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?