April 5, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for April 5th: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:1-2,19-29, Isaiah 50:4-9, Psalm 31:9-26, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:14-27:66; Theme: Passion/Palm Sunday Philippians: This is a special service, a time to get in touch with how much God loves us, to get in touch with the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us by becoming a human, living our life, and ultimately dying our death. Christ starts out in the presence of God. Christ starts out in heaven with all of the fullness of God. But he put that all aside. Paul says that God emptied himself to come to earth. As we relive the passion story – we learn the true nature of God – mercy, righteousness, compassion. As we relive the passion story, we are encouraged to take on the mind of Christ. It is not necessary for us to sacrifice, the sacrifice has already been made for us. But we can be grateful for that sacrifice. We can let the sacrifice affect the way we go through life. If Christ thought of us, we can think of others. All that we do should show the world that Jesus, the Son of God is also our Lord and Savior. Psalm 31: The psalms have a way to express all of the emotions of being human. These are songs of faith that can give us comfort. Jesus recited the psalms during his time of suffering. He said into your hands I commit your spirit. In other words, in hard times I believe in God. This psalm is a prayer for someone who has been treated unfairly and who suffers for something that he/she did not do. The psalm describes all of the emotions that one would feel in trying to come to terms with their faith. This is one of the psalms which describes what Jesus went through on his way to the cross. Jesus shows us how to keep the faith in those times in our life when we are suffering, especially when we suffer for something that we did not do. Christ’s faith helped him to endure and to get through. Our faith in Christ does the same for us. Questions: How do you feel about the Passion of Christ? What does it mean to follow Christ to the cross? When have you had to suffer unjustly? What words of courage help you to get through the situation?

March 29, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for March 29th: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8:6-11, John 11:1-45; Theme: Fifth Sunday of Lent Ezekiel: Given all that is going on in the world today, it is easy to lose hope. It is easy for us to assume that things will never change for the better. Ezekiel must have felt that way when he returned to his neighborhood and saw waste and destruction everywhere. It seemed that it was the dead of winter and everything around him was dead. He describes it as seeing dry dead bones everywhere. This is one of my favorite passages, because eventually Ezekiel sees the bones turn into a living body, God breathes life into the body and the whole scene comes back to life. The community has hope again and starts to thrive. Right now for us, things seems hopeless, but spring and new life is coming. Bones represent the very depth of our soul, the core of our being. What needs to happen in order for us to regain hope at the core of our being? Romans: Romans is one of the most important books of the bible in explaining what it means to be a Christian. Romans chapter 8 has one of the most important messages in the chapter. Paul talks about the difference between living life in the spirit and living life in the flesh. According to Paul, when we are Christians, we are flesh and blood, but we also have the spirit of Christ inside of us. It is the spirit that affects who we are and how we live in the world. When we have the spirit of Christ, we think and act differently. This is a continuation of the theme of Ezekiel. That we are dry bones until we have the spirit of Christ inside of us to truly bring us to life. Questions: What situations are going on in life that seem hopeless? What will happen in order for the spirit of life to be restored? How has being a Christian changed your response to life? What reminds you that it is not okay to live and respond to life in the flesh?

March 15, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for March 15th: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42 Theme: Third Sunday of Lent Exodus: Exodus is the story of the Israelite’s journey into a new life. It records the ups and downs of that life. Today we focus on one of those down moments. God has promised to take care of them and yet they still worry. At first they worried about what they would eat, and God provided manna. Now they are worried about what they will drink. God will eventually provide a spring. And yet God is also tired of their complaining. As a matter of fact, this is the last straw and God never quite gets over the fact that they do not trust God to provide. As a matter of fact, we are still complaining, and each time God tells us to trust and to seek new faith, we say that God will not provide. How do we learn to trust that if God calls, then God will equip is to do what it necessary? Romans: Paul continues his conversation on righteousness. To be righteous means to follow and obey God. Paul makes it clear that we cannot just decide to be righteous – it is a gift from God. But once we have it, then we have to live it out is a way that others can see clearly that God is a part of our life. Romans spells out very well the difference between a saint and a sinner. We are all sinners, but we are not all saints. Some of us strive to be better and some of us do not. God’s grace is available to us all, but we have to make a choice to use it. Paul starts to outline the journey of grace. It was John Wesley who believed that we are saved by three types of grace, prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. He gets this belief from Paul talking about a grace that is with us, but justifying grace which brings us closer to God and sanctifying grace which keeps us there in the midst of a sinful world. Questions: When we a time when you trusted God, and then felt you made a mistake? What did God do to make you trust again? How have you experienced God’s grace? Are you more of a sinner or a saint?