As we gather for the first Sunday of the new year, we enter into the final prayer which Jesus makes in the upper room.  It is called the High Priestly Prayer.  One author explains it this way:

"The high priestly prayer of Jesus serves as a fitting conclusion to the upper room discourse of chapters 14-16. In verse one of chapter 17 John informs us that this prayer is to be understood as a kind of conclusion to the Lord's teaching in chapters 14-16. "These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, he said ..." (John 17:1a). It is my personal opinion that this prayer, the longest of Jesus' recorded prayers, was intended to be overheard by His disciples. One purpose of this prayer was to bring comfort and hope to the troubled hearts of the disciples. It may have been more effective at the moment than all the teaching of chapters 14-16. While a measure of assurance resulted from the words of our Lord in chapters 14-16 (cf. 16:29-30), much more comfort and faith would be gained in the light of their fulfillment (John 13:19, 16:4). This prayer must have done much to calm the troubled hearts of the eleven." 

In the study this week we will look at what it means for Jesus to ask the Father to GLORIFY him.  Jesus, of course, uses a Greek word Doxazo, pronounced Doxadzo, but to understand the use of the word Glory, here is a Merriam-Webster dictionary definition:

Main Entry: ¹glo·ry

Pronunciation: \ˈglȯr-ē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural glories

Etymology: Middle English glorie, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin gloria

Date: 14th century

1 a: praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent : renown b: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving <giving glory to God>
2 a: something that secures praise or renown <the glory of a brilliant career> b: a distinguished quality or asset
3 a (1): great beauty and splendor : magnificence <the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome - E. A. Poe> (2): something marked by beauty or resplendence <a perfect glory of a day> b: the splendor and beatific happiness of heaven; broadly : eternity
4 a: a state of great gratification or exaltation <when she's acting she's in her glory> b: a height of prosperity or achievement
5: a ring or spot of light: as a: aureole b: a halo appearing around the shadow of an object

See you Sunday!

Pastor Denny

Join us as Jamie and Alissa guide us through the experiences of living and working  in a radically different culture like Madagascar.  How does a missionary adapt to a very different way of life?  How are they able to love and serve complete strangers?  How can we as a church better understand the needs of our missionaries and better support them?  Come and learn about these and many other pertinent topics as together we commit to become globally-minded Christians.

January 3 :  The History and Culture of Madagascar and the Importance of  Spirituality and Malagasy Religious Beliefs.

January 10:   Presenting the Gospel in Culturally Appropriate Ways

January 17:  A Study of Poverty:  Broken Relationships Between Self, God, Community, Others and the Environment

January 24:  The Truth about Life on the Mission Field

Jamie and Alissa have been worshipping with us for 7 years while Jamie earned his Master's in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Seminary and Alissa completed her Master's in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner and enrolled in a midwifery program.  They and their daughters, Isabella and Eliana and new little one due in June, will leave for Madagascar in November of 2010.