November 2009 DEVOTIONALS Main Devotional Page November 1 No Devotional <back to top> November 2 Read Mark Chapter 10 Bible Concept: The City of Jerusalem The city of Jerusalem has great importance in the Gospel of Mark and in the Jewish faith. It is where Jesus is going and where he knows he will be killed. And because Jesus talks openly about his death at Jerusalem, his disciples discourage him from going there. The disciples knew that many prophets were killed in Jerusalem when they spoke against the Jewish political leaders and prophesied according to God’s Word and not according to the king’s favor. Jerusalem first gained importance for the Jewish people when David, about 1000 years before Jesus lived, captured the city and made it the new capital of the united Jewish Kingdom. A huge temple was built by Solomon, David’s son, and this temple housed the ark of the covenant which had been kept in a tent since the tribes of Israel were at Mt Sinai and received God’s law. This first temple was destroyed by the invading Babylonians about 500-600 years before Jesus was born. After the Jewish people returned to their city from a forced exile, they rebuilt the temple. This second temple, which had been restored and remodeled, was the temple Jesus knew and would go to for the Jewish festivals. It was, however, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, or about 35 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The city of Jerusalem has been a center for Jewish religion and politics for many centuries now. The Temple was seen as the place for the sacrificial rituals and practices of their religion. And many believe that God will not return to the world until the Temple is restored. Today, though the Temple remains destroyed, portions still stand including what is called the “Wailing Wall”, a prominent location for Jews to pray. Jerusalem remains a critical holy city for Jews, Christians and Moslems.<back to top> November 3 Read Mark Chapter 10 Memory Verse: Chapter 10, Verse 14 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible But when Jesus saw what was happening [the children being turned away], he was displeased with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” New Living Translation (NLT) But when Jesus saw this [the children being turned away], he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. What are ways in which your church today reflects welcoming children and giving value to what children offer? Person of Interest: Martin de Porres, renewer of society, died 1636 <back to top> November 4 Read Mark Chapter 10 Definition: Son of David “Son of David” is a title given to Jesus. It is a recognition that he is God’s chosen king, who will be like David. Jesus’ genealogy, found in Luke and Matthew, takes great care to say David is an ancestor of Jesus. David was the great king who united Israel and made Jerusalem its capital. The prophets said that a king would come from David’s line to restore Israel and Jerusalem to its favor with God. <back to top> November 5 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 9:14-29 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: If you were given a chance to have a face-to-face meeting with Jesus, what question would you ask him? The Rich Man asks Jesus what question? After Jesus learns the man keeps the law, what does Jesus tell him to do? What is the man’s reaction? Are you surprised by the man’s reaction? Wealth may seem contrary to the Kingdom of God in this story, but really this story isn’t about wealth. This story is about relying on God, not on our own ability to do the law, and it is about giving over to God what really belongs to God. What really belongs to God? If we cannot give our whole selves over to God, it is very difficult to get eternal life. The disciples realize this and believe this means no one can be saved. But what does Jesus say to them (verse 27)? By God’s grace we have been saved. By God’s grace we can give of ourselves and experience an eternal life we already have. How do you feel knowing it is only God’s grace which has saved you, not your living by the law? <back to top> November 6 Read Mark 10 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember that God is present in your midst as you pray. Create a box for prayer notes. Place a stack of note cards and a pen next to the box. Whenever you go by the box write a prayer and place it in the box. Each time your family prays together, open the box and pray for what is written on the note cards. Pray together: Jesus, thank you for welcoming the outcast, the lowly, and the children. Help us to share your compassion and to welcome others into our church and into our home. Amen Who are the people of our society who are outcast? Are there classmates or work-associates of you and your family who are teased, or ignored by others? Ask God to help you become a friend to these people. Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Contemporary Version) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen <back to top> November 7 Persons of Interest: John Christian Frederick Heyer, died 1873; Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, died 1719; Ludwig Nommensen, died 1918; all missionaries <back to top> November 8 No Devotional <back to top> November 9 Read Mark Chapter 11 Bible Concept: Holy Week Holy Week is the name we give to the week which includes the special worships services called: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. It is the last week of the season of Lent. This week is so sacred to Christians because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which are ultimately God’s acts of grace which save us. Because Jesus was obedient to God, even to death, the sins of all humanity have been forgiven for all of time. In Mark chapter 11, we begin to hear about the week of events which lead to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Notice you do not find the names, “Palm Sunday”, “Maundy Thursday”, “Good Friday”, or even “Easter” in the Gospel text. Over the centuries of Christian worship, these days have taken on their special names and this week is considered the holiest week of the entire year for Christians. Holy Week centers on the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The reason Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem was to celebrate a very holy festival called Passover. When the Jewish people celebrate Passover, they remember how God set them free from slavery in Egypt through a series of plagues. Specifically Passover refers to the final plague in Egypt when God’s angel of death passed over the houses of the Israelites because lamb’s blood was put on their door frames. You can read more about Passover in Exodus. Jesus is called the Lamb of God, whose blood sets us free from sin. When we celebrate communion, we receive the body and blood of Jesus in the bread and wine or juice. This reminds us that Jesus died that we may be free from sin. God doesn’t set us free because of our human actions. God sets us free because of what Jesus did. This is why Holy Week is so very important. Jesus died so we may be forgiven. <back to top> November 10 Read Mark Chapter 11 Memory Verse: Chapter 11, Verses 9-10 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible He [Jesus] was in the center of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Bless the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” New Living Translation (NLT) Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven.” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. How do you expect people to treat Jesus based on them praising him in this story? <back to top> November 11 Read Mark Chapter 11 Definition: Hosanna The Hebrew word Hosanna, which is shouted by the crowds as Jesus enters Jerusalem, literally means, “Save us, we pray.” Hosanna and the rest of this quote in the memory verse is from Psalm 118 and it was read often during the liturgy on the days during the festival of Tabernacles, which is the Jewish festival which includes Passover. Persons of Interest: Martin, Bishop of Tours, died 397; Soren Aabye Kierkegaard, teacher, died 1855<back to top> November 12 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 11:12-24 and 11:20-25 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: What is your favorite food item? How do you feel when the grocery store is completely out of this favorite food? All Jesus wanted was a fig, he was hungry, but this tree had no figs on it. What do you think about Jesus’ reaction to the tree? Jesus used this story for two purposes, one to stress the importance of faith and second to talk about forgiveness. What is the lesson Jesus teaches us about faith? (see verses 20-25 for help) Do you have a daily prayer time set aside for your talking with God? One idea for helping your prayer life is to have a journal in which you write what you pray about, and then you can go back and mark when you have received the answer to your prayers. What is the lesson Jesus teaches us about forgiveness? (see verses 20-25 for help) Have you ever been so mad at someone you said unkind words, maybe even swore at them? When we are really mad at someone and we treat them unfairly, our relationship is damaged, like the fig tree that withered. But Jesus wants us to have good relationships. How does prayer help us to forgive others? <back to top> November 13 Read Mark Chapter 11 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember God is present in your midst as you pray. Stretch your hands upward toward heaven as you pray. Reach as high as you can. Pray together: Fully Divine and Fully Human Lord, you teach forgiveness and love, even as you approached your own death. Help us to know that forgiveness and love in our own life and help us to tell others about your love and forgiveness. Amen Talk about something that was good about your week. How do you see God in the midst of the good? Talk also about something that was bad about your week. How do you see God in the midst of the bad? Thank God for the good times, and ask for God’s help for the bad times. Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Traditional Version) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen <back to top> November 14 No Devotional <back to top> November 15 No Devotional <back to top> November 16 Read Mark Chapter 12 Bible Concept: Quoting the Old Testament One literary device the author of the Gospel of Mark and other New Testament authors use to prove Jesus is God’s Son is to quote what we call the Old Testament. They simply called it the Scriptures. At the time the New Testament was written the scriptures we call “Old Testament” were the only scriptures. The Old Testament tells the story of Israel and its relationship with God. It is filled with such things as history, law, poetry, and prophecy. The New Testament authors want their readers (you and me and everyone else who has read the New Testament) to believe that the Old Testament has told us plainly about Jesus and his coming to save the world from sin. There is a classic example found in Mark 12:10-11 which quotes Psalm 118:22-23 about how Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders and yet now he is the chief cornerstone. Psalm 118 was also quoted in chapter 11 during the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Mark 11:9-10 quotes Psalm 118:25-26, which praises God for coming to save us. Some Bibles will tell you in a footnote or a side-margin note if something is quoted from the Old Testament. As you read the Gospel of Mark and other New Testament books, it is important to look up those Old Testament passages and read the stories involved with them. It will help you understand what is happening in the New Testament story where you found the quote.<back to top> November 17 Read Mark Chapter 12 Memory Verse: Chapter 12, Verse 17 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible “Well then”, Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God.” This reply completely amazed them. New Living Translation (NLT) Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. What in your life belongs to this world? And, what in your life belongs to God? Person of Interest: Elizabeth of Hungary, renewer of society, died 1231 <back to top> November 18 Read Mark Chapter 12 Definition: cornerstone What is a cornerstone? In building, there are many stones which go into making a wall. The foundation needs to be the strongest, and so the best stones are part of the foundation. The cornerstone is part of the foundation — it serves as a foundation for the foundation. It is the strongest stone of the foundation and often times is used to etch the year the building was built. To say Jesus is our cornerstone is to say Jesus is the one on whom our faith is built. <back to top> November 19 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 12:28-24 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: Who is someone you love very much? What are ways you show this person how much you love him/her? The “teacher of religious law” (NLT) asks Jesus what question? And what is the greatest commandment? What is the second which is equally important? In the Greek New Testament, there are three primary words which have been translated into the English word ‘love’. Agape means Christian love, a deep God-like love. Philia is a kind of familial love, and specifically means brotherly love (think Philadephia, the city of brotherly love). And eros is sexual love which in a Christian understanding is the sexual intimacy between husband and wife. We get the word ‘erotic’ from this last word for love. Which love do you think Jesus is talking about in this passage? What are ways we show God our love in return for how God has loved us? What are ways we show our neighbors that we love them? <back to top> November 20 Read Mark Chapter 12 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember God is present in your midst as you pray. Laying down is another traditional prayer position. You may lay on your stomach or your back. Think about which each position means as you lay before God and pray together Pray together: Blessed Savior, you stretched out your arms and taught God’s love by dying for our sins. Help us to open our hands to our neighbors so that we can love as we have been loved. Amen What is something that you have always wanted? This is something you have dreamed about, desired greatly, and just got to have. Ask God, is this something God wants you to have? And how might having this help you serve God better in this world? Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Contemporary Version) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen <back to top> November 21 No Devotional <back to top> November 22 No Devotional <back to top> November 23 Read Mark Chapter 13 Bible Concept: Apocalyptic Literature In Mark Chapter 13 we find apocalyptic literature. This form of literature is very difficult to understand because it uses a lot of symbolic language, myth-like concepts and satire on current events. If we read apocalyptic literature at face value, that is we take what is says as though that is exactly what will happen, we could become very scared by what Jesus is saying. In fact, some recent fiction books use a face value interpretation to create a series that intends to scare the readers into believing in Jesus Christ because the alternative of being left behind on earth outside of God’s salvation is too scary. Unfortunately a face value interpretation does not tell the whole story. As we study the images and warnings contained in apocalyptic literature, we begin to discover a great deal of hope in our God who loves us. Here are two examples from this chapter. In verses 3-8, Jesus tells about the ‘birth pangs’ (NRSV). Wars and famines and so forth will be signs of the end times. A face value interpretation might easily make one think that what we currently experience is a sign. Yet, wars have been going on for a long time and will continue; likewise, famine is something which has been with us forever. In verses 14-23, Jesus tells about the destruction of the temple. He calls it the ‘desolating sacrilege’ (NRSV) which is anytime a pagan religion destroys the temple, or worse, worships an image of the pagan god in the temple. The Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, about the same time the Gospel of Mark was written. So a fuller interpretation of apocalyptic literature leads us to see what God is doing in the midst of the world around us. And what God is doing in the midst of the world around us is giving us hope in Christ that salvation is won, even in the face of horrible atrocities that we feel powerless to change. We are to be ready, as Jesus himself warns us, for the new age of heaven is dawning right before our eyes. But we are to be ready not because of fear, but because of the hope we have in Christ. Persons of Interest: Clement, Bishop of Rome, died circa 100; Miguel Agustin Pro, martyr, died 1927 <back to top> November 24 Read Mark Chapter 13 Memory Verse: Chapter 13, Verse 31 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” New Living Translation (NLT) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) What is the power of this promise when you think about everything that is a part of your life, and that Jesus says it will all pass away, but his words will not? Persons of Interest: Justus Falckner, died 1723; Jehu Jones, died 1852, William Passavant, died 1894; pastors in North America <back to top> November 25 Read Mark Chapter 13 Definition: The Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives is an important location right outside of Jerusalem. Olives were a primary crop of the area and on this mount was a great olive press which was used to make olive oil used particularly in lamps. Jesus went to this mount after the Last Supper and sat in the Garden of Gethsemane, which means “Garden of the Oil Press”, while he prayed. Person of Interest: Isaac Watts, hymnwriter, died 1748 <back to top> November 26 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 13 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: What scares you about the end times? Many people thought the changing of the century would be the end of the world. What do you remember from the New Year celebration of 1999/2000? Chapter 13 is an entire section of Jesus’ predictions. When this was written, the people living in Jerusalem were very scared. Trouble continued between the Roman Empire and the Hebrew leaders. It was in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, hoping to quiet a nation long plagued by religious uprising and war. The author of Mark knew people were scared and needed reassurance. What is some of the language of this chapter that gives hope? What do you think we are to do to keep ourselves alert and awake as we wait for Jesus’ return? Was there something in your life, that if you knew it was going to happen, you would have prepared differently for? How do you think Jesus wants us to prepare for his return? <back to top> November 27 Read Mark Chapter 13 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember that God is present in your midst as you pray. Talk about when the best time has been for you to read the Bible and pray together. How might you continue without a specific book resource? Pray together: Holy Comforter, in days of great confusion we need you more than ever. We cannot know the day of your return, but we can know you are coming to bring us into your kingdom. Help us to be ready, and help our faith be strong in you. Amen Who is a family member that needs prayers this week? Is this person dealing with a bad work situation, or a health problem? What are ways we can let this person know we are praying for him or her? Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Traditional Version) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen<back to top> November 28 No Devotional <back to top> November 29 No Devotional <back to top> November 30 Monday, November 30 Read Mark chapter 14 Bible Concept: The Sanhedrin In chapter 14 the Sanhedrin takes center stage as the trial of Jesus begins after his arrest. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish High Council (see the brief description in the Bible Concept of chapter 7). Some ancient sources said the High Council was made up of 70 elders, lead by the High Priest. Before the Roman Empire took over, the High Priest was chosen from among the priests who served the Temple. All priests were from the tribe of Levi and claimed Aaron, Moses’ brother, as their ancestor. The High Priest had the special position of mediating the sin offering which was required by the Law of Moses to restore the whole nation of Israel to God’s favor. The High Priest and the High Council kept the traditions and rituals and made sure God’s Law was proclaimed and followed. In the time of the Roman Empire, the High Council also acted as a go-between of the Israeli people and the Roman governors. The High Priest, Sanhedrin and Roman governors played political power games with riots and military force and money. To make sure the people of Israel didn’t forget who was in charge, the Roman governor held the power to select a High Priest, and this person wasn’t necessarily from the tribe of Levi. It was whoever the Roman governor liked. This was a chaotic and corrupt system which was far from what God intended for his chosen people. Jesus represented a change in the way things were, his teachings made the people think the status quo was bad (which it was). His teachings helped people realize the political corruption of the system. Therefore, the High Council, who wanted to keep things as they always had been, decided they had to get rid of Jesus. And their only way to do so was to give Jesus to the Romans, call him an enemy of Caesar and have him executed. Person of Interest: Andrew, Apostle <back to top> | 
