Friday, March 26, 2010

April 4, 2010

Breaking Open The Scriptures
Scriptures for April 4: Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, Luke 24:1-12 Songs: Christ the Lord is Risen Today – UMH 302; Christ the Lord is Risen – TFWS 2116; Lord I Lift your Name on High – TFWS 2088 – sing twice

Psalm 118
The First word of this psalm is….hallelujah! it is an opportunity to praise God. This is a victory poem of the King, who is celebrating winning a battle and giving thanks to God who helped and guided the way. This is called a Hallel Psalm – A psalm that Jesus and other pilgrims would have sung on their way to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. This is an important psalm for Cornerstone today. Because there are a lot of people who are telling us that it is futile to believe in God. But this is Easter, the pinnacle of our faith- the day that we are reminded that we have everything to celebrate, and that God prevails in the midst of doubt. What God is doing for us is marvelous!

Luke
This is the less popular version of the resurrection story. And yet it has a message for us today. Several women are on their way to the tomb, they want to make sure that the body is bathed with herbs. But when they get there, the tomb is empty. Instead they see two angels who have told them of the resurrection. It is difficult for them to accept this strange truth, even though it is in front of them. What we do if we were there? We should realize that we are indeed there – do we believe in the resurrection? Or are we still looking for the bodies, because we need proof of the miracle of resurrection.

Questions: How does this psalm include Jesus? Why is the resurrection a reason to celebrate the goodness of God? The writer of this psalm is able to find beauty in the midst of pain, where do we look for brokenness in the midst of our pain? Why should we be happy for the resurrection when nothing has changed in our lives? What would it take for us to believe that Jesus has raised from the dead? What does resurrection mean for us? How can we convince others?

April 4, 2010

Breaking Open The Scriptures
Scriptures for April 4: Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, Luke 24:1-12 Songs: Christ the Lord is Risen Today – UMH 302; Christ the Lord is Risen – TFWS 2116; Lord I Lift your Name on High – TFWS 2088 – sing twice

Psalm 118
The First word of this psalm is….hallelujah! it is an opportunity to praise God. This is a victory poem of the King, who is celebrating winning a battle and giving thanks to God who helped and guided the way. This is called a Hallel Psalm – A psalm that Jesus and other pilgrims would have sung on their way to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. This is an important psalm for Cornerstone today. Because there are a lot of people who are telling us that it is futile to believe in God. But this is Easter, the pinnacle of our faith- the day that we are reminded that we have everything to celebrate, and that God prevails in the midst of doubt. What God is doing for us is marvelous!

Luke
This is the less popular version of the resurrection story. And yet it has a message for us today. Several women are on their way to the tomb, they want to make sure that the body is bathed with herbs. But when they get there, the tomb is empty. Instead they see two angels who have told them of the resurrection. It is difficult for them to accept this strange truth, even though it is in front of them. What we do if we were there? We should realize that we are indeed there – do we believe in the resurrection? Or are we still looking for the bodies, because we need proof of the miracle of resurrection.

Questions: How does this psalm include Jesus? Why is the resurrection a reason to celebrate the goodness of God? The writer of this psalm is able to find beauty in the midst of pain, where do we look for brokenness in the midst of our pain? Why should we be happy for the resurrection when nothing has changed in our lives? What would it take for us to believe that Jesus has raised from the dead? What does resurrection mean for us? How can we convince others?

Monday, March 22, 2010

March 28, 2010

Breaking Open The Scriptures

Scriptures for March 28: Luke 19:28-40; Psalm 31:9-16; Luke 22:14-23:56 Songs: Hosanna! Hosanna! TFWS 2109; We Sang Our Glad Hosannas TFWS 2111; What Wondrous Love is This UMH 292; Do, Lord, Remember Me UMH 527
Psalm 31
This is the psalm of someone in the midst of suffering. Someone who is in pain, but is still able to call out to God not only for help, but to also be able to say that they trust in God in spite of all that has happened to him. As long as there is belief in God, there is hope that things will get better. It is said that as Jesus sat on the cross and asked God why – that he was not asking the reason of his suffering. He knew why he was suffering, but he was quoting the psalms as a way of using his trust in God to get through the most difficult time in his life. He was not remembering his own suffering, but ours.



Luke
Today, we focus on the palm Sunday passage and the passion passage. These are events that should be seared in our minds, as we hear this story every year. And yet the context of our lives when we hear these stories are different every year. Every year we have something different to celebrate, every year we have something different to mourn. Where do we focus this year? On the betrayal of Judas? On the questions of pilate? On the temptations of Satan? On those who went to the cross with him? On his suffering? On why did this all have to happen anyway? And what does it have to do with me?

Friday, March 12, 2010

March 21, 2010

Breaking Open The Scriptures

Scriptures for March 21: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8
Songs: Jesus the very Thought of Thee – UMH 172; When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – UMH 298; To Know You More – TFWS 2161

Psalm 126
This is a psalm of celebration of what God has done in the past and what God will do in the future. God’s grace for our lives comes from the Character of God. We can have hope in life because God fulfills his promises. Life has a rhythm – there is ebb and flow, there is sowing and harvest. There are good times, there is redemption. We just have to look at where we are in the cycle of hope and have faith in God.


Philippians
Usually when we are expecting a change in life, we sit and wait for things to be different. Paul is trying to remind us that the change we are waiting for begins today. The present, begins with the presence. In order to fully embrace the future, we have to be willing to accept the fact that things will be different. We find our stability in who we are in Christ, not in who we understand ourselves to be. All of our accomplishments in the past are “dung”. Not worthless, but not useful for us in the future. We do not succeed because of our efforts, we succeed from our grace.

Questions: Where are you in your faith? Where are you in the cycle of faith- are your waiting for God, or are your celebrating God’s redemption? What helps you to trust in God’s presence? How do you deal with change? Do you accept it, or does it throw you off balance? Where is God’s grace in your life? What are you waiting for Christ to change in your life?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

March 14, 2010

Breaking Open The Scriptures

Scriptures for March 14th – Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32 – UMH 766; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. Songs: Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling – UMH 348; Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed – UMH 294; My Life is in You, Lord – TFWS 2032

Psalm 32
As Methodist, we are reminded that the important part of our life is holiness. Making a decision to become disciples of Christ and to not only hear the word – but to live the word. The writer of psalm 32 reminds us that the blessings of God come to this in which there is not deceit. Those who decide to live a righteous life. None of us are perfect, we are all sinners. We are all striving for perfection. We all need to ask God forgiveness. One evangelist says that your sin will always find you out – your job is to make sure that it finds you in the bosom of God; trusting and asking forgiveness.

2 Corinthians
The Epistle lesson continues on the theme of reconciliation with God. Christ came into the world so that the everyone would have a chance to get right with God. Christ spelled out how we should live, and if we are willing to accept and follow those teaching, then we are on the right pathway to improving our relationship with God. That is what it means to become a disciple of Christ. As a United Methodist disciple, we understand that changing our ways, changes the world. We not only transform ourselves, we transform ourselves. Why would God sacrifice his son for such a purpose – because we are all sons and daughters.

Questions:
What does reconciliation mean to you? When you know you have strayed from the beaten path, what do you do to get right with God? Has someone else ever had to correct you to remind you that you are straying? How did you respond? Where you grateful or spiteful to them? What role does Christ’s teachings play in your faith? How are you transforming the world?