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Daily Scripture
Luke 22:14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, 15 and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
19 Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.” 20 He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.
Prayer TipMatthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
In 1990, I was thirteen and my parents had just moved us to Lawrence, KS. Every morning my mom would drive us in her minivan to school and we would pass a house that had a two-foot stone goose on the doorstep. The owner would dress the goose up in different outfits. On rainy days, it had a yellow plastic hat and a plastic rain jacket. In the winter, the goose would be wearing different coats.
My mom loved driving past this person’s house to see what the goose would be wearing. She and my sister got such delight out of it. I would roll my eyes and try to pretend I was too cool to care but secretly I enjoyed it too. That was 26 years ago and I still remember the goose.
That homeowner has no idea who I am or that I remember that house. She (or he) impacted my family daily, and we never knew their name. They will never know that we received so much joy from them. We are called to shine our lights bright. Sometimes we shine and shine and feel that nobody sees our light, but we don’t always get to know who is benefiting from it.
This week I encourage you to let your light shine bright. Put some joy into the world. Be silly, be kind, be encouraging. You never know who you might impact.
Dear Jesus,
This week has been dark and scary. We have been impacted by evil acts that make us want to retreat and hide. This is when we need to let our lights shine even brighter. Help us bring your light to this dark world.
Amen. (Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries)
Read today's Insight by Ashly CooleyAshly supports the Congregational Care ministry at Resurrection Leawood. She works primarily with our Counseling and Support ministries.
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
"Ordinary – Experiencing God in the Day-to-Day 'quo·tid·i·an: of or occurring everyday: daily'”
Scripture: Luke 22:14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, 15 and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
19 Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.” 20 He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.
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"The importance of 'today'”
Monday, 9 October 2017
Hebrews 3:6 But the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house. And we are that house of his, provided we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for.
7 Therefore, as the Ruach HaKodesh says,
“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
8 don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel
on that day in the Wilderness when you put God to the test.
9 Yes, your fathers put me to the test;
they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years!
10 Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation —
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
they have not understood how I do things’;
11 in my anger, I swore
that they would not enter my rest.”[Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7–11]
12 Watch out, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God! 13 Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. 14 For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached.
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This passage requires us to recall (or learn) some Bible history. The writer quoted Psalm 95:7-11. That Psalm, in turn, looked back to Numbers 13:1-14:24, when Israel refused to trust God on the borders of the Promised Land, and thereby missed their chance to live in the land of promise. The word “today” gripped the writer’s heart. He wrote with a sense of urgency. God is in the present, not someday. A whole generation of Israelites missed their “today.” His appeal was, don’t make the same mistake—encourage each other every day.
• In the film Field of Dreams, Doc Graham recalled his one major-league game (he never got to bat) and said, “Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that was the only day.” He went on, “We just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening.” What “ordinary” things are happening in your life today to which tomorrow you may wish you’d paid more attention? Whose values are you using to discern which of today’s moments are most significant?
• In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis observed that “the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.” * The past is gone, and we can no longer alter it; the future is unknown, and one moment can shatter our illusions of controlling it. How often, because “today” seems ordinary, do you find yourself spending energy regretting or missing the past? How much of your time and energy goes to imagining what the future might be like, for good or ill? What helps you to live mainly “today,” not in the past or the future?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of this day. Walk through this day with me, keeping me alert and attuned to what you are doing in my life right now. Amen.
To better understand the Bible’s teaching about living in the present, and to learn helpful exercises to strengthen that capacity, see Amy G. Oden, Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness (Abingdon, 2017). * Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters: Annotated Edition (Kindle Locations 1101-1102). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
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"A community of 'everyday people'”
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
1 Corinthians 1:25 For God’s “nonsense” is wiser than humanity’s “wisdom.”
And God’s “weakness” is stronger than humanity’s “strength.” 26 Just look at yourselves, brothers — look at those whom God has called! Not many of you are wise by the world’s standards, not many wield power or boast noble birth. 27 But God chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise; God chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the strong; 28 and God chose what the world looks down on as common or regards as nothing in order to bring to nothing what the world considers important; 29 so that no one should boast before God. 30 It is his doing that you are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He has become wisdom for us from God, and righteousness and holiness and redemption as well!
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We usually hear more about the verses that precede these (1 Corinthians 1:18-24). Many of us have family members or friends who consider the idea of a crucified Lord who rose from the dead just too much to believe. But then the apostle went on to say God not only presented a “foolish” sounding message. God also shared that message through “ordinary” people. That part of the message may have been harder on the Corinthians’ pride (and ours).
• Due to Paul’s training as a rabbi (cf. Acts 22:3), he must have known Deuteronomy 7:7-9. God told Israel that he chose them out of divine love, not due to any supposed human superiority. How did Paul’s humbling words to the Corinthians echo the Deuteronomy passage? In what way(s) is it a compliment, not a putdown, that God calls ordinary people, not just people who are “stars”?
• Some of Paul’s converts were, in fact, important and skilled. Erastus was a city treasurer (cf. Romans 16:23), and Lydia a dealer in high-end purple (the royal color) fabric (Acts 16:14). Paul himself, as noted above, was a graduate of his day’s top rabbinic “seminary.” What was his point in stressing, not those human credentials, but God’s choice of “what the world considers foolish…weak” (see verse 29)? How easy or hard is it for you to accept that, no matter your human credentials or accomplishments, you are one of the “ordinary” people through whom God works?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, ruler of the universe, you chose to walk this earth as an “ordinary” small-town rabbi. Tame my ego, and make me glad to be one of your “ordinary” people. Amen.
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"Jesus’ presence: with us every day"
Wednesday, 11 October 2017
Matthew 28:16 So the eleven talmidim went to the hill in the Galil where Yeshua had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but some hesitated. 18 Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”
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When his disciples watched Jesus die on the cross, they feared they had lost his presence forever. Matthew’s gospel condensed all Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances into this one passage. But in it, he made the vital promise that “I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age” (verse 20). John’s gospel expanded on that—Jesus said the Holy Spirit was his presence with them (cf. John 14:16-18). The Holy Spirit, Jesus’ personal presence with each of us not just sometimes but every day, is a beautiful, supportive gift!
• Scholar William Barclay wrote, “They were sent out—as we are—on the greatest task in history, but with them there was the greatest presence in the world.” * What helps you to remember, and live into, Jesus’ promise that “I myself will be with you every day”? How can Jesus’ presence help you to love those in your circle of influence naturally and winningly?
• Scholar N. T. Wright said, “It is basic to the most elementary New Testament faith that Jesus is already ruling the whole world…. The claim is not that the world is already fully as Jesus intends it to be…but that he is working to take it from where it was—under the rule not only of death but of corruption, greed and every kind of evil—and to bring it, by slow means and quick, under the rule of his life-giving love. And how is he doing this? Here is the shock: through us, his followers.” ** How, on your most ordinary days, can you join in bringing the world under Jesus’ rule? How does his promise to always be with you make you brave?
Prayer: Lord God, right now, as I pray this prayer, you are with me. Thank you—and tune my heart and mind to more clearly sense your presence to guide, comfort and strengthen me. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Matthew—Volume 2 Chapters 11–28 (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 378. ** N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16–28. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 207.
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"Our response: 'I will bless you every day'”
Thursday, 12 October 2017
Psalm 145:1 (0) Praise. By David:
(1) I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond all searching out.
4 Each generation will praise your works to the next
and proclaim your mighty acts.
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Most of us have days when gratitude and praise come hard, when we “just don’t feel like giving thanks,” don’t we? This psalm expressed gratitude and praise as a matter of choice, not of how that day felt: “I will bless you every day.” The commitment to daily praise was based on a purposeful focus on praising God’s mighty works. That was important to transmit to the next generation.
• If you don’t already have one, take steps to establish a daily habit of praising and blessing God. Examine the tools you already use to remind you of appointments and commitments, as well as your life rhythms. Create a “praise God every day” reminder in whatever tool works best for you. Depending on your patterns, you might want to include time to praise and bless God when you awake, on your commute to or from work or school, during your lunch hour or as you go to bed.
• We often gain insights by re-writing a psalm into language that fits today’s world. Read all of Psalm 145 (it’s only 21 verses). Use your imagination, and rewrite this psalm into an advertisement or brochure that lays out reasons for serving God. Humor is fine, but do not make the exercise a joke. Ask God to guide your thoughts as you creatively praise your maker.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s Thursday, not Sunday. Help me to praise and bless you today, to start or continue doing that every day, and not just when I go to church. Amen.
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"Sharing about Jesus every day"
Friday, 13 October 2017
Acts 5:40 After summoning the emissaries and flogging them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Yeshua, and let them go. 41 The emissaries left the Sanhedrin overjoyed at having been considered worthy of suffering disgrace on account of him. 42 And not for a single day, either in the Temple court or in private homes, did they stop teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Yeshua is the Messiah., 16:4 As they went on through the towns, they delivered to the people the decisions reached by the emissaries and the elders in Yerushalayim for them to observe. 5 Accordingly, the congregations were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.
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It was remarkable that the apostles, after a beating, “left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name.” But in some ways, what followed was even more remarkable: “Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news.” Acts 16:5 also made the point that sharing the good news of Jesus was an everyday occurrence for the early Christians.
• When was the last time you told another person about a new restaurant, an entertaining movie, a helpful cleaning service, an impressive car you test drove or bought or (if you’re a parent) something great your kids did? Does sharing that kind of news on an everyday basis feel more natural and acceptable than sharing about what Jesus means in your life? If so, what might change that?
• “Public beatings were meant to shame…those so beaten. The person would be stripped and given a maximum of 39 lashes in a public place.” * In the U.S.A. today, we never see formal public beatings like the apostles suffered. In what ways do people at times face shaming for their sharing of Jesus? Have you ever faced treatment meant to shame you? Can you join the apostles in continuing to share every day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, one sign of this world’s brokenness is the way that some people try, every day, to shame your followers. Give me the apostles’ courage and trust in you if I face that kind of behavior. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 248207-248208). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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“The person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day”
Saturday, 14 October 2017
2 Corinthians 4:16 This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. 17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.
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The apostle Paul knew firsthand about “the worst” in our world. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 he listed many difficulties he had faced. Those hardships took enough of a physical toll that the apostle said, “We always carry Jesus’ death around in our bodies so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:10). The apostle could have found reasons to think about giving up a life of serving Christ by counting his scars. Instead, he spoke of a daily reality that kept him going: “the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day.” Every ordinary day walking down a road, making tents or working with leather (cf. Acts 18:3), riding on a ship, or sitting in a prison cell, his connection with God kept Paul’s spirits renewed and encouraged.
• Scholar William Barclay wrote, “From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the presence of God.” * How much daily focus do you give to maintaining your physical well-being? How much to nurturing your connection with God? What changes, if any, can you make to ensure that the person you are on the inside is being renewed every day?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I want strong muscles, and good lab results when I get checkups. Help me to desire with even greater eagerness a strong connection with you, one that renews me every day. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Corinthians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 201.
Family Activity: Even religious families who believe in God often find themselves in their daily routines placing other things above God. As a family, review your calendar and budget. Examine how your family spends its time and money. Ask, “How well do our budget and schedules reflect that we worship God?” Discuss what changes you can make to live more God-centered lives every day. Create a “God is #1” poster or collage and include pictures and words reminding you to place God first. Spend time in prayer as a family, asking God to help you release that which holds you back from truly placing God first in your lives, not just on Sunday but every day.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Steve Williams and family on the death of his wife Anne Williams, 10/3
•Debi Nixon and family on the death of her aunt Anne Williams, 10/3
• Larry Pandjaris and family on the death of his wife Cheryl Pandjaris, 10/1
•Connie Roberts and family on the death of her sister Cheryl Pandjaris, 10/1
•Brian and Scott Setley and families on the death of their mother Judy Setley, 10/1
• John and Susan Casaert and family on the death of their daughter Laura Casaert, 9/30
• Jerry Sommerville and family on the death of his wife Kim Sommerville, 9/27
•Sean McDowell and family on the death of his father David McDowell, 9/27
•Valerie Davis and family on the death of her mother Barbara J. Brown, 9/26
•Steve DeZeeuw and family on the death of his mother Ella DeZeeuw, 9/17
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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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