Here’s the story of the Magi or wise men visiting Jesus:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

(Matthew 2:1-12 ESV)

Here we have men of reason and knowledge visiting Jesus.  They were astronomers or astrologers, the difference was less clear in Jesus’ day.  Suffice it to say, they would have believed events in heavens connected with events on earth, and something told them that a King of the Jews was being born.

They used their considerable resources, money, time to travel to Israel.  They risk robbery on the road, or disappointment when they arrive.  Once there, they gave their treasured gifts, and their worship.  They gave their hearts, to a baby or child (this may have happened up to two years after Jesus’ birth).

This was not a small thing, worshipping a baby.  If they are wrong, and this isn’t God himself, they could be accused of idolatry, worshipping something on earth rather than God in heaven.  They also risk embarrassment, intellectual ridicule, etc.

Question: What practical risks are involved in following Jesus today?  How do you calculate what risks are worthwhile?

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - October 28, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Growth - in Discipleship

Becoming Like Family

We are beginning a new series on “Becoming Like Family” as our online community begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together. We want to have five main characteristics, and the first is to be bound together by some common learning experiences. In October I attended my university’s homecoming reunion, and reconnected with a lot of friends. Our friendships were forged through four years in a common learning experience. The same weekend, I went to a church where I’d done a student placement. There was personality, familiarity, and comfort there, too. We were gathered around a common purpose, to learn about and grow as followers of Jesus. We want Redeemer Church to be that kind of community. Hard in suburbia, commutning, but we have our own unique way of pursuing a common learning experience through mobile apps, social media, and our web site. Our next step is to become a network of groups, where we build strong relationships with existing friends and family members, where one of the things that binds us together is we are all learning the same things through discussion, challenge, encouragement and prayer. Question: Who was your best learning group or team? What made it so? Coffee Hours this Week: Have questions about the challenges, do you want to meet others exploring the same content, or connect with Ryan? Join us for our coffee shop drop-in this Wednesay, October 30th from 7:30pm-9:00pm at the Starbucks in the Ajax Chapters. Look for Ryan Sim in the drink line, or a Redeem the Commute postcard on a table. If you know in advance that you’re coming, please RSVP here http://bit.ly/1aHVTy2

From Series: "Becoming Like Family"

This series looks at becoming “like family” with others learning to follow Jesus. We're exploring how the church is not a building, institution or event, but a community of people. It's important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.

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