The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 31 October 2015 - "Sheep or goat?"

The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 31 October 2015 - "Sheep or goat?"
Daily Scripture: Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. 33 The ‘sheep’ he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats’ at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, 36 I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’

41 “Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, ‘Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?’ 45 And he will answer them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!’ 46 They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life.”

Reflection Questions:
After talking about the Temple’s destruction and the end of the world in Matthew 24 and 25 (in sometimes puzzling terms), Jesus gave a word picture of the final judgment. His story about the judgment clearly conveyed his Kingdom’s priorities. Kingdom people, he said, care for the hungry and thirsty, the poorly-clothed and strangers, the prisoners and the sick—the people whom Jesus called “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine.”

• There’s a Christian song that begins, “I met Jesus today, and I really must tell you, he didn’t look at all like the pictures…. He was a hungry child, a sick friend of mine, a stranger who needed a coat.” In Jesus' story, both the “sheep” (accepted) and the “goats” (turned away) were surprised. They expected to meet Jesus in “religious” places, with choirs and lights, not in the streets among the needy and poor. But Jesus’ story said we should notice all people in need of help, and treat them as if it were Jesus himself in need. In what ways can you sense God reshaping your attitudes toward “the least of these” in your community and the wider world?

Today’s Prayer:
O God, keep my eyes and my heart open to see your face in the faces of hurting people around me who need your touch through me. Amen.
Family Activity:
Jesus taught that serving others was a vital part of our faith. As a family, select a way to share God’s love by serving others. Ask an older child or youth to research some volunteer opportunities in your area. He or she could explore the church website for mission ministries in which your family can participate. Consider brainstorming about some less-structured ways you can serve others with God’s love, such as helping others in your neighbor or at school. At a family gathering, ask the child or youth to present these opportunities to the rest of the family. Prayerfully ask God’s guidance as you discuss the possibilities. Choose one or two ways your family can serve. Commit to doing them.Insights from Yvonne Gentile

Yvonne Gentile serves on The Church of the Resurrection staff as the Director of Connections. Yvonne directs the team that helps people get connected into the life of the church through service, studies, group life, and other ways of involvement.
I spoke with someone this week who expressed some confusion about where she should even begin to serve “the least of these”. What if we simply began, as the GPS for today suggested, by noticing all people in need, starting with the people right in front of us? By doing things like:

• Taking dinner to a friend who’s had a death in the family
• Visiting a neighbor who’s in the hospital
• Sending a note to a co-worker who needs to be encouraged
• Letting the person who looks impatient go ahead of us in the grocery checkout line
• Speaking kind words to our own family, even when we’re tired
• Befriending a person who is differently abled and their family spending with them.

If you want to go further in serving the hungry and thirsty, the poor, the prisoner and the stranger, you can start by checking out Resurrection’s JOY in Serving options. JOY (Joyfully Offering Yourself) in Serving is Resurrection’s holiday mission program. Each year, October through December, the church puts together a number of opportunities for you to serve or donate and learn more about local area organizations and the work being done in Kansas City to alleviate poverty.
There are new opportunities available each week. You can find a list of available options online at www.cor.org/joy. You can also drop by the JOY tables in the Narthex before and after service each weekend between now and December 20.
FaithWork is an easy way to step into serving the least of these. Every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, you can choose from pre-arranged serving opportunities by simply showing up in the Narthex of the B Bldg at 8:45am, selecting where and how you want to serve (most opportunities will finish by 1pm). The remaining dates this year are November 7 and 21, and Dec 5 and 19. You can find more information and pre-register for FaithWork at www.cor.org/faithwork.
Resurrection has a vibrant prison ministry, too. Volunteers with New Day Prison Ministry go to Lansing Penitentiary each week to share the love of Christ with inmates, and the impact they are having is remarkable. Lives are being changed – both the lives of the prisoners, and of those who visit them. You can find more information at www.cor.org/prison.
On the right hand side of our worship bulletin every week, there is a list of ways you can get involved in serving God and others. Each week, after the sermon, our pastors highlight a couple of ministries who are actively seeking people like you and me who will step up to make a difference in the lives of the least of these. Listen and look for those announcements, and find something you can do now to make a difference in the life of someone in need.
Look. Listen. Notice. Do something. Start by doing something loving for the people right in front of you.

Download the GPS App

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue

Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States

913.897.0120
____________________________

"The Sheep and The Goats" by Keith Green

And when the Son of Man comes, and all the Holy Angels with Him,

Then shall He sit on His Glorious throne,

And He will divide the nations before Him, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And He shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left,

And He shall say to the sheep; come ye, blessed of My Father,

inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world,

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat,

I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink,

I was naked, and you clothed Me,

I was a stranger, and you invited Me in,

I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to Me.

Thank you! Enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him,

And they'll say, Lord, when?

When were You hungry Lord, and we gave You something to eat?

Lord, when were You thirsty? I can't remember. And we gave You drink?

Huh, when were You naked Lord, and we clothed You?

And Lord, when were You a stranger and we invited You in?

I mean, we invited lots of people in Lord. I could never forget that face.

And Lord, when were You sick and we visited You?

Or in prison, and we came to You? Lord, tell us?

In as much as you did it to the least of My bretheren, you've done it unto Me.

Oh yes, as much as you've done it to the very least of My bretheren, you've done it,

you've done it unto Me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on His left, the goats.

Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire,

prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat,

I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink,

I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent me away,

I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door,

But you didn't open, you told Me to go away,

I was sick, racked in pain upon My bed,

And I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you'd come, but you didn't,

I was in prison, and I rotted there,

I'd prayed that you'd come.

I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.

Depart from Me!!!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when?

Lord, I mean, when were You hungry Lord and we didn't give You something to eat?

And Lord, when were You thirsty, and we didn't give You drink?

I mean, that's not fair, well, would You like something now?

Would one of the Angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a coke?

Oh, You're not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.

Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were You naked,

I mean Lord, that's not fair either Lord,

We didn't know what size You wear.

Oh Lord, when were You a stranger Lord,

You weren't one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?

Oh Lord, that wasn't our ministry Lord. We just didn't feel led, you know?

Lord, when were You sick? What did You have, anyway?

Well, at least it wasn't fatal; oh, it was?

I'm sorry Lord, I would have sent You a card.

Lord, just one last thing we want to know,

When were You in prison Lord? What were You in for anyway?

I had a friend in Levenworth..

ENOUGH!

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My bretheren,

You've not done it unto Me.

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My bretheren,

You've not done it unto Me. Depart from Me.

And these shall go away into everlasting fire.

But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep and the goats, according to this scripture,

is what they did, and didn't do!!

_____________________________