March 14, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for March 14th: Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 107: 1-3,17-22, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:14-21; Theme: We live in the Grace of God; Song: Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me UMH 361 Ephesians: Ephesians is a continuation of Paul’s before and after, with and without theme. Here the author (probably not Paul) is comparing life with grace and without grace. Some of us may never know of a time in our lives when we were without grace. But lent is the time for all of us to grow in faith and to realize just how much of our life depends on God’s grace. The last paragraph of this verse says God’s grace is a gift. It is not something that we possess, not it is something that we can be proud of. It is not about us, it is solely on the shoulders of God. Yet there is a place for works in this lesson. God shows us grace, so that we can have the energy to do good for the rest of the world. Lent is about realizing that we are not perfect, but we can always try to do better. Psalms 107: This is a community psalm. People have gathered from all walks of life to be present together. As we gather for lent, all of us have different stories to tell. God has redeemed us in so many different situations, all that we can do is come together to say thank you. I love the last point, which says that even though all of us are redeemed, some of us are fools. We take God’s grace for granted and we do what we want to do. We pay the consequences, but God still comes to us to redeem us (once again). Those of us who are fools have all of the more reason to gather and sing God’s praises. Questions: How are you growing in faith this Lenten season? What does God’s grace mean in your life? When have you needed to ask God for forgiveness? What was your journey back to righteousness?