The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 11 August 2016 - “Go and produce fruit”
Daily Scripture: John 15:12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!
Reflection Questions:
“I chose you,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that you could go and produce fruit.” At first glance, that might sound to us like a command from a domineering “boss.” But Jesus prefaced that statement by telling his followers he didn’t call them servants, but friends. And the first and foremost “fruit” he asked them to produce was to live in God’s love and to love one another.
- Read verses 12-15 of this passage again. If a project, team or workplace leader, or a pastor, told a group that included you that, in that spirit, you’d been chosen to “bear fruit,” do you think the impact would be positive or negative? How might that kind of message affect your attitude and that of others on the team? How would it shape communication and cooperation as you moved forward?
- Jesus also said, “You didn’t choose me, but I chose you.” You may think, “I remember coming to Coffee with the Pastors, filling out forms, reciting the Apostles’ Creed. I’m pretty sure I chose to join this church.” We do indeed choose Jesus—but by responding to the ways he reached out to us. Are you thankful God chose you to be part of God’s family?
Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we’re 2,000 years into your great human building project, and it’s still going. Help my life to bear fruit, making your kingdom more real to people I care about. Amen.
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The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 10 August 2016 - "Who might be coming to dinner?"
Daily Scripture: Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly friendship continue; 2 but don’t forget to be friendly to outsiders; for in so doing, some people, without knowing it, have entertained angels.
Reflection Questions:
The letter to the Hebrews, even more than many other New Testament documents, was steeped in the Old Testament Scriptures. Here the writer was surely thinking of experiences like Manoah welcoming a guest who told him he would have a son (cf. Judges 13:3ff), and particularly of the story in Genesis 18 when Abraham and Sarah welcomed travelers who turned out to be divine messengers. God rejoices in and rewards human hospitality.
Remember: the Greek word behind our word “angel” meant “messenger.” In Genesis 18, for example, glowing creatures with wings didn’t dazzle Abraham. He simply saw travelers passing by his encampment, and invited them in. When has someone who didn’t look dazzling been a divine messenger in your life? How can you keep your mind and heart open to such messengers?
- Scholar William Barclay wrote, “Christianity was, and still should be, the religion of the open door. The writer to the Hebrews says that those who have given hospitality to strangers have sometimes, all unaware, entertained the angels of God.”1 Is it easy or hard for you, based on your temperament and upbringing, to have an “open door”? Must all Christ-followers be perfect natural hosts, or simply have a heart open to meet the needs of others?
Lord Jesus, help me to keep my inner door open to the people around me. Show me the best ways for me to extend your welcome to others. Amen.
1 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letter to the Hebrews (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 191.
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Insights from Rev. Chris Holliday
Other commitments kept Rev. Steven Blair from being able to write for today’s Insights. Instead, we offer you a story about “angelic” hospitality thatRev. Chris Holliday, Associate Pastor at The Church of the Resurrection’s West campus, shared in May of 2015.
One year during my undergraduate university years, I served at a camp in the western part of Virginia. Bands came to us, and we worked with them for a week. Then other bands rolled in for their marching camps.
We were based at a small college. It was pretty–lots of rolling hills and big green trees–but sort of out in the middle of nowhere. I remember taking lots of back roads to get there from my home in North Carolina. As I drove to the college, night fell and so did the rain. The roads were wet, slick and filled with curves; and it was dark–really dark. But I made it there safely, and had a great couple of weeks.
When I left camp, I took those same roads home, but they looked and felt very different. The sun was shining, the windows were down and the radio was blaring. I was enjoying the freedom of a little money in my pocket and the beginning of two weeks of fun and relaxation before the start of fall classes. Life was good!
All of a sudden, I noticed steam rising from under my hood and my little Pontiac T1000 started sputtering. I saw a small country church ahead and pulled into its unpaved parking lot. There was a house beside the church. Other than that, I saw nothing but hills and trees. This was way before GPS devices and cell phones, so basically, I was stuck.
The church doors were locked and no one was there. I went over to the house thinking the pastor might live there. I knocked a few times, and finally, an older man appeared. He wasn’t the pastor, and I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about being bothered by a stranger on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I told him my situation, and asked if he could help me. He asked me to wait a few minutes. When he reappeared, his countenance had changed and he was much nicer. “I know a little something about cars,” he said. “Let me take a look.”
About five minutes later, he had the problem diagnosed and said he needed to call a friend of his for a part. The friend came over, and before I knew it everything was as good as new. I asked how much I owed him, and he just wanted enough to cover the part and materials he’d used (which was practically nothing). The man then asked if I wanted to use his phone to call my parents to let them know I’d be a bit later because of my car issue. As I drove away, he waved and smiled, and I did the same. I’d taken up most of his Sunday afternoon, and I was amazed at how kind and helpful he’d been.
Twenty-seven years later, I don’t remember the man’s name, where exactly I was or what he did to fix the car. What I do remember is feeling happy and blessed by his radical hospitality. This gentleman was salt and light to me–he made my life brighter and better that day. May we all go, be and do likewise.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
One year during my undergraduate university years, I served at a camp in the western part of Virginia. Bands came to us, and we worked with them for a week. Then other bands rolled in for their marching camps.
We were based at a small college. It was pretty–lots of rolling hills and big green trees–but sort of out in the middle of nowhere. I remember taking lots of back roads to get there from my home in North Carolina. As I drove to the college, night fell and so did the rain. The roads were wet, slick and filled with curves; and it was dark–really dark. But I made it there safely, and had a great couple of weeks.
When I left camp, I took those same roads home, but they looked and felt very different. The sun was shining, the windows were down and the radio was blaring. I was enjoying the freedom of a little money in my pocket and the beginning of two weeks of fun and relaxation before the start of fall classes. Life was good!
All of a sudden, I noticed steam rising from under my hood and my little Pontiac T1000 started sputtering. I saw a small country church ahead and pulled into its unpaved parking lot. There was a house beside the church. Other than that, I saw nothing but hills and trees. This was way before GPS devices and cell phones, so basically, I was stuck.
The church doors were locked and no one was there. I went over to the house thinking the pastor might live there. I knocked a few times, and finally, an older man appeared. He wasn’t the pastor, and I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about being bothered by a stranger on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I told him my situation, and asked if he could help me. He asked me to wait a few minutes. When he reappeared, his countenance had changed and he was much nicer. “I know a little something about cars,” he said. “Let me take a look.”
About five minutes later, he had the problem diagnosed and said he needed to call a friend of his for a part. The friend came over, and before I knew it everything was as good as new. I asked how much I owed him, and he just wanted enough to cover the part and materials he’d used (which was practically nothing). The man then asked if I wanted to use his phone to call my parents to let them know I’d be a bit later because of my car issue. As I drove away, he waved and smiled, and I did the same. I’d taken up most of his Sunday afternoon, and I was amazed at how kind and helpful he’d been.
Twenty-seven years later, I don’t remember the man’s name, where exactly I was or what he did to fix the car. What I do remember is feeling happy and blessed by his radical hospitality. This gentleman was salt and light to me–he made my life brighter and better that day. May we all go, be and do likewise.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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