October 13, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 13th: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 Theme: the value of gratefulness Luke: Have you ever done something for someone, and received no thanks for your effort? The story of the ten lepers shows us how Jesus responds to that situation. Healing of impossible illnesses were an important part of Jesus’ ministry. He had healed lepers before. The ten that come to him are also Samaritans (foreigners). Jesus still does what is necessary to make their lives better. Only one of them thinks to come back to say thank you. That person was truly transformed, and truly understand what it means to have a new life. As followers of Christ, we should all strive to be that tenth leper and be grateful. 2 Timothy: The letters to Timothy are Paul’s letters to his protégé. He is teaching him what it means to be a pastor. In the past he has told Timothy to hold onto the traditions that he inherited from his parents and to not be afraid to teach others what he has learned himself. In the lesson, Paul tells Timothy to trust in Jesus Christ. The power of the gospel is in the life and resurrection of Christ. As followers we should live in unity, we should endure the hardships of life, look for his faithfulness, but know that he does not appreciate your sin. All of the keys to to a successful life lie in our faith in Christ. Questions: How have you been healed by the presence of Christ? How do you say thank you for what you have received? Who is a mentor that you really appreciate? What is the best advice that they have given to you?

October 6, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 6th: Lamentations 1:1-6, Psalm 137, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 Theme: The power of having faith Luke: This is another familiar and important verse. It is about the faith of a mustard seed. In other words if we have just a little faith, things will be different. We spend a lot of times looking for miracles to happen. Looking for the extraordinary. When God usually operates in the ordinary and the simple. God is not looking for the superstar but the plain things. Jesus is telling us that our greatest weapon against the trials of life is faith in the ordinary. And when we are faithful and we see transformation, we do not need to have special recognition, we did our duty as we are supposed just by being faithful. Lamentations: There are times when we have personal tragedies to speak of, and there are other times when a whole community is hit with grief. We don’t have a reading from Lamentations very often, but this is the cry of an entire community. It was common the speak of the community as a person. In this verse, we read about the condition of the city of Jerusalem as a result of the exile. Oh no, she sits alone and she suffers. In the old testament, the people are called the bride of God. They have a relationship with God. This verse in a continuation of that relationship. The people were not faithful to the ways of God and now they have to pay for it. In times of national disaster, we get together in faith to pray, to sing, to worship. Going through the national grief together brings us closer together, but more importantly, closer to God. Questions: When was a time when you had to rely on your faith to get through it? What does it mean to serve God? What tragedy has brought this community together in grief? How did the community come together to deal with it?

September 29, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for September 29th: Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 - Theme: The true riches of God Luke: All throughout the Hebrew Testament, there seems to be one underlying message that they are trying to get across to the people. God gives us resources in order to help others less fortunate than us, not to take care of ourselves. So now it seems that Jesus must tell that same message. A rich man has watched a poor man who stood outside his door and never helped. He never even looked at the man. When he dies, he is told that he should have helped the man. In death he realizes that there is nothing he can do to change, but that he can warn his family to do different. He is told that it is too late, we cannot go back and talk to our neighbors after death. God speaks to us through life, through church, through the bible, through other people. We need to listen and heed the warning while we can. 1 Timothy: This lesson just reinforces the lesson of the gospel. For us to pursue the true riches of God and not of this world. It can get easy for us to get caught up with keeping up with the Joneses. For is to measure our success in life by material wealth. But as Christians it is important for us to keep things in perspective. For us to realize that all that we have is a gift from God. God provides for our needs. God also reminds us constantly that the most important things in life money cannot buy – love, hope, truth, peace, wellbeing. All things that only come from God. We cannot help but to be a part of this life, we cannot help but to interact with the world. But we are to be reminded that there is always something more important. Our true reward is waiting for us in heaven. Questions: Who is it that you see everyday but you ignore? What lesson that you have learned would you pass on to the next generation? What are the most valuable things that you have in life? How does being a Christian affect how you live in the world?

September 22, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for September 22nd: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 Theme: Being faithful with what God gives us Luke 16:1-13: This is one of those confusing parables – what in the world is Jesus trying to say? A servant owes money to his boss, and he gets the money from all of the people that owe him to pay his debt. And Jesus is praising this as behavior that we should emulate. Jesus turns it into a story of being responsible for what God has given us. That when we have been given much, them we are responsible for much. All of us have been made stewards of things that don’t belong to us, everything that we have actually belongs to God, we have been put in charge of it. And we spend our life thinking of how to make th best of it. How to serve God in everything that we do. I Timothy 2:1-7: We are reminded in this verse that everything that we do as faithful people starts with prayer. The first things that Paul tells us to do is to pray. Pray for leaders pray for ourselves, pray for faith. There is no second or third thing after prayer. Prayer is everything. Next Paul gives the faith statement of every Christian – Jesus Christ is our savior. Jesus is both human like us, and divine like God. Jesus Christ is the mediator between these two natures. And that we are called to give that good news to others, to be messengers of God. Paul celebrates that he is a teacher of this faith – that is our primary task as preachers and disciples of Christ. Questions: What has God given you responsibility over, how to you exercise good stewardship over those things? Who do you believe that Jesus Christ is to his followers? Who in your life do you take the time to teach the truth about Jesus?

September 15, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for September 15th: Jeremiah 4:11-12,22-28; Psalm 14, I Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10 Theme: Lost in the world, found by God. Luke 15:1-10: The whole point of Jesus’ ministry on earth was to bring us back into relationship with God. With life- there are so many distractions that drive us away from that relationship. It has gotten to the point that most people don’t even understand why it is necessary to have a relationship. They think that life is all about us. When we are able to break away from that distraction and pay attention to God, Jesus celebrates as if his job has been done. We are all celebrate success. Most of us hate to lose things, we are happy when we find them. A celebration usually involves fixing a meal and inviting friends to celebrate with you. You can’t have a party without preparation of a table for people to come and join in. How do we prepare the table for others to come and join us? I Timothy 1: 12-17: Paul is celebrating being a saved sinner. He is recounting how he used to persecute Christians until Christ came to him personally. From that moment, Paul has been telling others about the gifts of salvation. He speaks of the importance of having faith in a world that convinces us that there is nothing for us to believe in. Paul builds upon Jesus message in Luke of the lost sinner being found. Paul says that he is that lost sinner. We all are. Christ came into this world to show us the way to God. How do we even begin to say thank you for all that Christ has done. Paul says by giving him honor and glory. Questions: How do you feel when you lose something of value? What do you do the celebrate finding something of value? How do you honor Christ for finding you? How does it feel to return to church after being absent?