Friday, October 2, 2015
October 11, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for October 11th: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31; Theme: Children’s Sabbath; Hymn: Nobody Knows the Trouble I See UMH 520
Hebrews: Logos means a word that wiggles – a word that moves. We hear a lot of words from a lot of people. There are a lot of people who are able to make promises. Sometimes they come true, sometimes they don’t. But we can be sure that Jesus words for us are always backed with action. Jesus always means what he says. When we cannot depend on anyone else, we can depend on Jesus. Hebrews explains to us who Jesus is, and what we can expect from him. We receive mercy and grace when we need help. Logos is another word for Jesus. A word that is always backed with action.
Mark: I am seriously thinking about going on a purchase fast. I need to save money. But being a consumer seriously clouds our vision and I think also our judgement. Jesus tells this young man that in order to inherit the kingdom of God he must sell everything that he has and give it to the poor. Jesus is not concerned about how much money we have, but he knows that money has a way of clouding our vision. He tells us that most of all, we must be able to see the kingdom of God. God favors the poor, because they don’t have anything standing in their way. God will take care of them in this life and the next. They will live a life that helps them to see God.
Questions: how does Jesus put his words into action in your life? Where have you seen the work of Jesus within the last week? What is mercy? What is grace? How have you experienced those two gifts this week? What stands in the way of seeing God in your life? Can you give it up? What does it mean to be rich? Is being rich and having money the same thing?
Saturday, September 26, 2015
October 4, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for October 4th: Job 1:1,2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4,2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16; Theme: World Communion Sunday; Song: Through it All- UMH 507
Job: We continue with the lessons from wisdom. We begin to study the book of Job. Job deals with the biggest question of humanity: Why do bad things happen to good people? With all of the bad luck that Job is having, it seems that God is picking on Job unfairly. All those who he talks to for advice, tell him to just curse God and being mean and die. Others tell him that it must be something that he did – sin causes bad luck. Job struggles with all of his friends, Job struggles with what is happening to him. When he is able to put it all into perspective – and to worship God for what he has – that is when his life starts to change. He heals, and eventually all that he lost is restored. In the midst of it all he was able to thank God. would we do the same in the same situation?
Hebrews: We will be looking at Hebrews for a while this fall. This book is not a letter to a church, it is an essay written for no one in particular. The theme is to honor Jesus as a high priest. He is the priest for all Christians. A priest in an intecessor for humans. He performs the necessary task in order to please God. He is not an angel. His mission is to bring salvation to mankind. Our task is to meet Jesus halfway in our life. As John Wesley would say – we are to go on to perfection. We will never be perfect, but we can give all that we can to God. We can give ourselves to God. We can be called children of God who live according to the precepts of Christ. As long as we put our faith in Jesus, everything else will be okay.
Questions: What do you know about the story of Job? Can you bless God in all circumstances? Who are your advisors on matters of faith? Do you listen to them all of the time? If you could talk with God, what would you say? How are you a child of God? What has Jesus done in your life to make a difference? What does it mean to go on to perfect?
Sunday, September 20, 2015
September 27, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for September 27th: Esther 7:1-6,9-10, 9:20-22; Psalm 124; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50; Theme: our actions have consequences; Song: If it had not been for the Lord 2053
Esther: This is the one time that we will focus on this book. We are focusing on the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible – which we do not hear from very often. It is easy for us to dismiss these books of the bible, because they often do not focus on God, and there is no real lesson. They are in the form of short stories and poetry. They are often stories about women. But these stories are important. This is a story of a woman who stood up for herself, and her people. She did not ask for vengeance against the enemy of her people, she just told her husband, the king the truth about the matter. The king was able to make a just decision for himself. The wisdom in the story – do the right thing, always be who you are. Trust God to bring about justice and mercy in times of trouble. If you are on God’s side, God is on your side.
Mark: This is an example of Jesus threats to us when he is angry. He can scare us into doing to right thing. But it is also an example of what it means to be a powerful Christian. You have to be worth your weight in salt. Jesus us telling us that there is no room for fooling around in the Christian life. We all sin, we all like to blame our sinful nature on the devil and keep on sinning. Jesus says that whatever it is that you are blaming your sin on, get rid of it. Make the right choice and once again do the right thing. There is a reason why God needs us to be wise people – it is our wisdom, it is God’s wisdom that encourages others to do right to. We cannot control other people, but we can control ourselves. We change others by changing ourselves. There is too much work in the kingdom to do for us to slack off now!
Questions: When had there been a time in your life when you have had to stand up for your faith? What was it that gave you the strength to stand? What difference did it make to others? What are the things in your life that need to be improved for God’s sake? Who is watching your every move to see what it means to be a Christian? How are you an example to them?
Saturday, September 12, 2015
September 20, 2015
Scriptures for September 20th: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 1; James 3:13-4:3,7-8; Mark 9:30-37; Theme: the wisdom of God; Song: Lord I Want to Be a Christian UMH 402
James: Last week we talked about what it means to be a teacher, today we talk about being a student. In order to be a teacher, you have to learn from someone. James reminds us that the master teacher is in heaven. We all have a choice to make. James makes a distinction between life guided by the spirit, and life guarded by flesh. There are a difference set of emotions that comes from each. The emotions of the flesh lead us to conflicts with other people. When we find that we are feeling empty in life, it is important to think about our desires. Do we desire the things of earth, or the things of heaven. Are we following the master in heaven, or the master of earth (which is the devil). It is a constant battle, a constant balance to follow God to the path of heaven.
Mark: Jesus comes back from vacation and returns to his people. He is now traveling through Galilee, but he wants to take a retreat and spend some time with his disciples. It is time for them to learn the ultimate lesson – that the messiah must be tortured and die. The world is not ready for salvation. Our job is not to be in charge of the world, it is to serve the world. It is to be ready to help the least. Those who others ignore, we have to pay attention to. Specifically we have to remember the children. Help them and to be a voice for them and to always take care of them in everything that we do. Jesus is preparing us for the future. And our future task – take care of the children.
Questions: What does wisdom mean? Where do you think wisdom comes from? Where does the bible say that wisdom comes from? When you are in conflict, what are your motives? How are you a servant of Christ and other people? What are you doing to help the children? When you are in conflict, do you need to win? Or do the right thing?
Sunday, September 6, 2015
September 13, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for September 13th: Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38; Theme: obeying the rules of goodness; song: Be thou my vision UMH 451
James: We are in our third week of lessons from James. This is a timely message because it about teachers. As school starts, we need to pray for our teachers. That they do not take their role in vain. When we take on the mantle of being a Christian, we are all teachers. Someone is watching us as an example of what it means to follow God, so we all need to take heed to James message. Mind what you say and know that it makes a difference. Small words can make all of the difference in the world. Small words can make a difference in our relationships. Small words can make a difference in the people we are around. As a teacher we have to be in tune with the small words that we say – and make sure that they are words of love.
Mark: This is a continuation of the lesson from last week. Last week Jesus shows us what it means to love and heal others. Today Jesus gives another message to his disciples. A much harsher word – that yes he is the messiah, he does everything well, everyone loves what the messiah does. And yet these same people will kill and crucify the messiah. When we do good for others, we cannot always wait for the good to be returned. We cant expect that we will be appreciated. If they did not appreciate Jesus, they will not appreciate us. But if we are able to endure, we will receive Christ reward in heaven. He will call us his followers and his friends. When we don’t do the right thing he will be ashamed of us and leave us hanging.
Questions: Who considers you to be a teacher in their life? Are you careful in your words to that person? Who had said words that really hurt you? How have you been able to heal from that experience? What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? How are you following him? How are you taking up your cross today?
Saturday, August 8, 2015
August 16, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for August 16th: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14; Psalm 111; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58: Song: Great is thy Faithfulness UMH 140: Theme: The bread of life:
1 Kings: We have been following the life of David all summer. What a life it was. He started out as a young man, with the inner qualities that God is looking for. When the time comes, God decides if I have to choose a king it may as well be David. David shows his devotion to God. David sins and show his weakness to God. God forgives him, but says that the consequences of his sin lay in the generations to come. His sons turn against him. He dies. And now it is time to turn his life work over to his son Solomon. That is basically the life story of us all. No matter how much we accomplish in our lives, we are going to have to turn it over to someone else. And a new lesson begins. Solomon knows that his relationship with God is not about him, it is about his leadership and the needs of his people. His request from God is wisdom to do his job well. God’s reply is that if he does his job well and serves his people, then his leadership will be blessed.
John: We have one more week of John 6. We are supposed to realize just how the life of Christ nourishes our soul. We are supposed to chew upon John 6 as the word of God. What does Jesus mean when he says I am the bread of life. He explains the importance of the communion ritual. And what it means to eat living bread. This is one of those verses that will only make sense to a Christian. Anyone else would be turned off by the image of actually eating your leader. But for us it means that we are supposed to take Christ inside of our bodies. Don’t just imitate Christ – be Christ. When you are faced with tough times, know that Christ is with you. And it is the Christ in you that makes a difference in our life and in the lives of others. It is the Christ in you that acts, that thinks, that does the right thing. We can be grateful for that.
Questions: If you could ask God for anything what would it be? Do you think Solomon made the right choice at asking for wisdom? What would have happened had he asked for riches? What does communion mean to you? How is the word of Christ living bread that last forever? What are others ways to eat the bread of life?
Sunday, August 2, 2015
August 9, 2015
Breaking Open the Scripture
Scriptures for August 9th: 2 Samuel 18:5-9,15,31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51: theme: Christ is all that we need; song: Come Ye Disconsulate: UMH 510
Ephesians: The message of Ephesians is an ongoing message. There are things that build up community, there are things that tear down community. Truth builds community and lying tears it apart. In order to build the kingdom of God, we have to build community. We have to do things that make people feel welcome. We have to give those who need forgiveness a place at the table. After all, God was able to forgive us, so we need to be able to forgive others. As a matter of fact, we need to be imitators of Christ. In our actions, it is not what we want to do, it is what does the bible tell us to do. We are created to create community and to live peacefully in it. But that takes work our part.
John: This is the third week that we focus on John 6. These are the I am statements of Jesus. Jesus is a glimpse of who God in heaven is. Jesus provides for all of our needs. The whole point of John is to show the divinity of Jesus and his life. He was not the son of David, but he was the Son of God – Thus God on Earth. So we need to give him honor. Bread is an important staple. A big part of our diet. Well, Jesus is the bread of life. When we feast on Jesus, we will not be spiritually hungry. Being spiritually fed is the first step to being physically fed. Jesus is the bread of life – the spiritual food that will open the doors of heaven and provide a pathway to eternity
Questions: What does it mean to imitate Christ? How has community made a difference in your life? How do you build community in your life? What about your community needs to improve? What is spiritual food for you? Do you like bread? How is Jesus like bread for you? Do you like the heavenly qualities of Christ, or the earthly life of Jesus?
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