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?

No comments:

Post a Comment