February 15, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for February 15th: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9; Theme: the brightness of Christ; Song: He is Exalted 2 Corinthians : In this book, Paul is prepping the congregation to be a giving congregation. What does it mean to give Christ our lives? What does it mean to give all that we have to Christ? If we give it all to God, what do we have left for ourselves? We have everything. When God gave us his son, he gave us all that he has. But listening to God, goes against listening to the world. Paul tells us that if we are followers of Christ it is critical that we give the good news to the people of this world. When we spread the gospel, we not being self serving, we are being God serving. We have witnessed the light, now it is to acknowledge what the light is and what the light is for. The light in our lives comes from a reflection of Christ. Mark: This is transfiguration Sunday. It is the Sunday before lent begins. We always read this story of when Jesus took his disciples up the mountain, God shown his light on Jesus, and everything changed. We have been looking at the light of Christ for the season of epiphany. Today it is time for us to listen, to the conversation of Christ, but we also need to think seriously about how God talks directly to our soul. What instructions is he giving us? Who is he speaking through? What changes do we need to make in our life? As the light of Christ shines, as God speaks, we have to respond in our lives. We can know that God holds our future, and that we must prepare ourselves through the lent of life. It is not time to speak what we know about God, it is time to just listen and be silent….. Questions: How do you preach about God to others? What are the differences between the message of Christ and the message of the world? What light is shining in your life that you know is Christ? What will you do for lent? How do you hope that your life will be changed for Easter?