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Questions in this GPS marked with Ø are particularly recommended for group discussion. Group leaders may add other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
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"Paul challenged Peter’s surrender to peer pressure"
Friday, 29 September 2017
Galatians 2:6 Moreover, those who were the acknowledged leaders — what they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by outward appearances — these leaders added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the Uncircumcised, just as Kefa had been for the Circumcised; 8 since the One working in Kefa to make him an emissary to the Circumcised had worked in me to make me an emissary to the Gentiles. 9 So, having perceived what grace had been given to me, Ya‘akov, Kefa and Yochanan, the acknowledged pillars of the community, extended to me and Bar-Nabba the right hand of fellowship; so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the Circumcised. 10 Their only request was that we should remember the poor — which very thing I have spared no pains to do.
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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Peter never became a superhuman figure. He was not immune to peer pressure. The episode about which Paul wrote in this letter likely happened after Peter met Cornelius. Yet, under pressure from more conservative Jewish Christians, he pulled back from eating with Gentile Christians. That deeply upset Paul. All Christians were Christians due to Christ’s grace; there was no room for treating any Christian as a second-class citizen in Christ’s kingdom.
• Paul wrote that Peter “began to back out and separate himself, because he was afraid of the people who promoted circumcision.” Peter was willing to hurt Gentile believers to avoid censure from the stricter Jerusalem believers. Have you ever faced disapproval from some Christians because you wished to support and befriend other, different Christians? Did you have more courage than Peter, or not? Would you today?
Ø Paul believed Jesus had given him a life mission to lead Gentiles to faith in Jesus. If “first class” Jewish Christians avoided “second-class” Gentile Christians, then Gentiles weren’t really welcome in God’s family at all. Paul said that couldn’t be right because “no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law,” by externals. Which good behaviors 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 them force you to shut out people they thought unworthy. Give me that kind of warm-hearted determination, too. Amen.
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Ginger Rothhaas
Ginger is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology. She and her husband Rob have a son, a daughter, and a high energy dog. She loves writing, conversations over coffee, and teaching spiritual classes.
Many Christians in the ancient world did not act very Christian.
Many Christians online today are not acting very Christian (and too many of us aren't acting very Christian even when we're not online).
That seems like a fact to me, but I have to pause and ask myself, "Are those my observations or my judgments?"
One of my yoga teachers has me thinking deeply about this lately. When I am struggling to stretch and lengthen my muscles, and she senses that I am frustrated, she calmly says to me, “Observe without judgment, Ginger. Notice how far you can stretch, but don’t judge how far you can stretch.”
Observe without judgment.
I have become very aware that this applies to many more things in my life than just yoga. See if this resonates with you: I observe something or someone…and an editorial begins in my brain about what that means, how I compare, who is right, who is wrong, am I doing enough, did they take the right approach, what are they wearing, why did he say that, why did she change her hair, I could do a better job, I could never be that talented, that kid is going to be trouble, am I doing things right, am I doing the right things…
Do a quick inventory of your own life and see where you move right past observation into judgment. It is tricky to notice because we are deeply programmed to have an opinion and jump to judgment.
I have realized I need a judgment detox. I think our nation could use a judgment detox about now, too! Any social media feed provides evidence for that! Organized religions are some of the worst institutions in need of a judgment detox. But, there I go judging again!
What if we just stop at observing?
A few things could happen. We could free ourselves of the trap of comparison and self-criticism. We could leave the judging to God, who ‘doesn’t show favoritism,’ as the Scripture tells us. We would inevitably act ‘more consistently with the truth,’ as the Scripture tells us. And we could actually be on our way to the peace we so desperately long for.
Our prayer could be, "God, help me observe this without judgment.”
Judging an “other" is automatically separating ourselves from an other. Separation from an other is separation from God. And separation from God is the root of all evil. Judging is our dark side. Let’s bring it into the light.
Unconditional love means that you can’t do anything to lose God’s love, and you can’t do anything to earn more of God’s love. God’s love is without judgment. If you don’t like what other Christians are doing, make sure the world sees a different Christian in you. Speak up, yes, but do so in love and non-judgment of others.
Observe without judgment.
Dear God, allow my love for others to be without judgment. Guide me to release my position of arrogance and feel only love as I observe the decisions of those around me. Help me show others compassion and myself compassion as I observe without judgment. Amen.
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"Peter’s testimony: a key to fully accepting Gentiles"
Saturday, 30 September 2017
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., 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.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 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.”
-------
Was circumcision required for Gentile men to be truly Christian? That issue kept causing conflict in the early Christian community. When church leaders met in Jerusalem, Peter was a strong voice. He drew on his experience of preaching to Romans to point out that God “made no distinction between us and them.” His testimony was a major factor in the decision James made to welcome Gentiles without heavy behavioral requirements (cf. Acts 15:13-14). This was Peter’s last appearance in the historical narrative in Acts. Christian tradition says he eventually died as martyr for Christ. In a letter he wrote, we find the spirit in which he ministered, and probably faced the end of his life (cf. 1 Peter 5:6-11).
• The big issue at the Jerusalem Council is not a big issue among Christians today. (No one demands enforcing circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) As we face our issues, we can learn from the fact that the Council chose to respect the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s activity, and not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17:10-14. And we can learn from the example of Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” who met at the Jerusalem Council. They disagreed about circumcision, but agreed on more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. What can you learn from Peter’s deep trust in Jesus’ grace, and his determination to share it with anyone who would listen to him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get 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.
Family Activity: No one is perfect, but we can all use our God-given gifts and abilities to serve those within and outside of the home. Use construction paper and crayons to draw pictures of your home, your neighborhood and the world. On the pictures, write or draw the gifts of each person in the places where they might be best put to work. Also, write or draw about ways each person’s gifts can be used to serve others in those places. Display your family’s pictures as reminder to serve and care for those who are in your home, neighborhood and world. Thank God for giving these gifts to you and pray that despite your imperfections, God will use you and your family to share His love with the world.
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-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joy Hilliard Donoho and family on the death of her dear friend Neil Parrett, 9/18
•Angela Nelson and family on the death of her mother Erma Milton, 9/17
•Crystal Sixbury and family on the death of her father William Ray “Bill” Trueblood, 9/17
•Randy Wood and family on the death of his father John Wood, 9/17
•Doug and Dee Dickey and family on the death of their sister-in-law Ann Forest Dickey, 9/13
•Steve and Donna Leeder and family on the death of their daughter Laura Leeder Uriell, 9/12
•Katie Finkle and family on the death of her father Rex M. Whitton, Jr., 9/6
•Samantha Birdsong and Adam Hotujac and family on the death of their infant son Jaxton Hotujac, 8/25
• Marienne Brown and family on the death of her mother Jeanne Galamba, 8/7
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"Paul challenged Peter’s surrender to peer pressure"
Friday, 29 September 2017
Galatians 2:6 Moreover, those who were the acknowledged leaders — what they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by outward appearances — these leaders added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the Uncircumcised, just as Kefa had been for the Circumcised; 8 since the One working in Kefa to make him an emissary to the Circumcised had worked in me to make me an emissary to the Gentiles. 9 So, having perceived what grace had been given to me, Ya‘akov, Kefa and Yochanan, the acknowledged pillars of the community, extended to me and Bar-Nabba the right hand of fellowship; so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the Circumcised. 10 Their only request was that we should remember the poor — which very thing I have spared no pains to do.
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]
-------
Peter never became a superhuman figure. He was not immune to peer pressure. The episode about which Paul wrote in this letter likely happened after Peter met Cornelius. Yet, under pressure from more conservative Jewish Christians, he pulled back from eating with Gentile Christians. That deeply upset Paul. All Christians were Christians due to Christ’s grace; there was no room for treating any Christian as a second-class citizen in Christ’s kingdom.
• Paul wrote that Peter “began to back out and separate himself, because he was afraid of the people who promoted circumcision.” Peter was willing to hurt Gentile believers to avoid censure from the stricter Jerusalem believers. Have you ever faced disapproval from some Christians because you wished to support and befriend other, different Christians? Did you have more courage than Peter, or not? Would you today?
Ø Paul believed Jesus had given him a life mission to lead Gentiles to faith in Jesus. If “first class” Jewish Christians avoided “second-class” Gentile Christians, then Gentiles weren’t really welcome in God’s family at all. Paul said that couldn’t be right because “no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law,” by externals. Which good behaviors 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 them force you to shut out people they thought unworthy. Give me that kind of warm-hearted determination, too. Amen.
-------
Ginger RothhaasGinger is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology. She and her husband Rob have a son, a daughter, and a high energy dog. She loves writing, conversations over coffee, and teaching spiritual classes.
Many Christians in the ancient world did not act very Christian.
Many Christians online today are not acting very Christian (and too many of us aren't acting very Christian even when we're not online).
That seems like a fact to me, but I have to pause and ask myself, "Are those my observations or my judgments?"
One of my yoga teachers has me thinking deeply about this lately. When I am struggling to stretch and lengthen my muscles, and she senses that I am frustrated, she calmly says to me, “Observe without judgment, Ginger. Notice how far you can stretch, but don’t judge how far you can stretch.”
Observe without judgment.
I have become very aware that this applies to many more things in my life than just yoga. See if this resonates with you: I observe something or someone…and an editorial begins in my brain about what that means, how I compare, who is right, who is wrong, am I doing enough, did they take the right approach, what are they wearing, why did he say that, why did she change her hair, I could do a better job, I could never be that talented, that kid is going to be trouble, am I doing things right, am I doing the right things…
Do a quick inventory of your own life and see where you move right past observation into judgment. It is tricky to notice because we are deeply programmed to have an opinion and jump to judgment.
I have realized I need a judgment detox. I think our nation could use a judgment detox about now, too! Any social media feed provides evidence for that! Organized religions are some of the worst institutions in need of a judgment detox. But, there I go judging again!
What if we just stop at observing?
A few things could happen. We could free ourselves of the trap of comparison and self-criticism. We could leave the judging to God, who ‘doesn’t show favoritism,’ as the Scripture tells us. We would inevitably act ‘more consistently with the truth,’ as the Scripture tells us. And we could actually be on our way to the peace we so desperately long for.
Our prayer could be, "God, help me observe this without judgment.”
Judging an “other" is automatically separating ourselves from an other. Separation from an other is separation from God. And separation from God is the root of all evil. Judging is our dark side. Let’s bring it into the light.
Unconditional love means that you can’t do anything to lose God’s love, and you can’t do anything to earn more of God’s love. God’s love is without judgment. If you don’t like what other Christians are doing, make sure the world sees a different Christian in you. Speak up, yes, but do so in love and non-judgment of others.
Observe without judgment.
Dear God, allow my love for others to be without judgment. Guide me to release my position of arrogance and feel only love as I observe the decisions of those around me. Help me show others compassion and myself compassion as I observe without judgment. Amen.
-------
"Peter’s testimony: a key to fully accepting Gentiles"
Saturday, 30 September 2017
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., 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.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 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.”
-------
Was circumcision required for Gentile men to be truly Christian? That issue kept causing conflict in the early Christian community. When church leaders met in Jerusalem, Peter was a strong voice. He drew on his experience of preaching to Romans to point out that God “made no distinction between us and them.” His testimony was a major factor in the decision James made to welcome Gentiles without heavy behavioral requirements (cf. Acts 15:13-14). This was Peter’s last appearance in the historical narrative in Acts. Christian tradition says he eventually died as martyr for Christ. In a letter he wrote, we find the spirit in which he ministered, and probably faced the end of his life (cf. 1 Peter 5:6-11).
• The big issue at the Jerusalem Council is not a big issue among Christians today. (No one demands enforcing circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) As we face our issues, we can learn from the fact that the Council chose to respect the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s activity, and not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17:10-14. And we can learn from the example of Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” who met at the Jerusalem Council. They disagreed about circumcision, but agreed on more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. What can you learn from Peter’s deep trust in Jesus’ grace, and his determination to share it with anyone who would listen to him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get 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.
Family Activity: No one is perfect, but we can all use our God-given gifts and abilities to serve those within and outside of the home. Use construction paper and crayons to draw pictures of your home, your neighborhood and the world. On the pictures, write or draw the gifts of each person in the places where they might be best put to work. Also, write or draw about ways each person’s gifts can be used to serve others in those places. Display your family’s pictures as reminder to serve and care for those who are in your home, neighborhood and world. Thank God for giving these gifts to you and pray that despite your imperfections, God will use you and your family to share His love with the world.
-------
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joy Hilliard Donoho and family on the death of her dear friend Neil Parrett, 9/18
•Angela Nelson and family on the death of her mother Erma Milton, 9/17
•Crystal Sixbury and family on the death of her father William Ray “Bill” Trueblood, 9/17
•Randy Wood and family on the death of his father John Wood, 9/17
•Doug and Dee Dickey and family on the death of their sister-in-law Ann Forest Dickey, 9/13
•Steve and Donna Leeder and family on the death of their daughter Laura Leeder Uriell, 9/12
•Katie Finkle and family on the death of her father Rex M. Whitton, Jr., 9/6
•Samantha Birdsong and Adam Hotujac and family on the death of their infant son Jaxton Hotujac, 8/25
• Marienne Brown and family on the death of her mother Jeanne Galamba, 8/7
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©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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©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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