February 8, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for February 8th: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11,20; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39; Theme: The power of Christ to do ministry; song: I am Gonna sing when the spirit says sing – UMH 333 1 Corinthians : Of all of the things that Paul has in life, Jesus Christ is his greatest gift. Everything else pales in comparison: money, talent, friends, family, confidence. Life is intended to be wonderful, but life in Christ is intended to be so much better. Paul has a message that he wants to get to others, so that they can too see the glory of God in the life and service of Jesus Christ. That does not mean separating ourselves from the things in this life, it is involving ourselves in life. Paul intentionally worked as a tentmaker in the morning in order to develop relationships with others, and he taught and preached in the afternoon and evening when everyone else got off work. He was a partner with the gospel. Mark: Jesus is well into his ministry. Not only does he spend time with his disciples, he is also teaching the people, and healing them with the word. Jesus has a chance to help Peter’s mother return to her normal everyday life. And now he is preparing to go out to the world and to minister to the needs to others in other communities. The gospel is the same for all of us. You know all of us are filled with negative things (demons), and we all need to get the negative out and to replace it with the positive. That is why we go to church, that is why we pray, that is why we be seek Jesus into our lives. There are other communities who need to know that they have a savior. There are people in our community who need to know that they don’t have to live in darkness. Jesus Christ is a savior for all people, for all situations! Questions: How are you a partner with the gospel? How do you make it a part of your everyday life? How do you make sure that you share the gospel with others? Who in your community needs to know that light of Christ in their life? How can you spread the gospel to them? What demons are running rampant in our community today? What cam Christ do to bring out the devil for good?