July 10, 2011

Scriptures for July 10th: Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Theme: How Deep is your faith? Song: Every Time I Feel the Spirit UMH 404

Genesis: We are reading the story of the first family of faith and how God’s promise plays out in the midst of their lives. We also find out that they are not very different from us. There is sibling rivalry, there are deep motions, there is unfairness. And yet the goodness of God becomes evident in it all. When Rebekah is pregnant with her twins, she is in such pain to God that she cries out. His answer is not much comfort. The older twin will live to serve the older twin. That is not right. But she makes sure that Jacob receives the birthright, not Esau. This switch affects the whole story of faith. Jacob continues the promise. Esau’s story may be just as important, but we never hear it. But we can guess that his family is not much different from ours. We don’t have to question why God chose to change the story, but we can be grateful that Jesus made sure that we were included in the family, thus included in the story. What does this story tell you about your faith heritage?

Romans: This is one of the most important chapter in the bible for many people. Romans chapter 8. In Romans, Paul is talking about sin, and how it affects our lives. In chapter 7 he even says that his life is affected by sin and that he needs to be different. We can all relate, because we are all sinners. We all wish that we could just be free of ourselves, but to no avail. What is one to do. We can celebrate because Jesus addressed the problem of sin. We can’t do it alone. But with the help of God through the resurrection of Jesus we can make a difference. The grace of Christ is available to us all, but is used by those of us who are able to focus. We have to set our mind to serve Christ, to be with Christ, and to use Christ as our savior. The gift is a peace of mind, as well as the knowledge that the Spirit of Christ dwells in our lives and all that we do.

Questions: What does it mean to be blessed by God? Are physical things really a testament to God’s blessing? What about others who don’t have as much as you do? Does God bless them? How can your blessings be a blessing to others? It was Jesus’ life that saves us, not his death. How does your life reflect what Jesus was done for you? How do you pass that on to others?