Mt Pleasant :: Sam Fornecker: The Journey of the Magi

Sermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. Pleasant

Bible Study

Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon:

.

Sermon Outline

Kneel before the King who (i) masters us more gracious, (ii) rivals us more masterfully, and (iii) wounds us more transformingly, than we could dare to imagine.

Sermon Questions

1. Who is the other figure in Matthew's Gospel who demands that someone fall down and worship him? (See Matthew 4:9.) Why is this scene significant for the story Matthew tells?
2. The magi's gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh have long been understood to refer, theologically, to almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. How are you doing in offering Christ these gifts?
3. St Augustine said, "Change of way means change of life." As you leave this study, you also go out — like the magi — "by another way." In what immediate ways will your life need to change?

Resources Consulted

• Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on the Epiphany
• Juan de Maldonado, Commentary on the Holy Gospels (1595)
• John Boys, Workes (1629), on the Feast of the Epiphany (pp.630–35)
• Mark Allan Powell, “The Magi as Wise-Men: Re-examining a Basic Supposition,” New Testament Studies 46 (2000), 1–20.
• University of Notre Dame, "Royal Beauty Bright: Notre Dame Astrophysicist Researches the Christian Star"; George van Kooten et al (eds.), The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy (Leiden: Brill, 2015), esp. chs. 2, 4, and 20.
• T.S. Eliot, "Journey of the Magi" and "East Coker" from Four Quartets

Questions?

Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Sam Fornecker (

).