-------
Prayer Tip: The Bible in 30 Minutes
Daily Scripture: Romans 15:4 For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope.
2 Timothy 3:15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Prayer Tip
Matthew 25:44-45 says, "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"
It is in our natural, evolutionary response to flee from danger. Yet our first responders are people that run towards danger rather than running away. Police and Fire Fighters are drilled repeatedly to run into emergency situations so that when the time comes their instinct is to run towards danger rather than away from it.
In our personal lives, we sometimes feel the same way. We are scared to go towards the sick, dying, poor and needy. It scares us. It makes us feel uncomfortable.
This is exactly what Jesus calls us to do, though. He wants us to go against our instinct of self-preservation. He wants us to get down in the muck with others and help them through it. Just like first responders must be trained to do this, we should practice it, too. One of the things that can help train us to do this is prayer.
I strongly urge you to pray this week about the places God is calling you. How is God asking you to create change? What gifts have you been equipped with that are exactly what is needed to bring our world a little closer to his kingdom here on Earth?
Dear God,
Please give me eyes that are able to see those who are in need. Please don’t let me stay blind to those who are suffering around me. Give me heart is overflowing with your kindness and mercy and hands and feet that can do your will. Amen. [Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries]
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like
“Every meal a celebration”
Eating with understanding with one another, and with Jesus
A sinner and songs of praise at the Last Supper
Another festive meal for Jesus and an outcast “sinner”
Tears (of joy) at a supper celebrated Jesus' forgiveness
Or download this week's printable GPS.
-------
Sunday, August 13, 2017
“The Bible in 30 Minutes”
Scripture: Romans 15:4 For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope.
2 Timothy 3:15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
-------
"God’s message in human words"
Monday, 14 August 2017
Jeremiah 1:1-3, 2 Peter 1:16-21
-------
These verses show how Bible writers themselves described their writing process. Jeremiah said the words were his, though the word (i.e. message) was God’s. Peter wrote that though the Holy Spirit led them, men and women did the “speaking.” Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “Regardless of what Paul, or Luke, or Peter perceived themselves to be doing, many Christians today believe that God influenced the choice of every word and every idea, so that the words written were literally the words of God.” But, he added, that view “is not taught in the Bible…. It was not a doctrine taught in the creeds of the early church.” *
• The Bible writers were not robots. Scholar Craig Keener noted: “Ancient Judaism and Greek thinkers generally viewed prophetic inspiration as a divine possession or frenzy, in which the prophet’s rational mind was replaced by the divine word…. The various literary styles of different Old Testament prophets indicates that this was not quite the case; inspiration still used human faculties and vocabulary.” * As you read various parts of the Bible, notice each writer’s personal “voice.” When has the Bible spoken to your heart as you read a part of God’s message conveyed by a writer centuries ago?
• Peter compared the prophetic writings to “a lamp shining in a dark place.” He didn’t make that up— he adapted images from the Bible he had (the Hebrew Scriptures, our “Old Testament”— cf. Psalm 119:105, Malachi 4:2). Recall a time when, as you read the Bible asking God for wisdom, you had this sense of a lamp shining on some dark challenge you faced.
Lord Jesus, as I read my Bible, shine into my heart through its message so that your kingdom life of love, joy and peace will shine out of me. Amen.
* Hamilton, Adam. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (pp. 138-139). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
** Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993, comment on 2 Peter 1:20-21.
-------
-------
"What the Bible is meant to do"
Tuesday, 15 August 2017
2 Timothy 3:10-17
-------
The Hebrew Scriptures shaped the life of the apostle Paul’s young friend Timothy, as they did Paul’s (Acts 18:1-3, 2 Timothy 1:5). In his farewell letter, Paul succinctly summarized for Timothy the purposes he saw the Bible serving in a Christian’s life. The Scriptures, he said, would continue to shape Timothy’s character and direct him to God. (He did not say they would answer all Timothy’s historical, scientific or financial questions.) The Bible’s purpose is to tell the story of God’s dealings with humans, and shape our interaction with God.
• Article 5 of the United Methodist Articles of Religion, which date back to church founder John Wesley, say “The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation.” That echoed Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:15. What parts of the Bible’s story played the biggest role in leading you to Christ and salvation by his grace? Have you found examples in your Bible reading that seem NOT to advance that purpose?
• Paul said that when we read the Bible correctly, “the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” Have you ever seen the Bible used in ways that provoke bad results—e.g. tension, fear, guilt or hatred? What keys have you found that make your Bible reading a time with God that equips you to do everything that is good?
Prayer: O God, master and guide, I need your help today and every day as I read the Bible. Equip me more and more each day to be your physical presence in my world. Amen.
-------
-------
“Open my eyes”
Wednesday, 16 August 2017
Psalm 119:9-18
-------
Reading the Bible is different from reading a bank statement, newspaper or Facebook page. To grow spiritually from Bible reading calls for us to open our heart as well as our mind to what God wants to say to us through the Bible. Today’s passage offers a lovely model of a prayer that can prepare us to “hear” God’s word on the pages of Scripture. • “I have hidden your word in my heart,” the psalmist wrote. What does it take to move the word from the printed page (or the screen) into your heart? Here’s an easy way to start: choose a short Bible passage (e.g. John 3:16-17, Psalm 23, or maybe Psalm 119:11 from today’s reading) and commit it to memory this week.
• At the same time, remember this: “The Bible is more than just a big book of inspirational verses and some do’s and don’ts. It’s a story. And like any story, it requires proper context. The Bible we hold in our hands today has been translated across multiple languages and was originally written in a culture much different than ours. This is important to understand because without proper context you will ultimately read the Bible out of context.” * How can you grow in your ability to relate all the “pieces” of the Bible to the big story it tells? Two good options for learning the Bible’s big story are “Meet Your Bible” (Visit cor.org/leawood/grownight for more information) and Disciple 1 Bible Study (cor.org/leawood/disciple).
Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes so that like your faithful followers in all eras, I can examine the wonders of your Instruction! Amen.
* Tyler Speegle, “Five Signs You’re Reading the Bible All Wrong.” Relevant Magazine, web version
-------
-------
"Jesus lived the Bible’s eternal principles"
Thursday, 17 August 2017
Matthew 4:1-11
-------
Jesus was tempted to make choices that would have derailed his saving mission. In one case, the tempter tried to mislead Jesus by quoting a single Bible verse. But Jesus grasped the Bible’s overall message, met every temptation with a verse that embodied a deep Bible principle, and no doubt knew that the verse the tempter quoted was a poetic image, not a literal pledge. As we read the Bible, we may find things we question, and some historical puzzles. But like Jesus, we can prayerfully seek the principles that will guide our lives right.
• In verse 6, the tempter quoted from Psalm 91. Jesus didn’t just say, “From the Bible—must be right.” Scholar Scot McKnight wrote that at times we “read the Bible as a collection of… sanctified morsels of truth…. the blessings and promises of God in the Bible emerge from a real life’s story that also knows that we live in a broken world and some days are tough.” * What steps can help you discern the Bible’s core truths? How can it be spiritually (as well as physically) unsafe to take all Bible verses literally, as the tempter urged?
• Our culture tends to keep (and add to) the medieval idea of a horned devil in red tights. Do you think such a figure would have had any appeal for Jesus? Has temptation ever come to you, not as a big “devil” figure, but as a tiny inner whisper urging you to choose a path other than God’s? How can the Bible help you resist that whisper?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide me to read the Bible with discernment, as you did. Use it to guide me and armor me against temptations to veer from your path. Amen.
* Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008, pp. 46-47.
-------
-------
"The apostle Paul’s thoughtful quoting of the Bible"
Friday, 18 August 2017
Romans 15:1-13
-------
The apostle Paul urged Roman Christians to stay united despite their differing Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. How did choose the verses he quoted to them? He read the Bible as a sweeping story, not a set of free-standing verses of equal truth and weight. Though some Old Testament verses might sound as if God loved Jews more than Gentiles, Paul chose verses that said God wanted to reach all people, including Gentiles. He’d thought and prayed hard about the Bible, and traced the directional arc of God’s purpose, not just isolated verses.
• Pastor Hamilton wrote that as we read the Bible, we need something like “a kitchen colander or strainer, holding the important things while the less desirable are rinsed off.” He suggested that one of the best “strainers” is “What is the heart, character, and will of God that Jesus reveals?” So, he concluded, “It is Jesus who serves as the final Word by which other words of scripture are to be judged.” * In what ways can you see Paul using that “strainer” principle in his choice of verses to guide the Roman Christians?
• Paul was living out God’s great purpose, shown in Jesus, to extend love and grace to all people. On that basis, Paul bypassed places where the Bible sounded exclusionary. Have you ever known someone who rejected the Bible because of violent or sexist verses that don’t fit with Jesus' teachings? How can thoughtful Bible reading help you honor God’s inspiration while recognizing human and time-limited parts of Scripture?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, lead my heart beyond theories, abstractions and rigid systems. Meet me as I come to the Bible, and speak your life-giving word into my heart. Amen.
* Hamilton, Adam. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (pp. 176, 177). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
-------
-------
"Jesus: God’s final word"
Saturday, 19 August 2017
Hebrews 1:1-4, Luke 24:13-32
-------
A key guiding principle for Disciple 1 Bible study is, “The Word of God is Jesus Christ, and the words of the Bible tell us about that Word. Therefore, when we study the words of the Bible we always look behind, in, and through the words for God’s Word—Jesus Christ.” Luke said that was how Jesus himself explained the Bible to his followers. The letter to the Hebrews said God’s greatest revelation, God’s final word, was not a book, but a person: the person of Jesus: “The Son is the light of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being.” That’s why only through the Son can we rightly understand the rest of God’s story the Bible unfolds.
• Scholar N. T. Wright said, “The Jewish law told a story which came to its climax in [Jesus]. It pointed to the ideal for human life, and to God’s provision of sacrifice for human sin, not so that people could boast of how successfully they’d accomplished it all, but to point to the Messiah, the truly human being (see John 19:5), the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Jesus’ charge against his contemporaries [in John 5:39-40] is thus that they have been looking at the right book but reading it the wrong way.” * How can you study the Bible, not just as a cerebral task (though it calls for all your mental firepower), but to come into Jesus’ presence and learn from him? In what ways does making him the standard of all truth cast a clearer light on many of the Bible’s difficult parts? How have you learned to look “behind, in and through” the Bible’s words for Jesus?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, I don’t just want to read the right book; I want to read it the right way. Help me know how to look behind, in and through the Bible’s words for you, my Savior and Lord. Amen.
* N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–10. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 69.
Family Activity: To fully live into God’s wisdom and grace, it is important that we know Scripture. Create a stack of Scriptures for your home. Gather and distribute colored index cards and pens or pencils along with a Bible to each family member. Ask each person to choose 3-4 favorite Bible verses and write them on his or her index cards along with his or her name. Collect the cards and keep them on the dining table. Before each meal, select a card, read the passage and pray for the person who chose it. Place that card on the bottom of the stack. If you have young family members, invite them to draw pictures describing the verses or to help other family members. Keep adding to your family’s stack throughout the year and see how many verses you can memorize!
-------
-------Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Amy Harris and family on the death of her husband Heath Harris, 8/7
• Delmar Ferguson and family on the death of his son Steven Ferguson, 8/6
• Rhonda Scofield and family on the death of her brother Steven Ferguson, 8/6
• Brenda Sanders and family on the death of her father James Earl Mills, 8/4
• Marian Smith and family on the death of her husband Charles W. “Chuck” Smith, 8/1
• Allison Ewing and family on the death of her father Charles W. “Chuck” Smith, 8/1
• Shanda Clayton and family on the death of her mother Dolly Southgate, 7/31
• Jane Millard and family on the death of her son Thad Stewart Millard, 7/24
• Stacie Wells and family on the death of her mother Janice Remele, 7/23
• Caroline Wells and family on the death of her grandmother, Janice Remele, 7/23
Prayer Tip: The Bible in 30 Minutes
Daily Scripture: Romans 15:4 For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope.
2 Timothy 3:15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Prayer Tip
Matthew 25:44-45 says, "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"
It is in our natural, evolutionary response to flee from danger. Yet our first responders are people that run towards danger rather than running away. Police and Fire Fighters are drilled repeatedly to run into emergency situations so that when the time comes their instinct is to run towards danger rather than away from it.
In our personal lives, we sometimes feel the same way. We are scared to go towards the sick, dying, poor and needy. It scares us. It makes us feel uncomfortable.
This is exactly what Jesus calls us to do, though. He wants us to go against our instinct of self-preservation. He wants us to get down in the muck with others and help them through it. Just like first responders must be trained to do this, we should practice it, too. One of the things that can help train us to do this is prayer.
I strongly urge you to pray this week about the places God is calling you. How is God asking you to create change? What gifts have you been equipped with that are exactly what is needed to bring our world a little closer to his kingdom here on Earth?
Dear God,
Please give me eyes that are able to see those who are in need. Please don’t let me stay blind to those who are suffering around me. Give me heart is overflowing with your kindness and mercy and hands and feet that can do your will. Amen. [Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries]
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like
“Every meal a celebration”
Eating with understanding with one another, and with Jesus
A sinner and songs of praise at the Last Supper
Another festive meal for Jesus and an outcast “sinner”
Tears (of joy) at a supper celebrated Jesus' forgiveness
Or download this week's printable GPS.
-------
Sunday, August 13, 2017
“The Bible in 30 Minutes”
Scripture: Romans 15:4 For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope.
2 Timothy 3:15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
-------
"God’s message in human words"
Monday, 14 August 2017
Jeremiah 1:1-3, 2 Peter 1:16-21
-------
These verses show how Bible writers themselves described their writing process. Jeremiah said the words were his, though the word (i.e. message) was God’s. Peter wrote that though the Holy Spirit led them, men and women did the “speaking.” Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “Regardless of what Paul, or Luke, or Peter perceived themselves to be doing, many Christians today believe that God influenced the choice of every word and every idea, so that the words written were literally the words of God.” But, he added, that view “is not taught in the Bible…. It was not a doctrine taught in the creeds of the early church.” *
• The Bible writers were not robots. Scholar Craig Keener noted: “Ancient Judaism and Greek thinkers generally viewed prophetic inspiration as a divine possession or frenzy, in which the prophet’s rational mind was replaced by the divine word…. The various literary styles of different Old Testament prophets indicates that this was not quite the case; inspiration still used human faculties and vocabulary.” * As you read various parts of the Bible, notice each writer’s personal “voice.” When has the Bible spoken to your heart as you read a part of God’s message conveyed by a writer centuries ago?
• Peter compared the prophetic writings to “a lamp shining in a dark place.” He didn’t make that up— he adapted images from the Bible he had (the Hebrew Scriptures, our “Old Testament”— cf. Psalm 119:105, Malachi 4:2). Recall a time when, as you read the Bible asking God for wisdom, you had this sense of a lamp shining on some dark challenge you faced.
Lord Jesus, as I read my Bible, shine into my heart through its message so that your kingdom life of love, joy and peace will shine out of me. Amen.
* Hamilton, Adam. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (pp. 138-139). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
** Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993, comment on 2 Peter 1:20-21.
-------
-------
"What the Bible is meant to do"
Tuesday, 15 August 2017
2 Timothy 3:10-17
-------
The Hebrew Scriptures shaped the life of the apostle Paul’s young friend Timothy, as they did Paul’s (Acts 18:1-3, 2 Timothy 1:5). In his farewell letter, Paul succinctly summarized for Timothy the purposes he saw the Bible serving in a Christian’s life. The Scriptures, he said, would continue to shape Timothy’s character and direct him to God. (He did not say they would answer all Timothy’s historical, scientific or financial questions.) The Bible’s purpose is to tell the story of God’s dealings with humans, and shape our interaction with God.
• Article 5 of the United Methodist Articles of Religion, which date back to church founder John Wesley, say “The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation.” That echoed Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:15. What parts of the Bible’s story played the biggest role in leading you to Christ and salvation by his grace? Have you found examples in your Bible reading that seem NOT to advance that purpose?
• Paul said that when we read the Bible correctly, “the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” Have you ever seen the Bible used in ways that provoke bad results—e.g. tension, fear, guilt or hatred? What keys have you found that make your Bible reading a time with God that equips you to do everything that is good?
Prayer: O God, master and guide, I need your help today and every day as I read the Bible. Equip me more and more each day to be your physical presence in my world. Amen.
-------
-------
“Open my eyes”
Wednesday, 16 August 2017
Psalm 119:9-18
-------
Reading the Bible is different from reading a bank statement, newspaper or Facebook page. To grow spiritually from Bible reading calls for us to open our heart as well as our mind to what God wants to say to us through the Bible. Today’s passage offers a lovely model of a prayer that can prepare us to “hear” God’s word on the pages of Scripture. • “I have hidden your word in my heart,” the psalmist wrote. What does it take to move the word from the printed page (or the screen) into your heart? Here’s an easy way to start: choose a short Bible passage (e.g. John 3:16-17, Psalm 23, or maybe Psalm 119:11 from today’s reading) and commit it to memory this week.
• At the same time, remember this: “The Bible is more than just a big book of inspirational verses and some do’s and don’ts. It’s a story. And like any story, it requires proper context. The Bible we hold in our hands today has been translated across multiple languages and was originally written in a culture much different than ours. This is important to understand because without proper context you will ultimately read the Bible out of context.” * How can you grow in your ability to relate all the “pieces” of the Bible to the big story it tells? Two good options for learning the Bible’s big story are “Meet Your Bible” (Visit cor.org/leawood/grownight for more information) and Disciple 1 Bible Study (cor.org/leawood/disciple).
Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes so that like your faithful followers in all eras, I can examine the wonders of your Instruction! Amen.
* Tyler Speegle, “Five Signs You’re Reading the Bible All Wrong.” Relevant Magazine, web version
-------
-------
"Jesus lived the Bible’s eternal principles"
Thursday, 17 August 2017
Matthew 4:1-11
-------
Jesus was tempted to make choices that would have derailed his saving mission. In one case, the tempter tried to mislead Jesus by quoting a single Bible verse. But Jesus grasped the Bible’s overall message, met every temptation with a verse that embodied a deep Bible principle, and no doubt knew that the verse the tempter quoted was a poetic image, not a literal pledge. As we read the Bible, we may find things we question, and some historical puzzles. But like Jesus, we can prayerfully seek the principles that will guide our lives right.
• In verse 6, the tempter quoted from Psalm 91. Jesus didn’t just say, “From the Bible—must be right.” Scholar Scot McKnight wrote that at times we “read the Bible as a collection of… sanctified morsels of truth…. the blessings and promises of God in the Bible emerge from a real life’s story that also knows that we live in a broken world and some days are tough.” * What steps can help you discern the Bible’s core truths? How can it be spiritually (as well as physically) unsafe to take all Bible verses literally, as the tempter urged?
• Our culture tends to keep (and add to) the medieval idea of a horned devil in red tights. Do you think such a figure would have had any appeal for Jesus? Has temptation ever come to you, not as a big “devil” figure, but as a tiny inner whisper urging you to choose a path other than God’s? How can the Bible help you resist that whisper?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide me to read the Bible with discernment, as you did. Use it to guide me and armor me against temptations to veer from your path. Amen.
* Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008, pp. 46-47.
-------
-------
"The apostle Paul’s thoughtful quoting of the Bible"
Friday, 18 August 2017
Romans 15:1-13
-------
The apostle Paul urged Roman Christians to stay united despite their differing Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. How did choose the verses he quoted to them? He read the Bible as a sweeping story, not a set of free-standing verses of equal truth and weight. Though some Old Testament verses might sound as if God loved Jews more than Gentiles, Paul chose verses that said God wanted to reach all people, including Gentiles. He’d thought and prayed hard about the Bible, and traced the directional arc of God’s purpose, not just isolated verses.
• Pastor Hamilton wrote that as we read the Bible, we need something like “a kitchen colander or strainer, holding the important things while the less desirable are rinsed off.” He suggested that one of the best “strainers” is “What is the heart, character, and will of God that Jesus reveals?” So, he concluded, “It is Jesus who serves as the final Word by which other words of scripture are to be judged.” * In what ways can you see Paul using that “strainer” principle in his choice of verses to guide the Roman Christians?
• Paul was living out God’s great purpose, shown in Jesus, to extend love and grace to all people. On that basis, Paul bypassed places where the Bible sounded exclusionary. Have you ever known someone who rejected the Bible because of violent or sexist verses that don’t fit with Jesus' teachings? How can thoughtful Bible reading help you honor God’s inspiration while recognizing human and time-limited parts of Scripture?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, lead my heart beyond theories, abstractions and rigid systems. Meet me as I come to the Bible, and speak your life-giving word into my heart. Amen.
* Hamilton, Adam. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (pp. 176, 177). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
-------
-------
"Jesus: God’s final word"
Saturday, 19 August 2017
Hebrews 1:1-4, Luke 24:13-32
-------
A key guiding principle for Disciple 1 Bible study is, “The Word of God is Jesus Christ, and the words of the Bible tell us about that Word. Therefore, when we study the words of the Bible we always look behind, in, and through the words for God’s Word—Jesus Christ.” Luke said that was how Jesus himself explained the Bible to his followers. The letter to the Hebrews said God’s greatest revelation, God’s final word, was not a book, but a person: the person of Jesus: “The Son is the light of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being.” That’s why only through the Son can we rightly understand the rest of God’s story the Bible unfolds.
• Scholar N. T. Wright said, “The Jewish law told a story which came to its climax in [Jesus]. It pointed to the ideal for human life, and to God’s provision of sacrifice for human sin, not so that people could boast of how successfully they’d accomplished it all, but to point to the Messiah, the truly human being (see John 19:5), the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Jesus’ charge against his contemporaries [in John 5:39-40] is thus that they have been looking at the right book but reading it the wrong way.” * How can you study the Bible, not just as a cerebral task (though it calls for all your mental firepower), but to come into Jesus’ presence and learn from him? In what ways does making him the standard of all truth cast a clearer light on many of the Bible’s difficult parts? How have you learned to look “behind, in and through” the Bible’s words for Jesus?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, I don’t just want to read the right book; I want to read it the right way. Help me know how to look behind, in and through the Bible’s words for you, my Savior and Lord. Amen.
* N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–10. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 69.
Family Activity: To fully live into God’s wisdom and grace, it is important that we know Scripture. Create a stack of Scriptures for your home. Gather and distribute colored index cards and pens or pencils along with a Bible to each family member. Ask each person to choose 3-4 favorite Bible verses and write them on his or her index cards along with his or her name. Collect the cards and keep them on the dining table. Before each meal, select a card, read the passage and pray for the person who chose it. Place that card on the bottom of the stack. If you have young family members, invite them to draw pictures describing the verses or to help other family members. Keep adding to your family’s stack throughout the year and see how many verses you can memorize!
-------
-------Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Amy Harris and family on the death of her husband Heath Harris, 8/7
• Delmar Ferguson and family on the death of his son Steven Ferguson, 8/6
• Rhonda Scofield and family on the death of her brother Steven Ferguson, 8/6
• Brenda Sanders and family on the death of her father James Earl Mills, 8/4
• Marian Smith and family on the death of her husband Charles W. “Chuck” Smith, 8/1
• Allison Ewing and family on the death of her father Charles W. “Chuck” Smith, 8/1
• Shanda Clayton and family on the death of her mother Dolly Southgate, 7/31
• Jane Millard and family on the death of her son Thad Stewart Millard, 7/24
• Stacie Wells and family on the death of her mother Janice Remele, 7/23
• Caroline Wells and family on the death of her grandmother, Janice Remele, 7/23
-------
You might also like
Or download this week's printable GPS.
-------
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
-------
Or download this week's printable GPS.
-------
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
-------
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