June 2, 2013 2nd Sunday after Pentecost

Scriptures for June 2nd: 1 Kings 18:20-39; Psalm 96; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10; Theme: God is the source of good in our lives; Song: how Great Thou Art – UMH 77 1 Kings: Elijah is one of my favorite characters in the bible, and this is one of my favorite stories of Elijah. Elijah challenges Ahab and Baal to a friendly game of “My God is bigger than Your God”. Both religions believe in sacrifice to God, both believe that God is present at the sacrifice. Those who sacrifice to Baal do this all of the time, so they mistakenly believe that this is a battle that they can win. Since we don’t practice sacrifice anymore, it is easy to say that this is a story about history. But we still have contest where the faithful have to demonstrate and defend the power of God. People ask us every day “Where is your God and why is he so powerless against the events of the day?” Recently, as people sent prayers for the people of Oklahoma, an atheist replied that it is better to just do something to help, as opposed to praying. Today, as then, people don’t understand the true power of God. Those who serve the Lord, don’t just sacrifice to God, they also serve and do the work of God. God shows up when we show up. Our power is God’s power. Galations: This is another of my favorite books of the bible. I think that the message of Galatians is a message of freedom. As long as we live in grace, we are free to do whatever we want to do. But we do what is right, not because we have to, but because we want to. We want to be near God. We want to have a relationship with God and with his goodness. Paul reminds us that we should live according to the laws of God, not the laws of man. And whatever we do, we must do to please God and not man. When we live in this world, it is easy to learn to value the things that we see in the world. But Paul says that we should be in the world, but not of it. The gospel always teaches a new way, it always challenges the status quo. We have to have to strength to believe in the change that God brings to any situation. And we have to always let grace be enough to sustain us, when others want to judge our faithfulness. Questions: Have you ever encountered someone who challenged to power of God? how did you deal with the situation? Did you have the strength to stand up for God? Do you, yourself believe in the power of God? Why? What is the difference between following the ways of God and the ways of man? Do you believe that the grace of God sufficient for all people? Is grace deserved or freely given? What do you do in your life to please God?

May 19, 2013 - Actually these scriptures are for Trinity Sunday

Scriptures for May 19th (technically for May 26th) Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Theme: Pulling what we know about the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit all together; Song: Holy, Holy, Holy Romans: We live in a broken world, we are broken people. No matter how Christian we say we are, things go wrong in our world. No matter how hopeful we may be, things still happen that we were not expecting. Paul speaks of having faith in things we cannot see all throughout the book of Romans. In Romans 5 he explains that a Christian faith is not easily earned, it comes through suffering. We all suffer, but we don’t all have to accept suffering as the final word. Trajedy comes to all life, but when Christ is with us, we look beyond the darkness and know that the light always comes. We have a chance to use our Christian faith when we suffer. He says that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Christ came into this world to give us a sense of hope in the midst of all suffering. John: This is the last of our lessons from John, we go back to Luke next week. This is the very end of Jesus farewell speech. He explains that he has said all that he can say. This fits in well with the lesson from Romans. In this life, no one has eternal life, not even the Son of God. He has poured out his heart and soul so that we will understand. But there are some things that we will never understand, unless we go through them ourselves. If we preach the gospel, we will experience the persecution that Jesus experienced. But it is only in his absence that the Holy Spirit comes to bring us comfort and guidance. It is only in his absence that it all comes together for us and we understand the trinity – the Father, the son, the holy spirit. Now it is our turn to be Jesus for the world. Questions: When are those times when you faith is the strongest? When are those times when your faith is the weakest? What is it that gives you hope? What happens to you when you have to suffer? How have you experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? What does the trinity mean to you? How do you feel about Jesus leaving earth and returning to heaven?

May 12, 2013 - Mother's Day

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for May 12th: Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26; Theme: Mother’s Day; Song: Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling. Acts: Paul and Silas are still in Phillipi. The beginning of the sermon says that they are on the way to the place of prayer. So they are joining Lyddia and her crew in worship. And once again they come in contact with a situation that needs their attention. In those days it was stylish to talk an oracle who could tell you about the future, or some other issue that you may have had. Everyone went to one. So when a citizen discovered that his slavegirl had special power- he exploited her “talent” for money. That was wrong on so may different levels. Paul and Silas had to do something about that. They had to deliver that poor girl from spiritual slavery. And they get I trouble for doing a good deed. In the eyes of the law, this girl was a property, not a person. Paul and Silas end up in jail. But they do not stop taking advantage of holy moments – opportunities to tell the world about Jesus. They sing the songs of Jesus and everyone listens. This time God wants to save the family of the jailer. This time Paul learns the lesson in hospitality, and how the holy spirit works when you help and accept others. John: The theme for today is unity. When we put our faith in Christ, no matter how different we may be, we can come together as one. Jesus, the father and the holy spirit are one in the actions of the disciples. When we love one another, we believe in the word and we spread the word – the presence of God is here in the world. Today- the only proof the world has that Jesus exists are your actions. Your actions of love, but also your actions of peace. Your actions of reaching out to the world to bring them into the church help the world know that there is a God. This is a part of Jesus farewell speech to us. The time for us sitting and listening is about to come to end. A time to get busy witness to what we have seen about Christ is about to come – really it is. Questions: Where is your place of prayer? Where do you go to be with God? What opportunities have you had in the last few days to witness for Christ? What opportunities have you had to welcome others in the name of Christ? What does unity mean to you? Why do you think the world is so skeptical about the existence of God? What do church members have to do with that skepticism?

May 5, 2013 Sixth Sunday of Easter

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for May 5th: Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 14:23-29 theme: Love After Easter; song: For the Healing of the Nations UMH 428 Acts: The apostles seemed to take real stock in what happens in their dreams. Last week Peter had a dream, the book of revelation is John’s dream, and Paul also has a dream. The dream tells him to go to Macedonia, because there are people there who need him. On his way to Macedonia, he stops by the town of Phillippi. There is no synagogue there, but he meets with a group of women who gather weekly by the river for prayer. Lydia is the leader of the group. She is a successful entrepreneur. She sells purple cloth and makes a lot of money. But her biggest passion is serving God. She and her friends and family are baptized. This is the beginning of Paul’s mission in Europe. He will follow the ignation way to Macedonia, preaching, teaching and baptizing all of the way. There will also be many who reject him. But we hear Paul’s story in the book of acts, because all along, Paul is led by the Holy Spirit. The spirit tells him where to go and where to avoid. But it is the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the world that makes the church grow. The apostles follows and God leads them to places where something is happening. John: This is a section from the farewell discourse of Jesus. He will continue to speak through the 16th chapter. It must be very difficult being with someone when you know that they are about to leave you. Every time that person reminds you that it won’t be much longer – you tell them to be quiet. Jesus is only 30, but he wants his disciples to understand that the time is coming very soon. He wants the disciples to understand that the work must continue. They must continue to show love for one another in order to be able to love other people. They must be an example and a guide for what the kingdom of heaven is like. Love is a commandment. Jesus says that when he is gone they will believe. In other words it will all make sense to them. They will be able to put the puzzling pieces together. But Jesus reminds us that when he is gone from the body, that we will not have to fend for ourselves, because that is when the spirit will show up. The Holy Spirit will take care of us in ways we never imagined. We will mourn our loss, but we have something to look forward to. Questions: How do you recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit? Have you ever been led by the Spirit to a new place of faith? Who are the people who are in need of your faith now? Do you feel that Jesus has left you sometimes? Are you able to be faithful anyway? Are you intentional about loving those around you?

April 28, 2013 Fifth Sunday of Easter

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for April 28th: Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35; Theme: Preparation to be in ministry; song: In Christ there is no East nor West UMH 548 Acts: Okay, we have heard about the Easter miracles, now we hear about the new ministry that it is pointing to. Peter is being challenged to think in a new way. To go beyond his tradition and to reach out in a new way. Now that he has learned what power in Christ that he has, he is being challenged to reach out to the gentiles. Jesus knows that in order for Peter to have the strength to do something that he has never done that he will have to know that God is with him. He has to know that God will lead the way for him to do something different. Peter has met Aeneas and Dorcas, now he must meet Cornelius. It is easy for him to encounter death and sickness then it is to meet people who are not like us. So the Spirit comes to him in a dream and gives him permission to eat whatever is offered to him, so that he can meet new people with new customs. But when he does encounter the gentiles and learn to accept them as family – he changes the world forever. The church of all people and all races is born and it continues to grow even today. John: This is called Maundy Sunday, because Jesus gives us a special commandment. He tells us to love one another. That is the greatest witness of the presence of Jesus in the world that anyone could have – for others to see how much we love one another. When people see a church that loves each other, then they want to be a part of that love. We can use that love that we have received in order to love those who we find hard to love. Jesus was literally walked us through the entire gospel. He even came back after death in order to clear up some misunderstandings. But Jesus has said all along, blessed are those who believe but who cannot see. Those who can follow what they cannot see and what they do not understand, yet they trust wholeheartedly. We are being prepared when it us up to us to maintain the Spirit and to remember that we are the body of Christ. Christ needs us, he also needs us to trust in him, in places that we are not used to going. Questions: It Is just as easy for us to get stuck in tradition as it was for Peter; what people do we exclude because we are so stuck on our tradition? What people do we not even think exist in our world? What do we need to do to reach out to those people? What tradition do we need to give up on in order to let more people in? How do we show the world that we love one another?

April 21, 2013 - Fourth Sunday of Easter

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for April 21st: Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30 Theme: all of creation has responsibility to worship God; Song: Marching to Zion – UMH 733 Acts: The whole purpose of the book of Acts is the demonstrate the workings of the Holy Spirit in the beginnings of the early church. Whenever the book mentions an important step of the Spirit, is also tells of a sign and wonder. The story of Tabitha precedes the disciple’s early interactions with the gentiles. known Jesus personally. But the scripture also says that she was a woman who was dedicated to the church and gave much. So of course when she dies, there is she is raised from the dead. The point of the story is that the holy Spirit was at work in Tabitha during her life. It was her faithfulness and her service that restored her life. She shows us what is in store for us, if we are faithful also. Revelation: Last week we looked at the host of heaven. We looked at all of the heavenly figures that were present around the throne. It shows that all of creation is responsible for the praise of God. This was a vision not of the future, but of each and every day. But as we enter into chapter 7, we see that the faithful people are also a part of the heavenly choir. A number no one can count from all over the world are present to praise God. Life has not been easy for these people, but they made it through all of the trouble, they are now dressed in white. Once again, we need to be reminded that this is not the future, but this is today. We have a chance to praise God with all that we are, we have a chance to wear white to represent the struggle, but most importantly, it was the sacrifice of the lamb which allows us to celebrate that we have been redeemed, so that we can stand before God and sing his praises. Questions: What service do we give to God? How will people react when they come to our funeral? Will they be sorrowful of relieved? How does the holy Spirit bless the work that we do on behalf of God? What miracles have happened in our lives to show us that God is about to do greater things? What does it mean to praise God with everything that we are? How have we been redeemed from the hard times in our lives? Do we hear the praise of God within creation? Do we hear the praise of the heavenly angels?

April 17, 2013 Third Sunday of Easter

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for April 14th: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19; Theme: Do you really love the Lord? Song: It is Well with my soul UMH 377 Revelation: The challenge for this week is for us to be stretched beyond our comfort zones in our service to God. We think of the book of revelation as a vision of the future. But it is a future that is deeply rooted in the present: in who we are and what we do for God. That is why God wants us to go beyond ourselves in order to reach heaven. Our scripture for today is about worship. We are worshipping with the heavenly angels. They are singing with all that they are. John Wesley instructs us to do the same. Every voice is a part of the heavenly choir. Every voice has reason to praise the goodness of God. What if everything that we did was our best on behalf of God. What if everything that we do was in praise of God? What if we gave our everything all of the time. That is what it means to make the present connected to the future. “And the four living creatures said Amen”. John: During the Easter season, we are seeking the presence of Christ in our lives. We are mindful, so that we can get a glimpse of Jesus in our lives. The way that we get a sense of the presence of Jesus, is through communion. When we gather for communion, we can know that God is with us. Some Christians use bread and fish for communion, instead of bread and wine. The disciples were fishermen. And in our text, Jesus tells them to cast their nets on the right. They were used to casting their nets on the left, because the nets were easier to carry. But Jesus was stretching them to go beyond their comfort zones. We are challenged to also go beyond our comfort zones. To cast our nets in a different way, and to reach new fish (people). It is Easter, and it is time for us to live Jesus life and not ours. Peter was able to bring in the catch for the day. They had much for fish than usual. They have breakfast, and then Jesus ask Peter to feed my sheep. Jesus is challenging us not just to make us uncomfortable, but to prepare us for taking care of those who follow Jesus. He says to follow me – following Jesus means helping others, but also it means giving God his will and not ours. It means letting Jesus order our steps – in order to feed those in need. Questions: Do you typically worship with all of your might? So your typically serve with all of your might? When you help people in the present, are you aware that your actions will carry you to the future of God’s plan? How have you seen the presence of Christ this week? Is it easy for you the change the way you do things? Does it help to accept change, when you see Christ in the situation?