Sunday, July 27, 2014

August 3, 2014

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for August 3rd: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7,15; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21; Theme: What Does it mean to be a blessing? Song: Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior UMH 351 Genesis: The faith journey of Jacob continues. He is an old man, but the consequences of his actions as a young man continue to follow him. As an old man he feels that he has all that he needs to go home, except the forgiveness of his brother. He is so scared of how his brother will react, that he cant sleep. He wrestles in the spirit. And comes to no conclusions, but he ask for a blessing from God. This the completion of his faith and his willingness to trust in God. He even changes his name to Israel – one who trust in God. Now he is prepared to live the life God has in store for him. He is prepared to be the foundation for his family. He is prepared to be a blessing to his family so that they can be a blessing to others. Al who take heed to Jacob’s story, who believe it and who vow to live in that same faith, will be blessed. Everything in life may not be perfect, but it will all fall into place. Romans: in verses 9-11 Paul tells us what it means to have the faith of Abraham. It is not about family ties, it is about actions. He says that the Jewish family assumes God’s love, but they forgot about their own actions. They took God’s love for granted. So God went into the world to find and create other faithful people. The grace of God covers us all. We too can’t take God for granted – we have to live as faithful people. In the end God will give grace to all who call on him. We too should be graceful and understanding. Jews have an opportunity for salvation just as we do. In Jesus Christ, we are all part of the same family. That is why it is so important for us to live our lives in Christ. Questions: How do you know that you are blessed by God? What is your faith journey? How did you learn to fully trust God? How do you treat Jews? Those who are not yet Christian? Are they brothers and sisters? What does it mean to live in Christ? How is Christ your messiah? What does grace mean to you?

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