August 8, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for August 8. 2021: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 31-33; Psalm 130, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, John 6:35- 41-51; Theme: New Beginnings of School, Song: Take my Life and let it be Consecrated UMH 399 Ephesians: Being Christian is not natural. It requires us to constantly rethink our responses to life. Being angry is normal. Being a part of the church does not protect us from situations that infringe upon our spirit. The writer of Ephesians gives us specific instructions on how to fight life a Christian. In other words, when people make us angry how to do we respond to them? We should respond to them the way Christ would respond. And when Christ was crucified, he responded, but he responded in live. We are constantly reminded of what it means to live with the mind of Christ. the writer says once you were a part of the world and you would have done….but today you are new creation on Christ, so this is what you do now. We pause, we pray, we consider the consequences, we respond in a way that builds up the body of Christ, not tear it down. Psalm 130: David never thought that he would have to protect himself from his own flesh and blood. But his son Absalom has gone to war with him. As David’s servants struggle to keep the King safe, David asks them not to hurt his son. In the end Absalom is killed and David cries and prays. Psalm 130 is that prayer, I cry out to you o Lord. This is a difficult situation to deal with. David prays for forgiveness of his sins as well as the pain of the situation. He gives the message to the faithful to trust God in all situations. To wait for God and to trust God in all times. When we are in pain, when we are desperate, that is hard to do. But that is the point of being trained in faith – to be able to handle those hard times. Questions: What do you do when you are angry? How do you include Christ in your response to people? Have you ever had to pray a conflicted prayer with mixed emotions? How have you had to trust the wisdom of God in a situation recently?

August 1, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13, Psalm 51:1-12, Ephesians 4:1-16, John 6:24-35 Theme: The bread of Life Song: One Bread One Body UMH 620 John: This is the only time that we will study John 6 this year. Jesus is explaining what it means to be the bread of life. People are grappling to understand what that even means. When Jesus says that he is the bread of life, first they try to capture him and make him King – the provider who will take care of them and solve all of their problems. Jesus escapes, and they come after him. Jesus explains the leaders ability to provide comes from God, not from themselves. Jesus is not leading them to a better life in this world. A better life in this world leads them to God. Then they say that if Jesus is God, then he has to do miracles like in the bible. Some of the greatest miracles in life are the ones that we never notice. Jesus is the bread of life, those who believe will never be hungry in spirit. Ephesians: Paul seems to have a lot of advice on what it means for us to be the church and the work that we have to do on the earth. We are still reminded that even though we are different people, there is only one Lord, therefore there is only one mission. We have to strive to stay united on that one mission. Paul also talks about church growth. Today we tend to think of church growth at gaining recognition, as being popular, as being the fun church. Paul tells us that true growth is the church learning to come together beyond differences, learning to use our gifts, struggling to put Christ first in all things. “ The body (of Christ) makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does their part.” Questions: What is it that you expect from Jesus? What type of bread does your spirit need right now? What do you need to do to achieve eternal life? What does church growth feel like to you? How is God at work in our church right now? How do we need to come together to achieve our mission?

July 25, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for July 25th: 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6: 1-21 Theme: Working for God Song: My Hope is Built UMH 368 Ephesians: We all know that our world is heavily divided by race and culture. The message of the gospel is that those are superficial differences and that God cares about us all the same and that we all have a place at God’s table. The writer of Ephesians is working hard to help us to create a church culture that helps us to get beyond our differences. We are reminded that we will not rise above our life on our own. It takes prayer, obedience to the bible and trust in God. the scripture says God can do far more than we can do. He also says that if we have Jesus in our hearts – then we will have to key to make a difference in life. John: Jesus tells his disciples that “I am the bread of life”. He then encourages them to go out and to give that bread to those in need. They have no idea of how to feed 5000 people with no money – but all things are possible with God. The bread of life is not just about eating, it is about living a life of abundance. In Jesus’ ministry, he pays special attention to the needs of the poor and the suffering. He wants them to understand that God will supply their needs. After the disciples realize that they do have the power to make a difference in the lives of others, Jesus takes them out on the lake to be alone. It is dark and they are afraid of the dark and the water, but Jesus once again shows them that the messiah cares about their direct needs. This story shows us that God cares just as much about our needs. Questions: What divisions in the world do we need to overcome? Does our church help us with this task? What does it mean to have Jesus in your heart? Who are the people who need to be fed today? What resources does God give us to make it possible to help others?

July 18, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for July 18th: 2 Samuel 7:1-14, Psalm 89:20-37, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Theme: The Unity of the Church; Song: Just a Closer Walk with Thee TFWS 2158 Ephesians: What is it that makes a group of strangers a team, a team a community, and a community a church? Well according to the book of Ephesians – Jesus Christ. There have always been fundamental differences within the people of the book, the body of Christ. At the beginning the fundamental difference where the people who were from the same culture that Jesus was from, and everyone else – the Jews and the gentiles. They started out as different, it took Jesus to say that we should put aside our differences and to live in unity. The author of Ephesians says that we come upon that unity by learning to build a house. A house that only God can build. The writer (who is probably not Paul) says that the foundation of our house is reading the bible and the teachings of Jesus and the disciples. Christ is building the church into a place where God lives on earth. That is a huge responsibility on those of us who dare to even come into the building – the church. 2 Samuel: Speaking of building a house – this scripture is about David wanting to build a house for God. He has held onto the tabernacle and has now settled in Jerusalem. As he is establishing his rule, he also wants to make sure that everyone knows that God is the head of his life. But the prophet of God – Nathan tells him that he is not the person intended to build that house. Now is not the time for God to be couped in the 4 walls of a structure. He needs to be free to move with the people. He wants to remain in a temporary tent that can be moved as needed. And yet he tells David not to despair, only will his son build the permanent structure – but the house of God will be evident in his rulership. There will always be somebody on the throne of David. Christ inherits that position. Christ builds the church to be the permanent house of God. Questions: How do you achieve unity with people you do not agree with? How does Christ bring different people together? What is your favorite church building? Why? How do you build a church?

July 11, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for July 11th: John 6:26-28, 35, 51-58; 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19, Psalm 24, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29: Theme: Helping those in need, Song: Blessed Assurance UMH 369 John: We are going off of the lectionary today so that I can tell a part of my personal journey in life. My experience as a homeless person was the entryway to going into ministry. I will always be truly grateful for all of the people who were willing to help during that time. But I felt that giving to the church was the best way to give back to God. John 6 is the scripture for much of the summer. Jesus feeds the 5000 – but he reminds us that giving people food goes much deeper them filling their bellies. It is feeding their spirits and emotions as well. Giving Jesus is about giving but it is also about caring for people and helping people to feel that they are worthy children of God. How do you respond to people in need? How do you feel about those people? How do we welcome them into the family of the church? 2 Samuel: Dynamic Awareness is a term that was used in explaining this scripture. I like that. David is just establishing himself as king. God is an important part of his life. So he literally brings the presence of God to dwell with him in his capital city Jerusalem. Carrying the presence of God is both dangerous and sacred. Once it is bought into the city, David calls all of the people to worship the presence of God. He does not build a special house for the presence, because God tells him that it is not time to settle down and that David’s son Solomon will be the one to build a permanent structure. David’s final act of worship is to feed the people, to give them all special cakes so that they know that God and the king care for them and for their needs. Jesus stands on a rich history of worshipping God and helping others as he tells us to continue to provide for those in need. Questions: What does it mean to be fed by Jesus? Have you ever had to feed someone who is hungry? Have you ever been fed by others? How do we extend hospitality as a church?