First things first, Room 208, your Gospel Introduction Chart is due TOMORROW. Not sure where Thursday came from, but nevertheless, there you go.

Today we began Luke 2 and Matthew 1, comparing and contrasting the birth of Jesus Christ.

Notice how none of the information is inconsistent; Matthew and Luke have similar things to say, just different perspectives on the story.

Tomorrow we will talk more in depth on the similarities and differences between the stories.

For now, respond to the following prompt:
How, if at all, would your faith be affected if we had no infancy narratives in the Gospels?

Your response is due by Wednesday at midnight. To get a 100% I want at least 3-5 sentences explaining the importance (or non-importance) of the inclusion of these stories. Also explain one of the stories of the infancy narratives.

Any generic comment or any comment that lacks proper punctuation, grammar, or writing skills may receive 0 credit.

Hey everyone!

I know I promised I'd post earlier today, but that was before I found out I'd have a faculty meeting after school until almost 6:00!

I apologize for the delay, but between the long drive home, plus a pit-stop at Publix, cooking dinner, and cleaning up, I am running out of time!

For 208, don't worry about the homework (I was called to the office for a meeting about 5 minutes before your class, so I am so sorry!  I didn't expect this!)

Your assignment is to figure out a way to explain to someone else how each one of the four Gospels begins. Remember that:

- The infancy narratives are only found in Matthew and Luke.
- Each Gospel begins a different way, but that doesn't mean the "authors" aren't credible or believable.
- Matthew begins with Jesus' genealogy, then His birth
- Luke begins prior to His birth, beginning with the Annunciation of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary
- Mark begins with Jesus preparing for His ministry
- John begins with a poetic summary of who Jesus, "The Word", is and how he came to be.


So, I compared the order of events revealed within the Gospels to a huge party. Just like there are many elements to Jesus' life, there are many stages of a party. We know the highest and most powerful part  of any party may be the music and dancing. Similarly, the "highest" point of Jesus' life was His ministry. (I know His crucifixion and Passion were equally important, but for the sake of the assignment, let's focus on why He was so memorable on Earth- for the Words, deeds, and messages he taught us).

Before I throw a party and expect my guests to get the most out of the event (dancing and fun), I need to prepare for it! Let's say the party starts at 7:00, but dancing doesn't begin until 9:30. Beginning the night before or even earlier, I am preparing for this event. It hasn't happened yet, but if you are "Luke", you are witnessing my preparation and you will will give a full report on what I did and its importance before the party when you write your gospel later, huh big guy?

So, promptly at 7:00, my doorbell rings, and Matthew is there. He is able to witness the moment my party was "born", much like he wrote about in his Gospel.... starting at the Birth.

So dinner is served and soft music is playing (this would match with the infancy narratives of the Bible... only Luke and Matthew are partying it up right now!)

It's not until 9:30, when the DJ begins, the lights dim, and we begin dancing the night away! This is why we are all at this party... to learn and have a great time! Enter the gospel of Mark !

John is at the party, but he is in the background. He knows what's happening and sees the importance of why this feast is so significant. He will start out his book summarizing the reason for this who event.

"In the beginning was the "Party". And it was awesome and brought people together where they had the time of their lives. Friends were made, dinner was eaten, and memories were cherished, all because of this one party."

Seventh grade, does this make sense or did I just confuse you to the point where you see mud on the screen?

CW- We finished all of Chapter 7 and read all of Luke 1 (208, we are a tad behind).
HW- Workbook pages 82-83.

The 4 stories from Luke 1 are the Annunciation of John, the Aunnunciation of Jesus, Mary Visits Elizabeth, and the Birth of John. You do not need to know the Canticles.

Today, we continued our prophecy group worksheet, and we all agreed o the following:

A prophecy is a message or prediction from God that comes true.
A prediction is a guess made by humans which may or may not be fulfilled.

We also discussed our memory verse which can be found on the top pf page 81 from Isaiah.

How interesting that Emmanuel means "God is with us". Jesus is God. He roamed our earth when he was physically here amd he still does! He is with us. What a fitting name!

Just a reminder that your test will be this Friday covering the Zechariah story, the Angel Gabriel visits, and the birth of Jesus. In other words, all of Luke 1 and Luke 2 (we will read all of it tomorrow, but get a head start.

Below are the "lyrics" to Tamara Lowe's amazing words of wisdom!


To be a survivor in this Amazing Race
with the Need For Speed you need God’s Grace
 and if your Desperate like Housewives watching Days of Our Lives,
you can’t cope without hope and that’s not on a soap.

If you are looking to Oprah or Dr. Phil
you can shop non-stop or pop a pill,
 but the void won’t fill and the pain won’t kill '
til you love the One that hung on the hill.

Kicking back in your Lazy-Boy easy chair
watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,
nah you'renot gonna find it there.
 
No American Idol or Council Tribal
has the final answer that will satisfy ya.
 C.S.I. ain’t got a clue; S.V.U. don’t know what to do.

 Not the ER or the OC, nothin’ on a CD, TV, DVD or MP3 can save you and me.

CNN has got no Good News.
Here’s a headline: You Must Choose.
It’s not a Simple Life Paris Hilton.
It’s treading on thin ice living in sin.

You can be an Apprentice for Donald Trump
 or eat Fear Factor fast food from a dump
You can be a heavy hitter or Wheel of Fortune winner
 or a Fox News no spin spinner or flat sinner
 but you better check this life that your livin’ and make sure your sins are forgiven.

I bet cha 50 Cent Elvis done come and went,
and eventually every Black-Eyed-Pea, Gwen Stefani, P-Diddy and Britney;
every wanna-be on MTV with their Icy Bling;
every Dixie Chick that sings, they all gonna see the King of Kings.

I don’t care if you’re J-Lo, Leno or Bono…
one thing you gotta know: some day you're gonna die, bro.
Then Where are you gonna go?
Hey, I’m not talking some punk junk that is irrelevant.
 Like your Grandma’s church from way back when.
It’s not some preacher feature on TBN that you need to be likin’ or listenin’.
 
The real superstar is Jesus Christ. He’s the way, He’s the truth and the life.
One day He’s gonna split the sky. He is the brightest light and the highest high
And so what I came to say and what I’m telling you is don’t buy that stupid stuff they be selling ya.
 
It’s all designed to fill your head
and waste your space until you're dead.
Here’s the bottom line in my rhyme.
 Give your life to God, while there is still time.

This week, we have spoken a bit about the prophecy of the Messiah's coming. You may wonder why this is important. He already came here! We aren't in need of a Savior like the Israelites were! Our world isn't needing someone to save us from eternal damnation; Jesus is here!

While that may be true, make sure you, yourself, are not turning away from Him like they did thousands of years ago without even knowing it. Check out Tamara's Lowe's message. It's a rap. You may need to view it 2-3 times to soak it all in.

Repond to this post with your favorite line(s) AND give me some thoughts, interpretations, or insights to that message.

Happy New Year, once again, Seventh Grade!

I hope your holiday season was a memorable one! As mentioned in class today, we often ask each other, "What did you GET for Christmas? What did you GET? What gifts did you GET?"

Hmm, I know we GOT a lot of things that made us happy, but what did you DO that made you happier? What could you have done? (These do not need to be answered through the comments.  There is no post due for today).

We began the infancy narratives section of the New Testament, beginning right before Jesus' birth. We read about the Annunciation of John's birth to Zechariah.

This first story in Luke is to show how special and significant the birth of John the Baptist is.  But it also has lessons for us as Jesus' disciples. Zechariah certainly lives his life to follow the God he loved, but his faith falters. He doubts God. What can we learn from his faith that we can apply to our own faith?

Your responses will not count for a grade, but I welcome them.

P.S.- Here is some interesting information that I came across in regards to the reason Zechariah was "chosen by lot" to burn the incense. It comes from the Jesus Walk website.

At that thime, the priests were divided into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles 10:7-18), of which Zechariah's "division of Abijah" is eighth in the rotation. Priests and their families would live in Jerusalem or in various nearby villages, but when their division was called up for duty for a week, twice each year, the priests would come to Jerusalem to work in the Temple. Each day about 50 priests would have been on duty, with perhaps 300 on duty during a given week.[4]

"This day, Zechariah is "chosen by lot" [meaning they drew numbers, or in our day, picked a name out of a hat] to go inside the temple and burn incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. It is considered a great honor [ and a once in a lifetime opportunity]. Since there were a large number of priests, no priest was allowed to serve as the officiating priest more than once in his lifetime.