READ: Luke 13:10-17 and 14:1-6
PRAY: In both of these stories, Jesus heals on the Sabbath day. Jesus does this not to show a disrespect for Jewish worship, but to demonstrate what all worship ought to be about. In worship this week, pay special attention to prayers for healing. At home, give thanks again, and pray for God to go with you as you follow the command, “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.”
DO: Find information about Jewish observance of the Sabbath Day. When does this observance begin / end? What does a typical Sabbath day include? How is this different / similar to Christian observances? Pick something from the Jewish practice of observing the Sabbath and try to work it into your own Sabbath observance for the next week or two.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Good Samaritan
Read: Luke 10:25-37
Pray: Reflect on the people you’ve encountered today. How did you respond to them? Pray a prayer of confession for ways you weren’t the best neighbor. Ask God to help you be a better neighbor to everyone you encounter.
Respond: Think of a person in your life who could especially use a good neighbor right now. Find a way to show your neighborly love to him/her this week (ex. phone call, card, visit, home cooked meal, cookies, hug, etc.)
Pray: Reflect on the people you’ve encountered today. How did you respond to them? Pray a prayer of confession for ways you weren’t the best neighbor. Ask God to help you be a better neighbor to everyone you encounter.
Respond: Think of a person in your life who could especially use a good neighbor right now. Find a way to show your neighborly love to him/her this week (ex. phone call, card, visit, home cooked meal, cookies, hug, etc.)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sending of the Seventy
READ: Luke 10:1-24
PRAY: Think of all the people in your life who have proclaimed the Gospel to you. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for them. Pray for all those you can think of who are still at work proclaiming the Gospel to others. Pray that God would use you for this purpose too.
DO: Learn more about missionaries. Go to the ELCA website and search for “missionaries” or reference the ELCA magazine provided in your stewardship materials. What are some of the ways missionaries today are being “sent out” and “proclaiming the Gospel”?
(Enjoy your Christmas Holiday - our regular Bible Study will resume on Thursday, Jan 8, with a discussion on this text)
PRAY: Think of all the people in your life who have proclaimed the Gospel to you. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for them. Pray for all those you can think of who are still at work proclaiming the Gospel to others. Pray that God would use you for this purpose too.
DO: Learn more about missionaries. Go to the ELCA website and search for “missionaries” or reference the ELCA magazine provided in your stewardship materials. What are some of the ways missionaries today are being “sent out” and “proclaiming the Gospel”?
(Enjoy your Christmas Holiday - our regular Bible Study will resume on Thursday, Jan 8, with a discussion on this text)
The Transfiguration
READ: Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36
PRAY: Sing the familiar Christmas hymn, “Go Tell it on the Mountain” as you begin or end your devotional time.
DO: Sometimes our lives get so busy that it’s hard to hear what God is saying to us. Find time this week to spend one hour away from all the things that crowd and clutter your life (TV, telephones, computers, etc.). Begin and end your time in prayer, listening for God in your activities.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Feeding of the 5,000
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?
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?
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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