Guided by Light: The Magi's Journey of Faith
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
"Epiphany means the appearance. It refers to the star. That guided those wise men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Of course, the real miraculous light isn't the star that was in the sky, but the child who had been born. And so today we celebrate the appearance of that star. The season of epiphany actually celebrates the light of Christ that is made more and more known throughout the whole season. It starts with the star that guides the wise men to Bethlehem. It ends with the figuration of Jesus on the mountaintop where he glows very brightly in that story." [00:09:58]
"The point of the story isn't about what gifts the magi brought, or how many of them there were, or how to prove whether the star existed or not. The point is the search for meaning. And I don't think it's an accident that in their search, the magi encounter two kings, two very different types. Two types of kings." [00:53:25]
"Herod was a toady of the Roman government, but his position as the puppet king came with a lot of power and wealth. Herod was widely known within the ancient world for both his paranoia and his cruelty. He had six fortresses built outside of the city of Jerusalem so that if anyone came, he could escape in any direction." [00:53:58]
"There's another king in the story who gives us another model and another choice about how to live our lives lives, if Herod is an exaggerated symbol of all that is selfish and corrupt and cruel in this world, then Jesus is the ideal, the perfect symbol of all that is good and honorable and just. The star stops over him, not Herod." [00:59:10]
"Matthew says that the Magi were overcome with joy when they found the child Jesus. They presented the gifts they had brought, even the casserole. They presented the gifts they had brought, even the casserole. They knelt down and paid him homage, which is the same word in Greek for worship. They knelt down and worshiped him." [01:00:43]
"There's an old parable about the search for meaning. It's about a Jewish man named Isaac, son of Yekel. He's lived in the town of Krakow, Poland. He had a wife and several children, but he never had enough food to put on the table. And one night, he had a dream. And in his dream, he saw the distant city of Krakow." [01:01:28]
"isaac son of yekel went home and he moved his pot -bellied stove and he took up the floorboards and he found a treasure and he lived well into old age with wealth to share. my favorite part about that story isn't the story itself. it's that a later rabbi once observed of this story these words isn't it interesting the treasure was home all along but the knowledge of the story is not the story itself the treasure's versus was in the search." [01:04:30]
"the treasure's Beyonce like isaac son of yahoo like the magi before us it's not about where the journey ends but Isaac's son of yekel itself. That's where the good stuff is, not in the destination, but on the way. And that's where you'll have to choose over and over and over again what kind of king you will serve." [01:05:30]
"types of kings and the question is in the story which one will the magi choose to serve and which ones will we choose to serve the reality is that our own spiritual quests our own search for meaning will take us on a similar journey whether we ever leave colorado springs or not and on your journey you will be asked over and over and over again which kind of king you will choose to serve herod may serve as this hyperbolic exaggerated symbol of everything that's selfish and corrupt and cruel in this world but he represents in some way a choice we all have to make about how we will choose to live our one life will we choose to live it selfishly and cruelly and" [00:58:00]
"the truth is we don't have to be a tyrant to act like one the other day i was in walmart and i watched from a distance a man yell and berate a walmart employee because he wanted assistance in sporting goods and no one was there to help him and so in front of god and everybody he dressed this poor employee down right in the middle of the store tyrant" [00:59:03]
"God, as we look into the year ahead, we are reminded of the model your son gave us, the life he calls us to. Help us to choose wisely." [01:07:11]
"symbolizes that little child king and the way of life that leads to service and love of others. We were reminded that it was on the night that he was betrayed by those closest to him that he took the bread. And after blessing it, he broke it and he gave it to them. And saying, take, eat, this is my body." [01:07:20]
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"The point of the story isn't about what gifts the magi brought, or how many of them there were, or how to prove whether the star existed or not. The point is the search for meaning. And I don't think it's an accident that in their search, the magi encounter two kings, two very different types. Two types of kings." [00:53:25]
"Herod was a toady of the Roman government, but his position as the puppet king came with a lot of power and wealth. Herod was widely known within the ancient world for both his paranoia and his cruelty. He had six fortresses built outside of the city of Jerusalem so that if anyone came, he could escape in any direction." [00:53:58]
"There's another king in the story who gives us another model and another choice about how to live our lives lives, if Herod is an exaggerated symbol of all that is selfish and corrupt and cruel in this world, then Jesus is the ideal, the perfect symbol of all that is good and honorable and just. The star stops over him, not Herod." [00:59:10]
"Matthew says that the Magi were overcome with joy when they found the child Jesus. They presented the gifts they had brought, even the casserole. They presented the gifts they had brought, even the casserole. They knelt down and paid him homage, which is the same word in Greek for worship. They knelt down and worshiped him." [01:00:43]
"There's an old parable about the search for meaning. It's about a Jewish man named Isaac, son of Yekel. He's lived in the town of Krakow, Poland. He had a wife and several children, but he never had enough food to put on the table. And one night, he had a dream. And in his dream, he saw the distant city of Krakow." [01:01:28]
"isaac son of yekel went home and he moved his pot -bellied stove and he took up the floorboards and he found a treasure and he lived well into old age with wealth to share. my favorite part about that story isn't the story itself. it's that a later rabbi once observed of this story these words isn't it interesting the treasure was home all along but the knowledge of the story is not the story itself the treasure's versus was in the search." [01:04:30]
"the treasure's Beyonce like isaac son of yahoo like the magi before us it's not about where the journey ends but Isaac's son of yekel itself. That's where the good stuff is, not in the destination, but on the way. And that's where you'll have to choose over and over and over again what kind of king you will serve." [01:05:30]
"types of kings and the question is in the story which one will the magi choose to serve and which ones will we choose to serve the reality is that our own spiritual quests our own search for meaning will take us on a similar journey whether we ever leave colorado springs or not and on your journey you will be asked over and over and over again which kind of king you will choose to serve herod may serve as this hyperbolic exaggerated symbol of everything that's selfish and corrupt and cruel in this world but he represents in some way a choice we all have to make about how we will choose to live our one life will we choose to live it selfishly and cruelly and" [00:58:00]
"the truth is we don't have to be a tyrant to act like one the other day i was in walmart and i watched from a distance a man yell and berate a walmart employee because he wanted assistance in sporting goods and no one was there to help him and so in front of god and everybody he dressed this poor employee down right in the middle of the store tyrant" [00:59:03]
"God, as we look into the year ahead, we are reminded of the model your son gave us, the life he calls us to. Help us to choose wisely." [01:07:11]
"symbolizes that little child king and the way of life that leads to service and love of others. We were reminded that it was on the night that he was betrayed by those closest to him that he took the bread. And after blessing it, he broke it and he gave it to them. And saying, take, eat, this is my body." [01:07:20]
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