Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 22 May 2016 "Prayer Tip: When Christians Disagree"

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 22 May 2016 "Prayer Tip: When Christians Disagree"

Sunday, 22 May 2016 – "Prayer Tip: When Christians Disagree"
Daily Scripture: Acts 15:1-5
Prayer Tip:
I don’t know if you’ve ever read through the Psalms. I felt like I knew the Psalms pretty well – I had memorized the 23rd Psalm (in both English and French), and I knew the words to several songs based on Psalms, like “As the Deer” and “How Majestic is Your Name” (Psalm 42 and Psalm 8). But until recently, I had never really looked at the Psalms. About a year ago, I decided I would write out one chapter of Psalms a day on days that I didn’t have biblical reading planned as part of my small group or for a class. I decided to write them out instead of just reading them so I would really have to process each word.
I had always thought the Psalms were beautiful, comforting, flowery poetry. Some of them are. But I find that a lot of them are honest, heartfelt, even unloving feelings being poured out to God. Consider Psalm 44:9-12:
“But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.”
In Psalm 55:15, David writes, “Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.”
I’m not suggesting we blame God for our troubles or ask God to kill our enemies. I am suggesting we the Psalms can teach us about learning to open ourselves up to God enough to be honest in our prayers. Sometimes it’s easy to believe we should only pray like the “nice” Psalms, just praising and thanking God for the blessings in our lives. Those are important aspects of prayer, but when we’re hurting or angry, God wants to hear about that too. God gave us a wide range of emotions. And God knows how we’re feeling anyway, so it’s wasted effort trying to hide that from God rather than taking comfort in knowing we can pour our hearts out to God no matter how we’re feeling.
Lord God,
We want to honor you when we come to you in prayer. We also want to be honest enough to open up to you in prayer. Help us to know that our honesty with you does honor you. Guide us as we pray so we don’t feel like we have to come up with the right words in our prayers. Let our honest words be the right ones. Whether we come to you in joy and celebration or confusion and pain, draw us near to you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.[Angela LaVallie Tinsley, Funeral and Prayer Ministry]
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May 22, 2016 “When Christians Disagree”

Scripture: Acts 15:1-5

Acts 15:1 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim.

3 After being sent off by the congregation, they made their way through Phoenicia and Shomron, recounting in detail how the Gentiles had turned to God; and this news brought great joy to all the brothers.

4 On arrival in Yerushalayim, they were welcomed by the Messianic community, including the emissaries and the elders; and they reported what God had done through them. 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”

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"God accepted Gentiles, too"

Monday, 23 May 2016 Acts 10:9-22, 27-28, 34-35

Acts 10:9 The next day about noon, while they were still on their way and approaching the city, Kefa went up onto the roof of the house to pray. 10 He began to feel hungry and wanted something to eat; but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance 11 in which he saw heaven opened, and something that looked like a large sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, crawling creatures and wild birds. 13 Then a voice came to him, “Get up, Kefa, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Kefa said, “No, sir! Absolutely not! I have never eaten food that was unclean or treif.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time: “Stop treating as unclean what God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and then the sheet was immediately taken back up into heaven.

17 Kefa was still puzzling over the meaning of the vision he had seen, when the men Cornelius had sent, having inquired for Shim‘on’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask if the Shim‘on known as Kefa was staying there. 19 While Kefa’s mind was still on the vision, the Spirit said, “Three men are looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and have no misgivings about going with them, because I myself have sent them.”

21 So Kefa went down and said to the men, “You were looking for me? Here I am. What brings you here?” 22 They answered, “Cornelius. He’s a Roman army officer, an upright man and a God-fearer, a man highly regarded by the whole Jewish nation; and he was told by a holy angel to have you come to his house and listen to what you have to say.”

27 As he talked with him, Kefa went inside and found many people gathered. 28 He said to them, “You are well aware that for a man who is a Jew to have close association with someone who belongs to another people, or to come and visit him, is something that just isn’t done. But God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean;

34 Then Kefa addressed them: “I now understand that God does not play favorites, 35 but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.

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Three of our recent “Second Chances” sermons used gospel stories in which Jesus ministered to Samaritans and Gentiles. It’s logical to assume that Peter was present at all of those times. Yet it still took a forceful nudge from God, through a vivid vision, to make Peter willing to enter and witness to a

Roman centurion’s household.

• Peter’s vision struck him so hard because, like all devout Jews, he carefully followed the laws (especially in Leviticus 11) which forbade eating “unclean” meat. Those laws were not about kitchen hygiene, but about an approach to ceremonial “cleanness” before God. Entering a Gentile dwelling also brought ceremonial impurity (cf. John 18:28). Are there any places or people you avoid because you fear they might make you “unclean”?

• Peter was there when Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. John 4). He

witnessed Jesus heal the demon-possessed Gentile man who lived among the tombs (cf. Mark 5).

He saw Jesus heal the Canaanite woman’s daughter (cf. Matthew 15:21-28). What do you think kept him from internalizing the meaning of Jesus' actions, so that he still needed that vivid vision before he’d enter a Roman’s house? What life-long barriers or habits might you need to re-examine today?

Prayer: Lord God, I sense in myself the strong human urge to divide all people into “us” and “them,” and to believe you love “us” more than “them.” Teach me, as you taught Peter, that “I should never call a person impure or unclean.” Amen.

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"Jewish Christians at first found it hard to accept Gentiles"

Tuesday, 24 May 2016 Galatians 2:11-16

Galatians 2:11 Furthermore, when Kefa came to Antioch, I opposed him publicly, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 For prior to the arrival of certain people from [the community headed by] Ya‘akov, he had been eating with the Gentile believers; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he was afraid of the faction who favored circumcising Gentile believers. 13 And the other Jewish believers became hypocrites along with him, so that even Bar-Nabba was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not walking a straight path, keeping in line with the truth of the Good News, I said to Kefa, right in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Goy and not like a Jew, why are you forcing the Goyim to live like Jews? 15 We are Jews by birth, not so-called ‘Goyishe sinners’; 16 even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah’s trusting faithfulness and not on the ground of our legalistic observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous.[Galatians 2:16 Psalm 143:2]

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More and more Gentiles followed Jesus, first in Antioch and then in the churches Paul planted. Understandably, some Jewish Christians asked: why didn’t Gentiles need to adopt all the Jewish religious rites they still followed? In Antioch, Paul said, even Peter and Barnabas were so scared when

“certain people” came from Jerusalem that they stopped eating with Gentile Christians. Paul objected, strongly. Faith in Jesus, he said, not identical opinions or rituals, was what united all Christians.

• Paul wrote that Peter “began to back out and separate himself, because he was afraid of the people who promoted circumcision.” Peter, it seems, was willing to hurt Gentile believers in order to avoid censure from some of the fault-finding Jerusalem believers. Have you ever faced disapproval from some Christians because of your desire to include other, different Christians in your circle of

friendship and support? Did you have more courage than Peter, or not? Would you today?

• For Paul, this issue struck at the life mission he believed Jesus had given him. If “first class” Jewish Christians should avoid “second-class” Gentile Christians, then Gentiles weren’t really welcome at all in God’s family. That couldn’t be right, Paul said, because “no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law,” by externals. Which “works of the Law” are you or other Christians you know tempted to trust in? What helps you avoid rank ordering other Christians from “excellent” to “not so good”?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, “righteous” people criticized you a lot. You loved them, but you never let their criticism stop you from also loving the people they thought unworthy. Grow that kind of compassionate, warm-hearted determination in me. Amen.

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"A disagreement led to a meeting"

Wednesday, 25 May 2016 Acts 15:1-6

6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter.

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We saw yesterday (cf. Galatians 2:11-16) that the specific Jewish practice of circumcision became divisive as Gentiles became Christians. The “believers from among the Pharisees” could quote a definite Bible passage (cf. Genesis 17:10-14). The first big church conflict was about whether Genesis

17 applied eternally and everywhere. Could uncircumcised Gentile men be Christians? The dispute led to the first big church meeting.

• Why did the Christians in Antioch and the “believers from among the Pharisees” agree to meet in Jerusalem? Could either or both sides have said, “We don’t care what other Christians think—we’ll just do what we think is right”? What value (if any) do you see in our congregation choosing to live connected to other congregations, rather than being a completely stand-alone entity?

• Most of the Gentile Christians were not following painstaking religious rituals. They were just going about their day-to-day lives until Paul told them about Jesus. So Paul asked his Galatian converts, “How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you?” (Galatians 3:2, The Message) How would you answer his question? Are the good things you do an effort to earn God’s favor, or a response to God’s love and

grace changing your life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me free to live in the wonder of your self giving love for me. Keep me growing in my ability to root my whole identity in being your loved, redeemed child. Amen.

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"How Peter and Paul framed the case"

Thursday, 26 May 2016 Acts 15:7-12

Acts 15:7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”

12 Then the whole assembly kept still as they listened to Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul tell what signs and miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles.

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When Peter preached to the centurion’s household in Acts 10, the result was “the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44-45). At the

Jerusalem Council, Peter and Paul simply described the clear-cut ways God acted in the lives of Gentile converts. If the Christian Pharisees were right, God couldn’t do that—but God clearly was doing just that!

• Paul showed in letters like Galatians that, with his rabbinic training, he was capable of deftly using Biblical arguments (cf. e.g. Galatians 3:6-9). But in Jerusalem, he and Peter allowed God’s actions through the Holy Spirit to speak for themselves. In what ways have you seen the “argument” of changed lives speak more powerfully than any kind of abstract claim about words on paper?

• Acts 15:12 said “the entire assembly fell quiet” as Paul and Barnabas described what they’d seen in the Gentile Christian converts. When you’re involved in talking about a controversial issue, do you ever find it a challenge to “fall quiet” and listen to evidence from someone who sees the issue

differently? What might have happened to the Christian movement if people had tried to shout Paul and Barnabas down, rather than listening?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Paul wrote to his Corinthian converts that they were “Christ’s letter,” written on human hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Make my life a living letter, bearing witness to

your grace. Amen.

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"Keeping God’s mission moving ahead"

Friday,27 May 2016 Acts 15:13-30

Acts 15:13 Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. “Brothers,” he said, “hear what I have to say. 14 Shim‘on has told in detail what God did when he first began to show his concern for taking from among the Goyim a people to bear his name. 15 And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written,

16 ‘“After this, I will return;

and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David.

I will rebuild its ruins,

I will restore it,

17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,

that is, all the Goyim who have been called by my name,”

18 says Adonai, who is doing these things.’[Acts 15:18 Amos 9:11–12]

All this has been known for ages.

19 “Therefore, my opinion is that we should not put obstacles in the way of the Goyim who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”

22 Then the emissaries and the elders, together with the whole Messianic community, decided to select men from among themselves to send to Antioch with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. They sent Y’hudah, called Bar-Sabba, and Sila, both leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter:

From: The emissaries and the elders, your brothers

To: The brothers from among the Gentiles throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia

Greetings!

24 We have heard that some people went out from among us without our authorization, and that they have upset you with their talk, unsettling your minds. 25 So we have decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our dear friends Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul, 26 who have dedicated their lives to upholding the name of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 27 So we have sent Y’hudah and Sila, and they will confirm in person what we are writing.

28 For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us not to lay any heavier burden on you than the following requirements: 29 to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing.

Shalom!

30 The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the group together and delivered the letter.

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The Jerusalem Council did not address a big issue among Christians today. (No one is crusading for circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) That makes the Council a useful case study. After hearing both sides, the Council chose to respect the evidence of God’s activity through the Holy Spirit, not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17. James quoted Amos 9:11-12 and said it supported the conclusion that God wanted Gentiles welcomed without lots of imposed cultural rules.

• Reflect on the story in Acts about this early Christian meeting to resolve a disputed issue. On what grounds did Paul, Peter and James decide God wanted them to follow Amos rather than Genesis in this instance? What can we learn from their example about how to apply the Bible to issues we face today?

• Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” met at the Jerusalem Council because they disagreed about circumcision. But vitally important was the fact that they agreed on the more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. In what ways did the Council’s decision allow God’s saving mission through the church to keep moving forward, rather than dragging it to a halt until they could totally resolve each point of difference?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, remind me, in the words of John Wesley, that it is possible for me and other Christ followers to “love alike” even when we do not “think alike.” Amen.

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"A diverse community living out God’s grace"

Saturday, 28 May 2016 Galatians 5:1-6, Romans 14:1-12

Galatians 5:1 What the Messiah has freed us for is freedom! Therefore, stand firm, and don’t let yourselves be tied up again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Mark my words — I, Sha’ul, tell you that if you undergo b’rit-milah the Messiah will be of no advantage to you at all! 3 Again, I warn you: any man who undergoes b’rit-milah is obligated to observe the entire Torah! 4 You who are trying to be declared righteous by God through legalism have severed yourselves from the Messiah! You have fallen away from God’s grace! 5 For it is by the power of the Spirit, who works in us because we trust and are faithful, that we confidently expect our hope of attaining righteousness to be fulfilled. 6 When we are united with the Messiah Yeshua, neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised matters; what matters is trusting faithfulness expressing itself through love.

Romans 14:1 Now as for a person whose trust is weak, welcome him — but not to get into arguments over opinions. 2 One person has the trust that will allow him to eat anything, while another whose trust is weak eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats anything must not look down on the one who abstains; and the abstainer must not pass judgment on the one who eats anything, because God has accepted him — 4 who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? It is before his own master that he will stand or fall; and the fact is that he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One person considers some days more holy than others, while someone else regards them as being all alike. What is important is for each to be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a day as special does so to honor the Lord. Also he who eats anything, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; likewise the abstainer abstains to honor the Lord, and he too gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives only in relation to himself, and none of us dies only in relation to himself; 8 for if we live, we live in relation to the Lord; and if we die, we die in relation to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord — 9 indeed, it was for this very reason that the Messiah died and came back to life, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You then, why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For all of us will stand before God’s judgment seat; 11 since it is written in the Tanakh,

“As I live, says Adonai, every knee will bend before me,

and every tongue will publicly acknowledge God.”[Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23]

12 So then, every one of us will have to give an account of himself to God.

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Differences of opinion persisted among the early Christians. (In 1 Corinthians 10:25-27, even Paul altered some of the Jerusalem Council’s guidelines about avoiding food offered to idols.) The great apostle passionately urged Galatian and Roman Christians not to give up their personal freedom in Christ. But he also urged believers to welcome all who had faith in Jesus, even when they differed on other points. If they fixated on the lesser details of their faith (as the Pharisees had), he said they were in danger of missing Jesus' central Kingdom ideal: living a life of love.

• Paul reminded the Roman Christians that since each person is unique, each person's spiritual journey is, too. We need support and accountability to grow spiritually, but comparing others to ourselves and judging them is destructive to them and us (cf. Matthew 7:1-5 for Jesus' teaching). Do you ever struggle to accept believers in Jesus who come from an ethnic, cultural or denominational background different from yours? How can you best help others on their personal journey of "knowing, loving, and serving God and others," without comparing or judging it by your journey? Who has helped you in that way?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that I get to belong to you, to stretch my soul in the spacious atmosphere of your grace. Thank you for the widely varied family of which that makes me a part. Amen.

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Family Activity: At church, we meet many different people with different thoughts and opinions, yet we are all there to worship God! How does your family approach going to church? Are you excited, happy and joyful? Do you complain about the weather or the walk from the parking lot? Do you struggle to get

dressed and out the door on time? Is your home filled with words of encouragement, or hollered, hurried words? To help remind you that you are going to God’s house for worship, consider playing praise music as you prepare. Maybe you could pray for a receptive heart and positive spirit the afternoon or evening before you go. Read a Bible story to help center your mind on God. Nothing works

perfectly in family life, but choose one idea to try this next week and enjoy a more fulfilling experience in God’s house!

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Prayer Requests – submit requests at cor.org/prayer

Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:

• Friends and family on the death of June Loser, 5/14

• Carol Dolan and family on the death of her husband John Dolan, 5/13

• Dave Meek and family on the death of his father Charles Meek, 5/12

• Dick Walker and family on the death of his wife Carol Walker, 5/10

• Megan O’Neill and family on the death of her great, great aunt Nellie Porter, 5/10

• Mary Weiner and family on the death of her mother Henrietta Kroll, 5/9

• Glenna Quist and family on the death of her husband Steve Quist, 4/28

• Al and Eve Grauberger on the death of their daughter-in-law Kimberly Grauberger, 4/25