August 2, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for August 2nd: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 17:1-7,15, Romans 9:1-3, Matthew 14:13-21; Theme: God will provide Matthew: The Lord’s Prayer is basically a prayer for God to provide what you need from day to day. It reflects the situation of most people in Jesus day. They did not have refrigeration, so there was no way to store up leftovers. More importantly, they did not have anything to put into a refrigerator. But one of the primary messages of even the old testament, is not to fret about tomorrow, because the Lord will provide. The crowd had gathered to hear the words of Jesus, and not Jesus tells the disciples to provide for them to be able to eat. The disciples are able to take five loaves and two fish and to feed 5000 people. What a powerful testimony. There are still hungry people coming to the church for help today. We are still called to use our resources to make a difference. Romans: No matter how effective you may be, there are always going to be people who criticize what you are doing. A lot of time your biggest critics are those people who are closest to you. That can cause even the most dedicated person a lot of Grief. Paul had been very effective in teaching gentiles about Christ, but his own Jewish family refused to accept Christ. Today, Christianity and Judaism are related, but two very different religions. Paul wants his family to understand the salvation of Jesus Christ so much, that he says that he is willing to deny his own beliefs in order to reach them. Paul finds hope in the fact that God’s love even transcends doubt. God loves both religions because of God’s grace. Questions: Who are the people who are living hand to mouth today? How does God call us to help them? Does everyone in your family accept Christ? What can you do to reach out to them and show them Christ in you?

July 19, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for July 19th: Genesis 28:10-19, Psalm 139:1-12,23-24, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Theme: fighting with life and winning Genesis: Jacob has been a real trouble maker in his family, and now he is running for his life. Never in his dreams did he expect to have an encounter with God on this journey, but that is exactly what happens. Jacob gets to a safe place for the night, falls asleep and God comes to him in a dream. All of us are on a journey and God will appear in the most unexpected places. In his encounter, Jacob fights with God. He is on this journey because he has been fighting with his family. He has been fighting for status, he has been fighting with his twin brother for an identity. And now he fights with God for meaning. After the dream he is so touched by the experience, he changes his name to one who wrestles with God. He goes forward from here as a changed man. Matthew: Jesus continues his third teaching to the crowd. He is trying to get them to understand what the Kingdom of heaven is like. He uses yet another parable about the farmer. This time he asks that all time question, what is the difference between a weed and a flower. In this case he is speaking of the wheat and the tare. He explains that they are different plants, but God loves them, more importantly it is not for us to try to judge the difference. We are told to love them and to let God separate them. There is a church sign where God tells us to love everybody and to let God separate them in heaven. The Kingdom of heaven is a lot like life here on earth. We are to nurture, to love, not to judge, and God makes both the weeds and the flowers to grow. Questions: When in life have you felt you were wrestling with God? How has the presence of God come to you in your situation? Are there people that you consider to be weeds? How do you tell the difference between them and the people you love?

July 12, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for July 12th: Genesis 25:19-34, Psalm 119:105-112, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 Theme: How do you receive the word of God? Matthew: I think that all of us have heard of the parable of the sower, but how many of us have really taken the time to think about what it means – how does it apply to our lives? There is a difference between a planter and a sower. A planter would plant the seeds and then take care of them in order to make sure that they grow. A sower just throws seeds out anywhere and leaves it up to nature for them to grow. In this story God is a sower throwing as much seed as possible out into the world. Unlike humans, God has the ability to get the plant to grow wherever they may be. Nevertheless, God knows that there are some environments more conducive than others for growth. Our hearts are the soil that helps the plant to grow into somethings productive to the world. In order for the seeds to grow we have to become the planter, nurturing and caring for that plant. Genesis: We are learning a lot about the family tree of the first family. Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob and Essau. It seems that barrenness also follows each generation. Now Rebekah is not able to conceive. Once again when she does conceive it is a blessing. She gives birth to twins. Obviously they are fraternal twins because they are very different in appearance and in personality. As the story progresses, they also have different destinies. Jacob actually is always after his brother, and finally does get his inheritance as the first born child. That becomes a huge responsibility to bear as we will learn. But he always remembers the bond of his brother, even when things are tough. Both become fathers of great nations. Unfortunately, history only follows Jacob. Questions: What type of nurturing do you provide for God’s word in your life? In life are you a planter or a sower? What would life be like if Essau had maintained his birthright? How does your relationship with family affect your faith?

July 5, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for July 5th: Genesis 24:34-38,42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17, Romans 7:15-25, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30: Theme: freedom Matthew: Matthew starts out by asking to what will I compare this generation? When he says generation, he is talking about all of the people that do not go to church. It is sort of like asking what is the world coming to. I think that as we look at the news, many of us are asking the same thing. It seems that going to church and having a sense of morals just does not make any sense. We have always had differences in opinion, but our whole world seems to be divided by those differences. Jesus is reminding us all that in the midst of our differences, he is what holds us together. We need to stay focused on Jesus and on what Jesus calls us to do. Where ever we find Jesus, we will also find peace. Genesis: So the story of the first family continues to the next generation. Right before this story, we learn that Sarah dies at 127. Legend says that Sarah died when she heard what Abraham tried to do to Isaac. Nevertheless, if Isaac is supposed to be the father of many generations, he first must have a wife. One of Abraham’s servants is sent to relatives to find a suitable bride. The servant is worried so he asks for God’s guidance. He then goes to Abraham’s brother in law and finds Rebekah – Laban’s daughter. She is willing to marry Isaac site unseen. They live happily ever after. So the promise of God is fulfilled to the next generation. Questions: What are your concerns about this modern generation? How do you think Jesus will show up in the problems of the world today? How is your families story similar to the family of Abraham? How is God’s promise of faithful servants still happening today?

June 29, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for June 28th: Genesis 22:1-14, Psalm 13, Romans 6:12-23. Matthew 10”40-42 Theme: What would you sacrifice for God? Genesis: It is interesting that we are once again asked to make the best of a bad situation. To look at a story about a father being willing to kill his son, and to ask what can we learn from this situation. Killing someone is killing someone. Being willing to kill your son is even worse. Would God really tell Abraham such a thing? This is a fundamental story of our faith. It teaches us that God always provides. We should always be on the look out for our “ram in the bush”. God is the source of all of our gifts. Even the bible says, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. If our gifts belong to God, will God take them away from us. And how are we supposed to react to losing what God gave us. How does this foster trust and obedience to God? Matthew: This is the last part of Jesus message to the disciples to be willing to go out into the world and recruit people to your cause. Jesus encourages them by telling them that they shall receive the reward of a prophet. A reward, that seems like a positive thing. But what is the reward of prophet? That reward is hatefulness, spite, punishment, resentment, accusations and mistrust of what you say. How is a prophet’s reward a good thing. Jesus words have been preparing them to learn endurance. If they can endure all of that, then they will get a prophet’s reward. A special place in heaven. Jesus will welcome them with open arms for doing the right thing. In the end, people may not admit but they do take the prophet’s words to heart and eventually change their behavior. Questions: What does the familiar story in Genesis teach you about obedience to God? Do you agree with that teaching or not? When have you been a prophet of God to others? How did they receive your teaching? When have you had to endure as a Christian? You can view Breaking Open the Scripture online at https://breakingopenthescriptures.blogspot.comYou can view Pastor Harriette’s sermons online at https://aplaceforshalom.blogspot.com

June 21, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for June 21st: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10,16-17; Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 10:24-39: Theme: The responsibility of a Disciple Matthew: What role does fear play in your life? What role does fear play in your participation in church? If fear has no role in your church involvement, then are you really involved in church? Every time an angel approaches someone with a mission from God, the first thing said to that person is “Fear not”. All of God’s missions call us to step out of our comfort zone and to be bold and courageous. That is why this passage on fear comes after the commissioning of the apostles. The apostles are the ones who are sent out on a mission from God. In this passage, Jesus says that disciples will experience the same fate as the teacher – resistance and oppression. But we are told not to be afraid of those who can hurt our body, but to fear God who can hurt our soul. He goes on to say that being a disciple is our first role in life, much more important that the relationships that we have with others. We have to put God first in all that we do, and know that if we are not afraid to listen to God, then we are not really listening. Genesis: This is a celebration of God’s promise being fulfilled to Abraham and Sarah. The son that Sarah never thought she could have has been born. Now that he is growing up, she becomes worried about the relationship he has with his older brother Ishmael. She becomes so worries that she demands that both he and his mother Hagar are banished. Reluctantly, Abraham banishes them both to the desert. It is in Hagar’s deepest moment of despair that God tells her that everything will be okay. That Ishmael will grow to be a part of the promise and have a family of his own. Everything turns out for the best. Ishmael becomes the father of the muslim nation. Questions: What are you afraid of in your service to God? What struggles have you had to overcome to be a faithful follower of Jesus? When has a time of struggle turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? What does it mean to be a child of Abraham?

May 17, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for May 24th: Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53; Theme: Ascension Day Acts: Endings are traumatic for us to navigate – whether it is the end of a school year, a career, a life. That must be why we have so many rituals for endings. Endings, without a chance to say good bye are even harder. That is why 2020 is so difficult for so many people. There are so many things that have ended, that we have not been able to have a ritual for. Today is the day that the disciples struggled with having to say goodbye to Jesus. Jesus spent six week preparing them for this day, and it was still hard. Jesus ascends into the clouds to be with God. As they watch him leave this earth, they realize that everything has changed. One of the hardest endings for us, is the end of the way things used to be. Once this pandemic is over we will enter into a world that has changed. Many of us will want to go back to the way things used to be. We can be grateful that Jesus gave us hope, trust and obedience to hold onto as he was taken away. As long as we have those three things, we have what we need to face a new world in the days to come. Luke: Next week is Pentecost Sunday – we can relate to that. But we have a little trouble with the meaning of this Sunday – Ascension Sunday – the day Jesus left earth to be with God while floating in a cloud. Many of us have the notion that heaven is a place far away in the skies. Heaven is a place that we are one with God. Heaven is more of a place in our hearts, not up above the sky. It is the day that we learned to accept that Jesus is not with us, but in us. It took this moment for the disciples to understand all that Jesus was trying to teach them. It took this moment to stop waiting for Jesus to change the world and to claim our own power to change the world ourselves. Ascension is not so much an event as it is realization. As Jesus spoke to them for the last time, he reminded them that they were enough, that they knew enough. It was a moment for the disciple to review all that they had learned, and to do the dreaded task for being able to say good bye. Scripture says that Jesus blessed them. And then they were able to move on and face life with power. Questions: How do you handle endings? What comfort do you need to get through a difficult time? How do we keep the legacy of Jesus alive today? What are you doing to prepare for the power and encouragement of the Holy Spirit?