September 20, 2015

Scriptures for September 20th: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 1; James 3:13-4:3,7-8; Mark 9:30-37; Theme: the wisdom of God; Song: Lord I Want to Be a Christian UMH 402 James: Last week we talked about what it means to be a teacher, today we talk about being a student. In order to be a teacher, you have to learn from someone. James reminds us that the master teacher is in heaven. We all have a choice to make. James makes a distinction between life guided by the spirit, and life guarded by flesh. There are a difference set of emotions that comes from each. The emotions of the flesh lead us to conflicts with other people. When we find that we are feeling empty in life, it is important to think about our desires. Do we desire the things of earth, or the things of heaven. Are we following the master in heaven, or the master of earth (which is the devil). It is a constant battle, a constant balance to follow God to the path of heaven. Mark: Jesus comes back from vacation and returns to his people. He is now traveling through Galilee, but he wants to take a retreat and spend some time with his disciples. It is time for them to learn the ultimate lesson – that the messiah must be tortured and die. The world is not ready for salvation. Our job is not to be in charge of the world, it is to serve the world. It is to be ready to help the least. Those who others ignore, we have to pay attention to. Specifically we have to remember the children. Help them and to be a voice for them and to always take care of them in everything that we do. Jesus is preparing us for the future. And our future task – take care of the children. Questions: What does wisdom mean? Where do you think wisdom comes from? Where does the bible say that wisdom comes from? When you are in conflict, what are your motives? How are you a servant of Christ and other people? What are you doing to help the children? When you are in conflict, do you need to win? Or do the right thing?