For Dec. 11: Feeding of the 5,000
READ: Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14
PRAY: Make a point of “blessing” your food at mealtime… does it make a difference to eat “blessed” food or not? Thank God for the ways He blesses you, and ask God to use you as a blessing.
DO: Take a piece of bread to a local park (hopefully on a warm day) and use it to feed the birds. Notice how many birds are fed through this one simple act. What will happen to the bread that’s not eaten? How will it continue to provide nourishment for even more?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Gerasene Demoniac Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39
READ: Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39
PRAY: Read Psalm 34:1-10.
DO: Watch the nightly news. Look for examples of suffering: In what ways are people suffering in our community, nation, or world? Did the news program offer any information about how suffering people are being helped?
PRAY: Read Psalm 34:1-10.
DO: Watch the nightly news. Look for examples of suffering: In what ways are people suffering in our community, nation, or world? Did the news program offer any information about how suffering people are being helped?
The Sermon on the Mount (Plain) Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:17-49
Lesson 32 – Sermon on the Mount (or Plain)
Big Idea: Jesus turns things upside down.
Historical Background
The “Sermon on the Mount” recorded in Matthew’s Gospel and the much shorter “Sermon on the Plain” recorded in Luke’s Gospel both represent an early sermon given by Jesus after choosing an inner circle of followers (disciples / apostles). Most scholars think that these are two different accountings of the same sermon. If this is true, obviously, neither account is a word for word report of a speech that Jesus once gave. However, both accounts represent sayings and teachings that go back to the historical Jesus and early Christian community – the major difference is how each author remembered and arranged them.
In Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, much of Jesus’ ethical teaching offered “along the road” in Luke and Mark is arranged in a neat, rhetorical order. All of these themes are arranged such that Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer occurs at the center of the sermon, thus giving the rest of the teachings a new orientation as they point to the central idea of this prayer. In Luke’s account, the change in location, and attention to detail accounting who is listening to the speech reflect once again Luke’s central focus on the validity of the Gospel for all people.
Included early on in both accounts is what has come to be known as the “Beatitudes” (a word which literally means “Blessings” or “Good Fortunes”). These statements are prophetic declarations concerning the already/not-yet reality of the Kingdom of God. While things may seem bad now, Jesus assures his followers that they are already a part of a different reality in God’s Kingdom – a reality that turns the secular world of “haves” and “have nots” upside down.
Application
In light of these sermons, briefly describe Jesus’ vision for the world (in one or two sentences):
What does this say to you about the way God works? Is it fair? Why or why not?
In what ways did the disciple’s world fall short of this vision? How does our world fall short?
In what ways did the early Christian church work to make this vision a reality? How do we (as individuals / the church) work to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth?
How would our lives be different / changed in this new reality?
How is Luke’s account of the beatitudes different than Matthew’s? What do “woes” mean for us?
Compare Matthew 5:16 to our baptismal service. What does it mean to be salt / light for the world? How does knowing that Jesus is addressing his disciples in the plural (“yinz are the light of the world”) change this meaning?
Big Idea: Jesus turns things upside down.
Historical Background
The “Sermon on the Mount” recorded in Matthew’s Gospel and the much shorter “Sermon on the Plain” recorded in Luke’s Gospel both represent an early sermon given by Jesus after choosing an inner circle of followers (disciples / apostles). Most scholars think that these are two different accountings of the same sermon. If this is true, obviously, neither account is a word for word report of a speech that Jesus once gave. However, both accounts represent sayings and teachings that go back to the historical Jesus and early Christian community – the major difference is how each author remembered and arranged them.
In Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, much of Jesus’ ethical teaching offered “along the road” in Luke and Mark is arranged in a neat, rhetorical order. All of these themes are arranged such that Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer occurs at the center of the sermon, thus giving the rest of the teachings a new orientation as they point to the central idea of this prayer. In Luke’s account, the change in location, and attention to detail accounting who is listening to the speech reflect once again Luke’s central focus on the validity of the Gospel for all people.
Included early on in both accounts is what has come to be known as the “Beatitudes” (a word which literally means “Blessings” or “Good Fortunes”). These statements are prophetic declarations concerning the already/not-yet reality of the Kingdom of God. While things may seem bad now, Jesus assures his followers that they are already a part of a different reality in God’s Kingdom – a reality that turns the secular world of “haves” and “have nots” upside down.
Application
In light of these sermons, briefly describe Jesus’ vision for the world (in one or two sentences):
What does this say to you about the way God works? Is it fair? Why or why not?
In what ways did the disciple’s world fall short of this vision? How does our world fall short?
In what ways did the early Christian church work to make this vision a reality? How do we (as individuals / the church) work to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth?
How would our lives be different / changed in this new reality?
How is Luke’s account of the beatitudes different than Matthew’s? What do “woes” mean for us?
Compare Matthew 5:16 to our baptismal service. What does it mean to be salt / light for the world? How does knowing that Jesus is addressing his disciples in the plural (“yinz are the light of the world”) change this meaning?
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