Thursday, September 5, 2013

Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,

 the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an

expert in the law, tested him with this question:

 ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest

commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Reflection

Today we read a scene where the people try to trick Jesus. They essentially are trying to get Jesus to play a shell game instead He gives them theology in a nutshell. Everything in our life and in the life of the church should obey the two greatest commandments. What practical ways do you set your life in the love of God and the love of neighbor? 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Revelation 21:21-22:5

²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. ¹Then the

angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, 

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Reflection

List some descriptions of the new heaven and the new earth found in this passage. What hope have you seen in these passages from Revelation?

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Revelation 21:9-20

⁹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper,

 and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

 Reflection

List some descriptions of the new heaven and the new earth found in this passage. Why do you think it is important to focus on the new heaven and new earth?

Monday, September 2, 2013

Revelation 21:1-8
¹Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

 Reflection

For the first couple of days this week we will look at Revelation. Many people want to avoid Revelation thinking it is all doom and gloom, but this could not be farther from the truth. It is a source of hope and grace  that reminds us  of God’s goal in a new heaven and a new earth. As we read these next few days,  let us focus our eyes on the great hope we have so that we may share that hope with the world. List some descriptions of the new heaven and the new earth found in this passage. What do you look forward to most?

Weekly Theme September 1 through 7

Connects Everything to a Soul

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

-2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Over time the people of a church begin to become focused on the various activities, ministries,  and keeping the church functioning so they begin to forget that the purpose of the church is to be a life- saving station  in their community.  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that the purpose of the church is not to be a social club or a social service agency.  The purpose of the church is to be a vehicle by which the life-saving message of Jesus Christ is taken into the world so people can hear the Word of God make a decision for Jesus, and be saved.

A church that heaven applauds is a church that has a deep desire to see every person, every soul, come to Jesus and enter into eternal life.  A church that heaven applauds is a church that keeps its focus on what Jesus said the church should be about which is to make disciples and help those disciples grow in the faith.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Romans 10:1

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

Reflection

In our scripture today, Paul tells of his prayers for the people of Israel.  How do you think the action of praying for a person or region before ministering to them helps develop a love for that person or region? 

Friday, August 30, 2013

Galatians 5:13-14

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Reflection

Choose a specific ministry in your church that is functioning well and trace the connections between that ministry and love. (For instance: We can see that people in our church genuinely love high school students because they are more than willing to go on retreats with them and do the work necessary to make the retreat successful. )