Ignoring?
Christmas Eve -- The 4th Sunday in Advent
Thus says the Lord: But look at you! I have gone to a lot of trouble to get your attention, and you’ve ignored me. ~ Jeremiah 35:14b (MSG)
In the past, God spoke through the prophets to our ancestors in many times and many ways. In these final days, though, he spoke to us through a Son. ~ Hebrews 1:1-2a (CEB)
KEY IDEA:
God keeps speaking to us -- even sending his own Son to speak -- but we keep ignoring him.
PRAYER:
Gracious God, as we again prepare to celebrate the arrival of the Son you sent to live and die among us, we are troubled by how easy it is to ignore him. There are so many distractions -- especially during the holiday season -- that we don't notice the reason for the season. Speak to us again so that we might continue to know Jesus and hear -- really hear -- what he is saying to us. I'm going to focus on listening to what Jesus has to say. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
