September 26, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for September 26th: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22; Psalm 124, James 5:13-20, Mark 9:38-50; Theme: Song: They will know we are Christians by our Love TFWS 2223 Mark: Mark is at it again – giving some very hard sayings of Jesus. Mark likes to get straight to the point. This chapter with the disciples asking about someone casting out demons. Jesus uses this as an opportunity to remind us that even though people don’t agree with everything we do or say – we are all still united when we represent Christ. Jesus reminds us that a part of our faith is tolerance and understanding. And in the next moment he is saying that we should be mindful of the children and not discourage them from faith. In all of this Jesus is reminding us of what it means to be a disciple. In life we will have tough choices, where it is easy to follow the world – but we should always take the time to do what Jesus would do. James: It is fitting after the gospel lesson, that we would also be looking at James this week. James can also have some very harsh words of wisdom for those who are disciples. Today James is saying that the answer for all of our problems is to pray. We live in a world of suffering. It seems that lately , more and more people are getting sick. James also tells us that it is important for the church to pray together. The body of Christ has the power to heal, to change situations, to make a difference. But our power lies in the ability to pray together and to trust one another and to more importantly trust Jesus Christ. The prayers of the righteous truly make a difference. Questions: how do we treat children who come to church seeking Christ? What are the disagreements that we have with other Christians? How has God answered your prayers lately? How Has God answered the prayers of the church?

August 29, 2021

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for August 29th: Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9, James 1:17-27, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23: Theme: What’s on the Inside? Song: Just As I am, without One Plea UMH 357 Mark: Jesus tells us where real evil comes from. Evil is not a disembodied bad behavior, it comes from real people in the world. Many of us think that evil originates in the hearts of people that we don’t understand, agree with or know. But Jesus tells us that evil comes from the hearts of all of us – even if we go to church every week. When we are not checking our emotions and intentions, we are all evil. Jesus seems to be well aware of the fact that not all Jews have the same belief or are on the same page. Usually when we are around people who don’t agree with us, conflict arises. We want everyone to be on the same page. That is never going to happen. This argument because some of Jesus disciples did not wash their hands before eating. It sounds like a petty thing to argue about – but how do we treat people who do not fall into line with our beliefs. Sometimes it causes us to judge people instead of looking at their hearts. Jesus reminds us that God know the true intentions of all of us. Song of Solomon: This is the only time in the three year lectionary cycle that we will read from the Song of Solomon. On the surface it is a love story between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. But it is also the love story of God for the faithful, and Jesus for the church. The woman is telling everyone how much she is in love. She is so excited about her new love that she brags to anyone who will listen. Can you imagine Jesus doing the same thing in heaven. He Is telling the angels how excited he is about the church. Sometimes I think that we forget that we are Jesus beloved community. We forget how much Jesus loves us, and we totally forget to express our love for Jesus. This bible book reminds us how much fun it is to be in love and to be willing to express that love to anyone. Questions: Who are some people that you have strong opinions about? Have you ever taken the time to talk with someone in that group? How does Jesus expect us to deal with people that we do not agree with? How do you tell the world that you love Jesus? How would the church be different if we acted like Jesus’ beloved?

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?