Description
The Voice of the Lord echoes over the oceans, God’s voice is mighty and marvellous. The Voice of the Lord shatters trees, God’s voice makes mountains skip and jump. The Voice of the Lord makes lightning flash and the ground tremble, God’s voice makes deer give birth before their time. These evocative images from Psalm 29, though perhaps strange to our ears, speak to the power of God through all creation.
For people in exile, captives in a foreign land, the words of Isaiah 43:1-7 are words of comfort and hope. The passage speaks of what God has done, what God is doing and what God will do. Though distant in time and space from the original context, these words continue to be drawn upon by Christians in difficult situations today as a source of comfort, hope and encouragement. The God who rescued, redeemed and restored in the past, continues to rescue, redeem and restore today. This resource is an invitation to join in with our voices in praise of our awesome God.
Linking with the idea of the “Voice of the Lord” from Psalm 29, the Luke 3 resource highlights the voice that “came from heaven” at Jesus’s baptism. It provides an opportunity for people not only to reflect on their own experiences of baptism (as participants and/or observers), but to wonder together about Jesus’ baptism. Depending on your congregation, this may be an opportunity to hear stories of people from multiple generations. Depending on your tradition, this may be an opportunity to hear stories of people baptised at multiple ages (for example as infants, teenagers or older adults).
* Bonus resource: Lectionary-based curriculum
The beginning of the year (in Australia, at least) can be a time when churches consider their curriculum options for the upcoming year. A bonus resource for this week includes some commonly used lectionary-based curriculum options to explore.
