■Old Testament||■舊約 ■New Testament||■新約
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Ⅰ. Invocation and Adoration||Ⅰ. 禱告與敬拜
Invocation Prayer||開始禱告
Read the following quote and write down your own New Year's prayer:
"I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time. I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months. All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination. All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires. All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have — these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose. I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new." (I Am the New Year, Bible Illustrator)
請用以下Bible Illustrator之「I Am the New Year」作指引，寫出你自己本週的開始禱文：
「我是新年，是你來年空白的一頁。我是你生活藝術的新機會，是你實踐去年所得教訓的機會。你一直尋索不到的盡在我裡面，等待你更堅決的尋找。祇要你除去三心兩意，我會給你尋到美善。你要睡醒，要有目標，你得不到的夢想、你缺乏定意的願望、你把持不定的信心，都可成事實。我是你重新向祂委身的機會：祂說：看哪，我將一切都更新了。」
Adoration through Psalm 1藉詩篇第1篇來敬拜
We'll use this Psalm, not for today's Bible reading, but for the sake of focusing our thoughts on God. Read slowly this passage at least three times and each day gather one thought about this psalm that points to God's character that should be reflected in our lives and translate it into a prayer of adoration.
我們是用這詩篇作敬拜，並非用來研經。現在細讀這篇三次，本週每日如是，但每天掌握詩中有關神的美善，屬性或作為之一作默想，然後化所得為讚美的禱告。
Ⅱ. Confession||Ⅱ. 認罪
Pause now and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your sins and ask for forgiveness.
現在停下來，求聖靈光照你，讓你看見自己的罪，並求主饒恕。
Ⅲ. Thanksgiving||Ⅲ. 感恩
List, one by one, things for which you should give thanks.||逐一列出你當感恩的事項。
Ⅳ. Scriptural Reflection||Ⅳ. 經文默想
Matthew||馬太福音 vv.1:1-17
Many scholars opine that Matthew was writing to primarily a Jewish audience. In fact, it is likely that Matthew originally wrote in Hebrew and it was later translated into Greek. In any case, with the many references to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, Matthew was trying to prove to his readers that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. For more detailed background information on Matthew, consult a good commentary or a study Bible.
- Why did Matthew, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, begin his gospel of Christ with a detailed genealogy? (Note that "son of David" is a special term that the Jews would understand as referring to the Messiah. See Matt. 20:30, for example.) How important was it to his immediate audience, especially the non-believing Jews?
- Why did Matthew squeeze Jesus' genealogy into three distinct phases?
- What makes each of these phases so distinct, in terms of spiritual and political regression?
- As you reflect on the above questions, have you paid attention to the following uniqueness of the genealogy?
- Rarely in the old Oriental culture did women count in terms of genealogy, but Matthew chose to highlight a few of the women, and yet ignore important figures like Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Why?
- Who were these women? What can you say about their racial background? Is there any infamous past related to them?
- What is the ultimate message given by including them in the genealogy of Jesus Christ?
- What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
按我們的「五年靈修計劃」的讀經編排次序，本週開始研讀新約馬太福音。
許多學者都認為馬太寫書的對象主要是猶太人。其實可能馬太原本是用希伯來文來寫的，後被翻譯為希臘文。無論如何，馬太引用許多應驗舊約預言的經文來向他的讀者証明耶穌基督就是那位彌賽亞。關於馬太福音更詳盡的背景，請參閱聖經註釋或啟導本。
- 為何馬太在聖靈的感動下用一段詳盡的家譜來開始他的福音書？（留意：「大衛的子孫」是個專有名詞，猶太人會明白這是指著彌賽亞而言的。例如：太20:30）。這對馬太當時的讀者，尤其是那些還未相信主的猶太人有何重要性？
- 為何馬太將耶穌的家譜擠進三個類別的時段？
- 按靈性上和政治上的倒退而言，什麼使這三時段個別有明顯的不同？
- 在思想以上問題時，你有留意到以下關於這家譜的獨特處嗎？
- 在古舊的東方文化裡家譜甚少提女性的名字。然而馬太選擇特別提到數位女士，反而不提一些重要人物如亞伯拉罕之妻撒拉。原因何在？
- 這些女士是誰？她們有什麼種族背景？她們有什麼不名譽的過去？
- 她們出現在耶穌基督的家譜，最終要帶出什麼信息？
- 今天你得到的主要信息是什麼？你會怎樣應用在你的生命中？
Ⅴ. Meditative Reflection: This is Why the Birth of Jesus Christ Came About||Ⅴ. 靈修默想小篇：這是為何耶穌基督要降生
During the Christmas season, I have the habit of preparing my heart through the daily reading of a short passage from the Gospel. One particular year, I was reading the Gospel of Matthew. I was greatly touched by how Matthew divided the genealogy of Jesus into three distinct phases, in that the history of the people of God began, in the first phase, with the glorious father of faith in Abraham and ended with king after God's own heart. Then the second period began with the reminder of David's infamous moral failure with the mother who bore Solomon, she whom the Bible referred to as being somebody's wife; the period ended in not only a divided kingdom, but the beginning of the exile of God's people. The third period began with the post-exilic kingdom crumbling and it ended with the people under total foreign occupation, without any king, any nation, and any prophet. But just as all hopes were gone, came the birth of Jesus Christ. God had not forgotten His promise. God had not forgotten His people.
It was during that Christmas, that I had a dream one night. Well, I had a nightmare in which I dreamt of a past event of my life, one that I was not proud of. In fact, simply with it resurfacing in my dream, I was very embarrassed and as I woke up, I felt totally defeated. "Lord," I said, "I am not worthy to be your servant." Just as I felt discouraged and hopeless, God reminded me of the lesson I learned from the reflection of the genealogy of Christ and a strange and powerful warmth descended upon my troubled heart. Yes, the past is the past, all has been forgiven. Christ has come and been born into my heart. The old has gone, and I have been renewed.
Right there and then, I worshipped the Lord with tears of joy and thanksgiving because just as the shameful past of Israel as depicted in the genealogy has totally been reversed by the birth of Christ, so has my past and the past of all those who put their trust in Christ.
在降臨節的期間，為要預備我的心，我每年都有每天讀一小段福音書的習慣。有一年我在讀馬太福音，看到馬太怎樣將耶穌的家譜分成三個不同的時段，我的心特別受觸動。其中神的子民的歷史的第一時段是以榮耀的信心之父亞伯拉罕為開始，並以合神心意的王為終結。第二時段以提點大衛那不名譽的道德墜落為開始，同時聖經提到懷有所羅門的母親是別人的妻子。這時段結束時不單只是一個分裂的王國，也是神的子民流亡的開始。第三時段以流亡後王國的破落為開始，最後，以沒有王、沒有國家、沒有先知、被外族侵佔全地為終結。正當所有盼望都消逝時，耶穌基督降生了。神並沒有忘記祂的應許。神並沒有忘記祂的子民。
就在那個聖誕，有一晚我發了一個夢。其實是個噩夢。我夢見我不引以為榮的人生往事。事實上在夢中所浮現的令我尷尬萬分。醒來時我覺得自己完全是個失敗者。「主阿，」我說。「我不配作祢的僕人。」正當我感到沮喪絕望時，神提醒我在思想基督家譜時學到的功課，一股奇怪強力的溫暖流進我那憂煩的心。是的，過去的已成過去，一切已被赦免了。基督已進入並住在我心裡。舊的已逝，我已被更新了。
就在那時那地，我帶著歡欣和感恩的眼淚敬拜神。因為正如家譜裡所提的以色列不像樣的過去已完全被基督的降生所扭轉，我的過去以及其他一切信靠基督的人的過去也都被扭轉了。
Ⅵ. A Time for Silence||Ⅵ. 靜默時刻
You have meditated much with your intellectual faculty today. Now have a moment of silence (the length is up to you, 5 or even 30 minutes), and ask God quietly, "Lord, is there any important message from you today that I might have missed? Show me, your servant is listening?"||今天你用了不少智力技能來默想。現在，就用一點時間靜下來（長、短由你決定：5或30分鐘），安靜地求問神，「主阿，有甚麼我忽略了的重要信息對我說？請說，僕人敬聽。」
Ⅶ. Supplication||Ⅶ. 代求
| Your Family||家人 | |
| Other People||其他人 | |
| Church Ministries||教會事工 | |
| Other Ministries||其他機構 | |
| City & World||本市及普世 | |
| Others||其他 |
| Your Family||家人 | Other People||其他人 | Church Ministries||教會事工 | Other Ministries||其他機構 | City & World||本市及普世 | Others||其他 | |
| SUN||星期日 | ||||||
| MON||星期一 | ||||||
| TUE||星期二 | ||||||
| WED||星期三 | ||||||
| THU||星期四 | ||||||
| FRI||星期五 | ||||||
| SAT||星期六 |
Ⅷ. Benediction||Ⅷ. 祝福
"Live this year in Christ's presence, remembering He is near and will sustain you as you serve in His name." In Jesus' name. Amen. (Guide to Prayer, adapted)
「願你今年活在基督的同在裡，要記得：主已經近了，在你奉祂的名事奉時，祂要堅固你。」 奉耶穌的名，阿們！(Guide to Prayer, adapted)