physically, as a radiance. What does it mean to be "led" by the Spirit? What does this look like in actual practice? More prayer and less trouble. How do "putting to death" and being "led" by the Spirit fit together? I believe they are one and the same. How much of this is the Spirit and how much is us? It is all Spirit.

(Romans 8:12) Do we have to sin? Are we compelled to sin? Is it possible to live for two hours of wakefulness without sinning? Four hours? One day? Two days? Where do we Christians get such a defeatist attitude towards sin? From Scripture? Do we have to sin? Are we compelled to sin? I think our natural tendency is to sin. Only Christ, incarnate, was without sin. But with the gift of the Spirit, we do not have to, or can resist. We just have to look to the Spirit constantly. Where do we Christians get such a defeatist attitude towards sin? From Scripture? I don't think we get the attitude from scripture. I think it is sin whispering in our ears.