June 22, 2014 - 2nd Sunday after Pentecost

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for June 22nd: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10,16-17; Romans 6:1-11; Matthew 10:24-39: Theme: God’s love for all kinds of people: Song: Just a Closer Walk with Thee FWS 2158 Genesis: For the week of Pentecost, we are dealing with Genesis. This is a time to look at families. Not necessarily how families should be, but how families really are. Family business can be ugly, messy, and even painful. And no matter how a family attempts to be perfect, there are always rough edges that need to be dealt with. Sarah and Abraham had been trying to have a child for years. When Sarah was ready to give up, she allowed her nurse maid to have a child. But now that Sarah had her own child, this was not going to work. So she sends Abraham’s first child away. Even though Sarah did not like Ishmael, he was still a part of God’s plan, God loved him. God vowed that even in exile, he would be an important person, as a matter of fact, the father of a great nation. Sometimes when we feel like the exiled child – we should know that God cares and takes care of us. Romans: Romans is such an important book about the foundation of our faith. It tells us what it means to live inside of Christ. This passage tells us what it means to die in Christ. It talks about baptism. When we go under the water, then we are die with Christ, when we come out of the water we rise with Christ. But we have to remember that without death, there is no life. The sin inside of us has to die in order for grace to truly take its place. No matter how we slice it, we are a sinful people. And without Christ we become comfortable with our sin. Sin takes over our lives. Christ died so that we can be free of that. We can live a better way. But if at any time we decide that we don’t need Christ, then sin will take over again. We have to live our whole life in Christ, and intentionally declare that sin is dead. Baptism is a sign of God’s grace. The waters work forever, and will introduce us to a lifetime of God’s grace that continues to work in our lives. Questions: What kind of a family did you grow up in? How did they help you to understand your faith? What obstacles did you have to overcome? In times of exile, how did God show his presence? Do you remember your baptism? Do you remember what it means for your life? How do you struggle to overcome sin daily?