September 6, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for September 6th: Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 149, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20 Theme: Iiving in love part II; Song: Love Divine All Love’s Excelling UMH 384 Romans: This week we continue to think about what it means to live in love. The theme of Romans is that when we join the Christian community and start to follow Christ, then we gain a new mindset about life. Life is no longer about what is common sense, or what we see everyone else doing. Life is about showing love in every situation. It is about realizing that love does have a practical place in our lives. At the beginning of the chapter, Paul encourages believers to be practical. To live within society and to obey political leaders. To always be willing to give people the respect that they deserve. To use the bank, but not to get into debt, except the debt of love, which we will always owe. Matthew: The gospel also carries the theme of how we should live in love. Jesus is talking specifically about conflict in the church. He says that we should not gossip about that is going on in the church. We should take our concerns directly to the person we are at odds with. Then we should take it to the elders. If the person is not willing to listen, then throw them out of the church. No we don’t through them out, we listen to them, we guide them, we give them a chance to redeem themselves. Jesus is still reminding us that Christian community is of the most powerful forces on earth. If we are connected we can overcome any conflict. We also have to power to help the world to overcome its conflicts. And in the world today, there are a lot of them. Questions: What conditions and injustices are happening that we need to become aware of and fix? How do we support our leaders and be Christian at the same time? How do you deal with church conflict? How do you feel when you are gathered in church with others?