April 29, 2018

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for April 29th: Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18; Theme: Good Shepherd Sunday Acts: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a boldness to speak to authority. It is an understanding of how God is calling you to change things. The message of the disciples was not well received by the powers that be. Actually it was those authorities that ultimately silenced each of the persons. But the authorities could not stop the message of God’s love bringing new life to the world. Peter is being prosecuted because he healed someone on the sabbath. Peter takes this as a chance to help everyone understand who Christ is for the world. Peter is explaining that what was meant for bad, God is using for good. The more the authorities squelch God, the more powerful he in Christ gets. As long as we read the bible, and we follow Christ teachings, we cannot go wrong, even when we are criticized. John: One of the earliest images of Christ was not him on the cross, it was him as the good shepherd. Jesus talks about the faith in terms of being a shepherd watching over the sheep. This is one of the I AM statements of John. God wants us to know that he cares for us and will take care of us. We don’t have to be able to take care of ourselves. Many people who heard these words would have been shepherds themselves, they knew how important sheep were. They knew the weaknesses and strengths of sheep. They were trained to watch over the sheep no matter what. The shepherd stopped others from bothering them, and stopped them from wandering around. Christ protects us, but also keeps us together as a flock and keeps us focused on our task. Christ takes care of all of our needs, we just have to be faithful. Questions: How are you like a sheep in your faith? What activity do you need the Holy Spirit boldness to do for God? When has the shepherd protected you?

April 22, 2018

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for April 22nd: Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8; theme: dying in Christ, Rising in Christ Acts: The Holy Spirit told Philip to go a certain way in order to show the power of the Risen Christ. Philip ends up encountering the Ethiopian, who is so impressed with the words that he hears that he wants to be baptized in the name of Jesus. The spirit is so powerful that Philip is taken up by the encounter, and the Ethiopian continues to rejoice. This helps Philip to know that it is okay that he has given up everything, he is doing what God called him to do. He has the confidence to continue to preaching the good news of the resurrection of Christ. When we are working for Christ, we have to listen to the Holy spirit and understand that it is the Spirit’s power that is working, we are just witnesses to the power of the Spirit. John: John is trying to help us understand what it means to be saved by the messiah. So he gives a series of statements of who the messiah is, each start with I AM. This statement is I AM the true vine. The messiah is our connection to God. We are the fruit, and God is the vineyard keeper. Christ helps us to grow in God and in life. Christ says that we cannot accomplish anything without a connection to him. This helps us to understand the point that the Holy Spirit undergirds all of our actions, and it is the spirit, not us that makes a difference. Christ is God’s abiding presence in our lives. Questions: When did you first have an understanding of who Christ is? Were you excited about the experience? What is the holy Spirit urging you to do to help others understand Christ? How do you intentionally stay connected to Christ? What does it mean to produce fruit for God? How do you feel the Holy Spirit in your life?