The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "God’s family: living in peace, building each other up" for Friday, 3 March 2017
Romans 14:13 Therefore, let’s stop passing judgment on each other! Instead, make this one judgment — not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. 14 I know — that is, I have been persuaded by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah — that nothing is unclean in itself. But if a person considers something unclean, then for him it is unclean; 15 and if your brother is being upset by the food you eat, your life is no longer one of love. Do not, by your eating habits, destroy someone for whom the Messiah died! 16 Do not let what you know to be good, be spoken of as bad; 17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. 18 Anyone who serves the Messiah in this fashion both pleases God and wins the approval of other people.
19 So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding.
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We sometimes think “church” means a big building. Paul’s letter went to a group of smaller “house churches” in Rome (cf. Romans 16:5, 10, 15). Paul wrote to Roman Christians about disputes over food choices, urging “the strong” to care about and encourage “the weak,” rather than mocking or discouraging them. They didn’t always agree on how best to live their faith. We can differ on the details, Paul said. The central command is to love. Life in God’s Kingdom is about “about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
• Paul wrote that as Christians focus their spiritual walk on “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” they are able to stop sniping at one another. How easy or hard do you find it to lay aside a value system built on “being right” to live a life that seeks to lift up others? What helps you see whatever good things you have as gifts meant to bless others, not just to cling to for your own sake?
• “Stop judging each other,” Paul wrote directly. In what ways does that set a high, serious standard for how we relate to one another? Could it be seen as setting a “low” norm for acceptance, one even a woman taken in adultery or a thief on a cross could pass? Which do you find more challenging: the “height” or the “lowness” of Paul’s standard?
Prayer: Lord God, only you are wise enough to judge the thoughts and intentions of each person’s heart. Help me release the urge to judge others, and instead to seek to live with all people in your peace and love. Amen.
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Ginger Rothhaas
Ginger Rothhaas will graduate from Saint Paul School of Theology in May 2017. She is currently serving as a pastoral intern in Congregational Care and for the Saturday 5 pm worship service while Pastor Katherine Ebling is on maternity leave. She loves to learn, teach, and meet our congregants for coffee and spiritual conversation!
As our church staff is working hard to prepare for worship in our new sanctuary later this month, I have been thinking a lot about the word “building.” We use this word to mean a structure with walls and a roof. We also use this word to mean creating something, like building a career, a relationship, or a family. We talk about building the Kingdom of God, which we imagine is a world of people living God-centered lives in perfect peace with one another. Another use of the word building is in our efforts to build someone up, to make them feel better or encourage them.
When Paul writes to the small house churches in Rome, he gives instructions: “stop judging each other….never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister….strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up.” These are instructions on how to be the church and what Christians are expected to be toward every human being. I think these are applicable words for building a church, a friendship, a career, a family, a community, and a meaningful life. This is how we build the Kingdom of God…we practice doing these things in every aspect of our lives.
Our church just built a big building. People will judge it from the exterior and never come inside to see the heart of the people there. Yes, it is a big building, but we are building something via this building. We are building people up with education, spiritual formation, love, and care so that they go out into the world as beautiful instruments of God’s love. We are building faith in our city by serving others. We are building hope that anything we have done, or that has been done to us, can be redeemed by love. We are building a place where people connect to God, hear God’s calling on their lives, pray, sing, cry, feel joy, find hope, make friends, and find the courage to say ‘Use me, God.’
There are lots of buildings that achieve these things - churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. Let’s not judge them as we drive by, but instead ask God to use the people inside these buildings to build a world of love. That’s what a building can build.
Ginger RothhaasGinger Rothhaas will graduate from Saint Paul School of Theology in May 2017. She is currently serving as a pastoral intern in Congregational Care and for the Saturday 5 pm worship service while Pastor Katherine Ebling is on maternity leave. She loves to learn, teach, and meet our congregants for coffee and spiritual conversation!
As our church staff is working hard to prepare for worship in our new sanctuary later this month, I have been thinking a lot about the word “building.” We use this word to mean a structure with walls and a roof. We also use this word to mean creating something, like building a career, a relationship, or a family. We talk about building the Kingdom of God, which we imagine is a world of people living God-centered lives in perfect peace with one another. Another use of the word building is in our efforts to build someone up, to make them feel better or encourage them.
When Paul writes to the small house churches in Rome, he gives instructions: “stop judging each other….never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister….strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up.” These are instructions on how to be the church and what Christians are expected to be toward every human being. I think these are applicable words for building a church, a friendship, a career, a family, a community, and a meaningful life. This is how we build the Kingdom of God…we practice doing these things in every aspect of our lives.
Our church just built a big building. People will judge it from the exterior and never come inside to see the heart of the people there. Yes, it is a big building, but we are building something via this building. We are building people up with education, spiritual formation, love, and care so that they go out into the world as beautiful instruments of God’s love. We are building faith in our city by serving others. We are building hope that anything we have done, or that has been done to us, can be redeemed by love. We are building a place where people connect to God, hear God’s calling on their lives, pray, sing, cry, feel joy, find hope, make friends, and find the courage to say ‘Use me, God.’
There are lots of buildings that achieve these things - churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. Let’s not judge them as we drive by, but instead ask God to use the people inside these buildings to build a world of love. That’s what a building can build.
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"Loving one another with God’s love" for Saturday, 4 March 2017
1 John 4:7 Beloved friends, let us love one another; because love is from God; and everyone who loves has God as his Father and knows God. 8 Those who do not love, do not know God; because God is love. 9 Here is how God showed his love among us: God sent his only Son into the world, so that through him we might have life. 10 Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the kapparah for our sins.
11 Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains united with us, and our love for him has been brought to its goal in us.
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As John wrote about how Christians treat one another, he likely thought about himself and Jesus’ other disciples. They jockeyed for position, and got angry with one another at times (cf. Mark 10:35-45). Over time, Jesus re-shaped their thoughts and actions. John knew that loving others with Christ’s love doesn’t spring from a naturally warm human disposition. It goes much deeper than just being “nice.” This kind of active love comes from the heart of the God of the universe. God loves us—that is the reason that we love.
• An unknown humorist wrote, “To live above with saints we love—ah, that will be glory! To live below with saints we know—well, that’s another story.” But John (and the other Bible writers) said that, in Christ, we are able to grow beyond that. Which people, inside or beyond the church, do you find it hardest to love? Read and pray through this passage, plugging in their names and faces. Ask God to help you live out God’s love even toward them.
Prayer: Dear God, you ARE love—what an amazing, mind-stretching truth. You know that it’s not quite as natural for me to love. Please keep loving me as I stretch and grow in my ability to reflect your love to others. Amen.
Family Activity: Jesus asked His followers to treat others the way He did. As a family, discuss your responses to each of these scenarios:
• A new person comes to your Sunday school class and doesn’t know anyone.
• The person standing in front of you at the grocery store drops a dollar.
• Your neighbor is an older woman and lives alone. A storm comes and all her trash cans fall over.
Talk together about ways to be Christ-like in each of these situations. This week ask each other, “How did you follow Jesus today? Did you ignore an opportunity to serve? How can you do a better job being kind to others tomorrow?” Pray together, asking God to help you be a faithful follower of Jesus.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Karen McCarthy and family on the death of her mother Margaret Stewart, 2/22
• Craig Allers and family on the death of his father Alan Allers, 2/21
• Roger and Glenda Wright and family on the death of their daughter Kassandra Wright, 2/19
• Terrie Dalrymple and family on the death of her niece Kassandra Wright, 2/19
• Marilyn Brewer and family on the death of her cousin Rev. James Kimbrough, 2/18
• Judy Setley and family on the death of her husband Gary Setley, 2/15
• Brian Setley and family on the death of his father Gary Setley, 2/15
• Steve Campbell and family on the death of his father James Campbell, 2/15
• Betty Walter and family on the death of her brother Jack Goodman, 2/15
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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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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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