March 29, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for March 29th : Mark 11:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 32:9-16; Mark 14:1-15:47; Theme: the passion of Christ; Song: Were you there? Mark : The reading for today is the passion story. The story of how Jesus was betrayed, how he was led to the cross, and we hear every gory detail of how he was nailed to the cross and died. It is important for us to hear this story every year. And in some sense feel pain that Christ felt, because it was felt on our behalf. The year that the passion of Christ came out, I had a youth ask me if we needed to remember every detail of the cross. I used the example of a gift, when you give a gift to someone do you leave the price tag on the gift or do you take it off. We hear the story, but we don’t have to live the pain. That pain was a gift given to each of us freely. The correct response of getting a gift is saying thank you. Let us hear and read this story and say thank you. Be present to our sin and develop a determination to repent and sin no more. During lent we have journeyed with Christ. We have journeyed with him to the Cross and now we are invited to journey with him to death. That is the only way to get to true resurrection. Questions: How has lent been for you this year? What have you learned about yourself? What have you learned about God? What does it do to for you to relive the story of Christ? How are you affected by hearing the Christ story? What sins need to be forgiven? How can you repent in time for Easter? What needs to be resurrected inside of you?

March 22, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for March 22nd: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33; theme: time for a new covenant; Song: Where he Leads me UMH 338 Jeremiah : All throughout lent, the Hebrew bible lesson has been about the promises of God. God made promises to the church fathers, and God does not break his promises, so they are still in effect today. And yet today’s passage is about a new covenant with God. the promises do not change, but the relationship that we have with God does. God says that the new covenant will not be written in stone, but will be written on our hearts. In order to make a covenant, something has to be cut. God says it will be our heart muscle. That hurts! Sometime being loyal to God hurts, but it is worth it. God makes this promise not just to individuals, but to all who are children of Abraham through faith. It is time to let go of the old and to embrace the new – our new hearts with a new master – God not our sins! John: The journey of lent is about following Jesus. We followed him to the cross, we followed him to be fishers of men, and now he invites us to follow him to death. In order to truly have new life, there has to be a death, there has to be pain. He knows that he is going to die, he asks us to die with him. He knows he will be resurrected, he asks us to be resurrected with him. Somehow things have got to change, and this is the process for change. When we hold on, things stay the same, when we let go and let God, it all falls into place. Jesus is asking su to trust him on a fantastic journey! Questions: What does it mean to have a covenant with God? How are God’s promises written on your heart? What instructions of God’s are written on your heart which you know automatically? Which ones do you still have to think about and read in order to do? How well do you follow Jesus? Are you willing to follow him to the death? Are you willing to follow him to resurrection?

March 15, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for March 15th: Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3,17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10;John 3:14-21; Theme: Our entire life is inside of Christ; Song: Because he Lives UMH 364 Ephesians : I think that this epistle is the best example of the good news that we have in the bible. I think that it’s message is so uplifting. It is a message total and complete grace. Paul explains to us that we are not bad people. But that there are forces inside of us that compel us to be selfish, to be unloving, and to do things that are not always in our best interest. God knows us, that is why he sent Jesus Christ. The work of saving us is in the cross, there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. God cares for everyone, even those who will never understand what love is. It is that mercy that saves those who do have a relationship with God. When we live a life in thankfulness, we become an accomplishment of God and demonstrate God’s glory. John: The gospel lesson is a throwback to the old testament lesson. Moses knew what he needed to do in order to help his people. He needed to do things in order to save his people. Jesus did what he needed to do to save his people. It is just that there are more people who need to hear the message of Jesus. In this crazy world, we need to have something to believe in. Moses knew that he needed to create a symbol for the people to look up to. The cross is a symbol that we can look up to. The cross is more than a symbol of salvation, it is the basis of salvation. God knew what needed to be done to make a difference in the world. We have to lift up the cross, so that others can truly see the light. Questions: What does it mean to be dead, while you are still alive? How does Christ give life to us today? How are you God’s accomplishment? How do you lift up Christ to others? Are you a child of light or a child of darkness? What is the real difference?

February 15, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for February 15th: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9; Theme: the brightness of Christ; Song: He is Exalted 2 Corinthians : In this book, Paul is prepping the congregation to be a giving congregation. What does it mean to give Christ our lives? What does it mean to give all that we have to Christ? If we give it all to God, what do we have left for ourselves? We have everything. When God gave us his son, he gave us all that he has. But listening to God, goes against listening to the world. Paul tells us that if we are followers of Christ it is critical that we give the good news to the people of this world. When we spread the gospel, we not being self serving, we are being God serving. We have witnessed the light, now it is to acknowledge what the light is and what the light is for. The light in our lives comes from a reflection of Christ. Mark: This is transfiguration Sunday. It is the Sunday before lent begins. We always read this story of when Jesus took his disciples up the mountain, God shown his light on Jesus, and everything changed. We have been looking at the light of Christ for the season of epiphany. Today it is time for us to listen, to the conversation of Christ, but we also need to think seriously about how God talks directly to our soul. What instructions is he giving us? Who is he speaking through? What changes do we need to make in our life? As the light of Christ shines, as God speaks, we have to respond in our lives. We can know that God holds our future, and that we must prepare ourselves through the lent of life. It is not time to speak what we know about God, it is time to just listen and be silent….. Questions: How do you preach about God to others? What are the differences between the message of Christ and the message of the world? What light is shining in your life that you know is Christ? What will you do for lent? How do you hope that your life will be changed for Easter?

February 8, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for February 8th: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11,20; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39; Theme: The power of Christ to do ministry; song: I am Gonna sing when the spirit says sing – UMH 333 1 Corinthians : Of all of the things that Paul has in life, Jesus Christ is his greatest gift. Everything else pales in comparison: money, talent, friends, family, confidence. Life is intended to be wonderful, but life in Christ is intended to be so much better. Paul has a message that he wants to get to others, so that they can too see the glory of God in the life and service of Jesus Christ. That does not mean separating ourselves from the things in this life, it is involving ourselves in life. Paul intentionally worked as a tentmaker in the morning in order to develop relationships with others, and he taught and preached in the afternoon and evening when everyone else got off work. He was a partner with the gospel. Mark: Jesus is well into his ministry. Not only does he spend time with his disciples, he is also teaching the people, and healing them with the word. Jesus has a chance to help Peter’s mother return to her normal everyday life. And now he is preparing to go out to the world and to minister to the needs to others in other communities. The gospel is the same for all of us. You know all of us are filled with negative things (demons), and we all need to get the negative out and to replace it with the positive. That is why we go to church, that is why we pray, that is why we be seek Jesus into our lives. There are other communities who need to know that they have a savior. There are people in our community who need to know that they don’t have to live in darkness. Jesus Christ is a savior for all people, for all situations! Questions: How are you a partner with the gospel? How do you make it a part of your everyday life? How do you make sure that you share the gospel with others? Who in your community needs to know that light of Christ in their life? How can you spread the gospel to them? What demons are running rampant in our community today? What cam Christ do to bring out the devil for good?

January 25, 2015

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for January 25th: Jonah 3:1-5,10; Psalm 62:5-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20; You can’t hide from destiny; Song: Rock of Ages UMH361 Jonah : This is a tale about the calling of a prophet, but also about the calling of a people. Jonah does not want to go to warn the people of Ninevah. We know that he runs away from his calling. How many of us think in our heads that there are certain people who are not worth saving? They don’t need to know the good news, and if I waste my time telling them they wont listen anyway. We forget that it is not our job to make them listen. That is God’s job. And God wants to save everybody. Thus God speaks to their hearts and prepares them to listen, when someone is able to speak. The people of ninevah realize that their only hope is to ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. And that God’s grace was the only thing that saved them. Jonah needed to learn that lesson for himself, before he could pass that message on to others. God can do all things, God can melt all hearts. All are worthy of God’s salvation. Mark: This story is about a calling of a different kind. Jesus is building his disciple team by asking them to come and follow him. He is asking them to leave everything and to become fishers of men. Once again a calling is first to the person, and then to the people. We listen to and follow other people. In order to get others to trust God, we have to trust first. Jesus is still coming to people and saying come and follow me. God is doing a mighty things in the world. And he needs mighty people in order to do it. We all know that God can create without our help. The problem is the creation has gone awry, God does not need us, but we need God in order to get back into step with creation. Repentance is something that the people have to do. But in order to repent, someone has to show them the way. That is the point of being a disciple of Christ. Questions: What group of people are you convinced will never be saved? What can be said to get through to that group of people? How do you resist God’s call on your life? What is the consequences of that resistance? How does Christ convince you to come follow him? Where you be, if know one believed in you? Who needs your encouragement?

January 4, 2014

Breaking Open the Scripture Scripture for January 4th: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12; Theme: yearly commitment to service; Song: This little Light of mine UMH 585 Isaiah : The exiles have been out of their land for years, and now that prophecy is that it is time to go home and to rebuild their lives. But not to forget, that God is the center of our lives, God is the center of our society. They were put out because they did not follow God. So it is critical to do it right them time. When God’s people are trusting in God, other people will take interest and want to be a part of the rebuilding. The prophecy is to arise, your light has come – it is time to come out and to celebrate, and to see what God has done for you and for me. God is making an example of what we do, so that he can attract the other nations. Ephesians: There is no division that God cannot heal. We as humans constantly find ways to separate ourselves. We make sure that there are insiders and outsiders. There is us and them. Christ can overcome those boundaries. It is important to realize that we are not one in Christ, we are united. We can come together and to find common ground. Paul says that the secret of our unity is grace. Christ reaches out to us all, and saves us in our place and in our lives. Christ wants the world to see that he their salvation to. We are know different from the people in the world. But when we believe in Christ, we can do anything and overcome all obstacles. Paul tells us to be confident and bold in our trust for God’s grace in our lives. Questions: How do you know that God’s light is shining in such a dark night? How do we know that the world sees the light of God? How does God’s light bring hope? What differences have we had to overcome to be united in Christ? How do you feel God’s grace? What does it take to be bold and confident in Christ?