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Prayer Tip: A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Scripture: Psalm 46:1 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
12 (11) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. 17 For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from beginning to end it is through trust — as the Tanakh puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”[Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4]
Prayer Tip:
Ashly CooleyAshly supports the Congregational Care ministry at Resurrection Leawood. She works primarily with our Counseling and Support ministries.
Luke 8:17 says, "For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all."
In recent weeks, we have watched as many news stories have reported about people in high positions fired over alleged sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein was fired and Roy Price resigned from Amazon after he was placed on leave for harassment. Celebrity chef Jeff Besh stepped down from management of a restaurant group after 25 different women said they were victims of sexual harassment by male co-workers and bosses. This kind of behavior is unfortunately not new, but what they thought was being done in secret is now coming to light and it is bringing natural consequences.
What is also coming to light is millions of women who are stepping out with a Facebook or Twitter post using "#metoo." Every woman who has be sexually harassed or assaulted has been encouraged to update their status with #metoo and it has become a powerful way for people to share their hurts and speak up. It has given a voice to a cause that too many have tried to keep quiet. I read in wonder as many women I knew shared their stories openly. It made my heart swell with pride at their resilience and bravery in sharing their experience and break knowing they had been hurt.
The light has power. The light can bring healing and growth. Let’s pray more light is brought to issues of social injustice so we can shine light on them and bring healing to the world.
Dear Lord,
I pray you would empower us to use our gifts that you have given to help make our community look more like your kingdom. A place where all your children are seen as valuable, fearfully and wonderfully made. Please make my voice strong and steady as I speak up where I see injustices. Amen. (Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries)
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Sunday, October 29, 2017
Reformation – 500 Years and Counting “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Scripture: Psalm 46:1 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
12 (11) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. 17 For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from beginning to end it is through trust — as the Tanakh puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”[Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4]
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Questions in this GPS marked with an arrow 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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“No one will be made righteous by the works of the Law”
Monday, 30 October 2017
Galatians 2:15 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]
17 But if, in seeking to be declared righteous by God through our union with the Messiah, we ourselves are indeed found to be sinners, then is the Messiah an aider and abettor of sin? Heaven forbid! 18 Indeed, if I build up again the legalistic bondage which I destroyed, I really do make myself a transgressor. 19 For it was through letting the Torah speak for itself that I died to its traditional legalistic misinterpretation, so that I might live in direct relationship with God. 20 When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who loved me and gave himself up for me. 21 I do not reject God’s gracious gift; for if the way in which one attains righteousness is through legalism, then the Messiah’s death was pointless.
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Martin Luther was a true son of the medieval church. He tried his very best to live out its directions for finding peace with God. But in the Bible, he found a very different message about salvation. “Luther then unearthed a third great problem with [the medieval system of] penance…it made Christ superfluous….the apostle Paul put
it succinctly: ‘If justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing’ (Galatians 2:21). You cannot have it both ways—the law [human acts like penance] and Christ.” * Luther, like the apostle Paul, found that “trying harder” to earn God’s love doesn’t work.
• When Paul wrote “we KNOW that a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law,” he wasn’t speaking hypothetically. He’d once been sure his own religious credentials were enough to earn God’s favor (cf. Philippians 3:3-7), only to realize even that kind of holiness fell far short. What’s your experience? What has helped you realize your need for God’s redeeming love and grace?
Ø In Galatians, Paul answered people who said Gentile Christians must adopt the Hebrew ritual of circumcision (cf. Galatians 5:2-6). The principle was the same for Luther, though the outward rituals of
holiness were different. Do some external signs of holiness tempt you to rely on them today? How can you practice holiness as an outgrowth of your love relationship with God, not as an effort to earn that love?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I love you. I want to serve you and this world you love. Help me always to let my love and service flow out of my absolute trust in your saving grace. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 80-81.
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“God’s justice” and “God’s righteousness by his grace”
Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Romans 3:5 Now if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what should we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict his anger on us? (I am speaking here the way people commonly do.) 6 Heaven forbid! Else, how could God judge the world?, 19 Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God’s adverse judgment. 20 For in his sight no one alive will be considered righteous[Romans 3:20 Psalm 143:2] on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are.
21 But now, quite apart from Torah, God’s way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear — although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well — 22 and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, 23 since all have sinned and come short of earning God’s praise. 24 By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua. 25 God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God’s righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; 26 and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua’s faithfulness.
27 So what room is left for boasting? None at all! What kind of Torah excludes it? One that has to do with legalistic observance of rules? No, rather, a Torah that has to do with trusting. 28 Therefore, we hold the view that a person comes to be considered righteous by God on the ground of trusting, which has nothing to do with legalistic observance of Torah commands.
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Martin Luther described how understanding Romans 3 re-shaped his spiritual life: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the justice of God,’ because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust…. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith.’ Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through
open doors into paradise.” *
• A historic connection ran from Paul to Luther and on to Methodism’s founder John Wesley. Here’s how Wesley described his discovery of God’s all-embracing grace: “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation.” When did this great truth first warm your heart? Does it still?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you met Paul on the Damascus road and changed his life. Paul’s letter spoke to Luther’s heart. Through Luther, his words changed John Wesley’s life. Today all of them speak to me. Help me to trust your grace and sheer mercy, as they did. Amen.
* Quoted in Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition
by Mentor Books, pp. 49.
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“While we were still sinners Christ died for us”
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Romans 5:1 So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 2 Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God’s glory. 3 But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope; 5 and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. 7 Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.
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The salvation God’s grace offers us brings times of splendid joy and peace. But human feelings are volatile. We do not always feel that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts,” and neither did Martin Luther. “The story of Scripture, Luther began to understand, is not how we make our way up the mountain by getting grace and then topping it off with love and works. Scripture is the story of how God came down to meet us—while we were yet sinners.” * Paul said we’re secure, not because we feel a certain way, but because Jesus
loved us so much that he died for us.
Ø The Christian faith affects our feelings, but it is not mainly about how we feel. The faith’s roots are in a specific historical event—Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Paul said the vital proof of God’s love for us is the fact that Jesus died for us. How solid is your grasp of the “Christ-event,” of the witnesses to the reality of Jesus’ history? In what ways might you deepen your knowledge and understanding of that central set of events?
• Paul twice used a verb that meant “to rejoice, be very happy.” In verse 2, the Common English Bible renders it “we boast in the hope of God’s glory.” In verse 3, we read, “We even take pride in our
problems,” which may be even harder to grasp. Have you ever experienced the progression of trouble, endurance, character, and hope bringing you a powerful sense of God’s love being “poured out” in your heart?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you didn’t just wish me well from a distance. You came to this flawed planet, and lived, died and then lived again to save me. I open my heart again today—pour your love into it. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 62-63.
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“Not ashamed of the gospel”
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. 17 For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from beginning to end it is through trust — as the Tanakh puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”[Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4], 2 Timothy 3:16 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.
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Martin Luther faced a pivotal moment in 1521. In a large assembly, including the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, he had to say if he would recant his books “and the errors they contain.” He answered, “’Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.’ The earliest printed version added the words: ‘Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.’” *
Ø Luther took the Scriptures as his supreme authority. He repeatedly asked his medieval opponents to show him where Scripture said he was wrong. Paul said the Scripture is “useful for teaching, for showing
mistakes, for correcting, and for training character,” that through it “the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” In which of these ways has the Bible had the greatest impact in your life? In what ways do you want to apply your Bible reading more fully?
• Like Jesus and the first Christians, Luther faced eminent political and religious figures who said their way of doing things was right—because it was the way they did things. Just prior to Luther’s emphatic “I cannot recant” answer in 1521, a church spokesman said, “Your plea to be heard from Scripture is the one
always made by heretics.” ** But Luther didn’t flinch in the face of the name-calling. What does it take for you to be unashamed of Jesus and the Scriptures that teach you about him in the world of 2017?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want others to like me, to approve of me. Sometimes that’s good; sometimes that leads me away from your path. Teach me how to be unashamed of my faith. Amen.
* Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 144.
** Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 143.
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“You are being made into a holy priesthood”
Friday, 3 November 2017
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah. 6 This is why the Tanakh says,
“Look! I am laying in Tziyon a stone,
a chosen and precious cornerstone;
and whoever rests his trust on it
will certainly not be humiliated.”[1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16]
7 Now to you who keep trusting, he is precious. But to those who are not trusting,
“The very stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone”;[1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22]
8 also he is
a stone that will make people stumble,
a rock over which they will trip.[1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14]
They are stumbling at the Word, disobeying it — as had been planned. 9 But you are a chosen people,[1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; 10:15] the King’s cohanim,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6] a holy nation,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6] a people for God to possess![1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:21; Exodus 19:5] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[1 Peter 2:10 Hosea 2:25(23)]
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The medieval church said priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and popes were inherently superior, spiritually and legally, to everyone else. Based on the Bible’s teaching, Luther strongly disagreed. “God gave the ‘precious keys’ for heaven itself, which was first received in baptism, to all believers….Luther then referred to such forgiven sinners as ‘the priesthood of all believers,’ a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5) that was not
reserved for a special class of people sacramentally ordained.” *
Ø Peter drew from Exodus 19:5-6 (Israelite people were a “holy priesthood”) and Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 (Israelites freed from exile were God’s people, though for a time they hadn’t been). Have you ever thought of yourself as a member of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession”? How can that rewrite your sense of mission and purpose in life?
• One of Luther’s projects that re-shaped the world was translating the Bible into German. Since God called all Christians to be priests, he believed they should be able to read the Bible for themselves. Today there is a wide range of English translations of the Bible, and we can access them through tools like www.biblegateway.com. Yet we often don’t read our Bibles much. That’s why Resurrection offers classes like “Meet Your Bible” and Disciple Bible study, as well as a series of studies called Tuesday Bible Study. How will you deepen your understanding and application of the Bible in your own life?
Prayer: Lord God, you give me a high and holy calling, and you make the Bible’s writings readily available to guide me in living out that calling. I’m no Luther, but give me his devotion and willingness to learn from you. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 163.
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“The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!”
Saturday, 4 November 2017
Psalm 46:1 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
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All through his life, Luther battled against awful low points. “The content of the depressions was always the same, the loss of faith that God is good and that he is good to me….Always and above all else, the one great objective aid for Luther was the Scriptures ….[He wrote,] ’The true Christian pilgrimage is not to Rome or
Compostela, but to the prophets, the Psalms and the Gospels.’” * In his later years, he wrote one anti-Semitic pamphlet that even admiring biographer Roland Bainton called a “vulgar blast,” adding that “one could wish that Luther had died before ever this tract was written.” ** Yet this flawed but faithful servant, like the apostle
Peter we studied in August and September, left an overall legacy of faith and fortitude that continues to challenge and inspire Christ-followers today.
• Luther based one of his greatest, most enduring hymns on Psalm 46. Let the message of his powerful lyrics sink deeply into your heart:
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.” ***
Prayer: Lord God, you are a mighty fortress, one to whom I can turn amid whatever flood of mortal ills I face. Thank you that I can share with Luther the confidence that, in the end, you must win the battle. Amen.
* Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 282-283, 288.
** Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 297.
*** Two stanzas of the hymn in the familiar English translation by Frederick Hedge. For all four stanzas, and an alternate
English version, click here.
Family Activity: For us 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 passages 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 a Bible story or to help other family members. Keep adding to your family’s stack throughout the year and see how many portions of the Bible you can memorize!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• LaRue Wyatt and family on the death of her husband Don E. Wyatt, 10/24
• Clara Clark and family on the death of her husband Edward F. “Ed” Clark, 10/23
• Carrie Soper and family on the death of her husband Kurt Brannon Soper, 10/22
• Cricket Culp and family on the death of her husband Dean Culp, 10/22
• Family and friends of Delores Jean “Jeanie” Scott on her death, 10/22
• Sue Babson and family on the death of her mother Eleanor Dye, 10/21
• Michelle Hodge and family on the death of her mother Elaine Smith, 10/20
• Paula Slifer and family on the death of her father Paul Allan Cole, 10/20
• Glynn and Nancy Brown and family on the death of their daughter Lia Brown, 10/19
• Sherri Comfort and family on the death of her father Kenneth E. “Ken” Bowers, 10/17
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Reformation – 500 Years and Counting “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Scripture: Psalm 46:1 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
12 (11) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. 17 For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from beginning to end it is through trust — as the Tanakh puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”[Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4]
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Questions in this GPS marked with an arrow 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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“No one will be made righteous by the works of the Law”
Monday, 30 October 2017
Galatians 2:15 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]
17 But if, in seeking to be declared righteous by God through our union with the Messiah, we ourselves are indeed found to be sinners, then is the Messiah an aider and abettor of sin? Heaven forbid! 18 Indeed, if I build up again the legalistic bondage which I destroyed, I really do make myself a transgressor. 19 For it was through letting the Torah speak for itself that I died to its traditional legalistic misinterpretation, so that I might live in direct relationship with God. 20 When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who loved me and gave himself up for me. 21 I do not reject God’s gracious gift; for if the way in which one attains righteousness is through legalism, then the Messiah’s death was pointless.
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Martin Luther was a true son of the medieval church. He tried his very best to live out its directions for finding peace with God. But in the Bible, he found a very different message about salvation. “Luther then unearthed a third great problem with [the medieval system of] penance…it made Christ superfluous….the apostle Paul put
it succinctly: ‘If justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing’ (Galatians 2:21). You cannot have it both ways—the law [human acts like penance] and Christ.” * Luther, like the apostle Paul, found that “trying harder” to earn God’s love doesn’t work.
• When Paul wrote “we KNOW that a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law,” he wasn’t speaking hypothetically. He’d once been sure his own religious credentials were enough to earn God’s favor (cf. Philippians 3:3-7), only to realize even that kind of holiness fell far short. What’s your experience? What has helped you realize your need for God’s redeeming love and grace?
Ø In Galatians, Paul answered people who said Gentile Christians must adopt the Hebrew ritual of circumcision (cf. Galatians 5:2-6). The principle was the same for Luther, though the outward rituals of
holiness were different. Do some external signs of holiness tempt you to rely on them today? How can you practice holiness as an outgrowth of your love relationship with God, not as an effort to earn that love?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I love you. I want to serve you and this world you love. Help me always to let my love and service flow out of my absolute trust in your saving grace. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 80-81.
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“God’s justice” and “God’s righteousness by his grace”
Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Romans 3:5 Now if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what should we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict his anger on us? (I am speaking here the way people commonly do.) 6 Heaven forbid! Else, how could God judge the world?, 19 Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God’s adverse judgment. 20 For in his sight no one alive will be considered righteous[Romans 3:20 Psalm 143:2] on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are.
21 But now, quite apart from Torah, God’s way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear — although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well — 22 and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, 23 since all have sinned and come short of earning God’s praise. 24 By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua. 25 God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God’s righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; 26 and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua’s faithfulness.
27 So what room is left for boasting? None at all! What kind of Torah excludes it? One that has to do with legalistic observance of rules? No, rather, a Torah that has to do with trusting. 28 Therefore, we hold the view that a person comes to be considered righteous by God on the ground of trusting, which has nothing to do with legalistic observance of Torah commands.
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Martin Luther described how understanding Romans 3 re-shaped his spiritual life: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the justice of God,’ because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust…. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith.’ Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through
open doors into paradise.” *
• A historic connection ran from Paul to Luther and on to Methodism’s founder John Wesley. Here’s how Wesley described his discovery of God’s all-embracing grace: “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation.” When did this great truth first warm your heart? Does it still?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you met Paul on the Damascus road and changed his life. Paul’s letter spoke to Luther’s heart. Through Luther, his words changed John Wesley’s life. Today all of them speak to me. Help me to trust your grace and sheer mercy, as they did. Amen.
* Quoted in Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition
by Mentor Books, pp. 49.
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“While we were still sinners Christ died for us”
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Romans 5:1 So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 2 Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God’s glory. 3 But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope; 5 and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. 7 Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.
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The salvation God’s grace offers us brings times of splendid joy and peace. But human feelings are volatile. We do not always feel that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts,” and neither did Martin Luther. “The story of Scripture, Luther began to understand, is not how we make our way up the mountain by getting grace and then topping it off with love and works. Scripture is the story of how God came down to meet us—while we were yet sinners.” * Paul said we’re secure, not because we feel a certain way, but because Jesus
loved us so much that he died for us.
Ø The Christian faith affects our feelings, but it is not mainly about how we feel. The faith’s roots are in a specific historical event—Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Paul said the vital proof of God’s love for us is the fact that Jesus died for us. How solid is your grasp of the “Christ-event,” of the witnesses to the reality of Jesus’ history? In what ways might you deepen your knowledge and understanding of that central set of events?
• Paul twice used a verb that meant “to rejoice, be very happy.” In verse 2, the Common English Bible renders it “we boast in the hope of God’s glory.” In verse 3, we read, “We even take pride in our
problems,” which may be even harder to grasp. Have you ever experienced the progression of trouble, endurance, character, and hope bringing you a powerful sense of God’s love being “poured out” in your heart?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you didn’t just wish me well from a distance. You came to this flawed planet, and lived, died and then lived again to save me. I open my heart again today—pour your love into it. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 62-63.
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“Not ashamed of the gospel”
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. 17 For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his sight; and from beginning to end it is through trust — as the Tanakh puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”[Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4], 2 Timothy 3:16 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.
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Martin Luther faced a pivotal moment in 1521. In a large assembly, including the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, he had to say if he would recant his books “and the errors they contain.” He answered, “’Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.’ The earliest printed version added the words: ‘Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.’” *
Ø Luther took the Scriptures as his supreme authority. He repeatedly asked his medieval opponents to show him where Scripture said he was wrong. Paul said the Scripture is “useful for teaching, for showing
mistakes, for correcting, and for training character,” that through it “the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” In which of these ways has the Bible had the greatest impact in your life? In what ways do you want to apply your Bible reading more fully?
• Like Jesus and the first Christians, Luther faced eminent political and religious figures who said their way of doing things was right—because it was the way they did things. Just prior to Luther’s emphatic “I cannot recant” answer in 1521, a church spokesman said, “Your plea to be heard from Scripture is the one
always made by heretics.” ** But Luther didn’t flinch in the face of the name-calling. What does it take for you to be unashamed of Jesus and the Scriptures that teach you about him in the world of 2017?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want others to like me, to approve of me. Sometimes that’s good; sometimes that leads me away from your path. Teach me how to be unashamed of my faith. Amen.
* Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 144.
** Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 143.
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“You are being made into a holy priesthood”
Friday, 3 November 2017
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah. 6 This is why the Tanakh says,
“Look! I am laying in Tziyon a stone,
a chosen and precious cornerstone;
and whoever rests his trust on it
will certainly not be humiliated.”[1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16]
7 Now to you who keep trusting, he is precious. But to those who are not trusting,
“The very stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone”;[1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22]
8 also he is
a stone that will make people stumble,
a rock over which they will trip.[1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14]
They are stumbling at the Word, disobeying it — as had been planned. 9 But you are a chosen people,[1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; 10:15] the King’s cohanim,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6] a holy nation,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6] a people for God to possess![1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:21; Exodus 19:5] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[1 Peter 2:10 Hosea 2:25(23)]
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The medieval church said priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and popes were inherently superior, spiritually and legally, to everyone else. Based on the Bible’s teaching, Luther strongly disagreed. “God gave the ‘precious keys’ for heaven itself, which was first received in baptism, to all believers….Luther then referred to such forgiven sinners as ‘the priesthood of all believers,’ a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5) that was not
reserved for a special class of people sacramentally ordained.” *
Ø Peter drew from Exodus 19:5-6 (Israelite people were a “holy priesthood”) and Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 (Israelites freed from exile were God’s people, though for a time they hadn’t been). Have you ever thought of yourself as a member of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession”? How can that rewrite your sense of mission and purpose in life?
• One of Luther’s projects that re-shaped the world was translating the Bible into German. Since God called all Christians to be priests, he believed they should be able to read the Bible for themselves. Today there is a wide range of English translations of the Bible, and we can access them through tools like www.biblegateway.com. Yet we often don’t read our Bibles much. That’s why Resurrection offers classes like “Meet Your Bible” and Disciple Bible study, as well as a series of studies called Tuesday Bible Study. How will you deepen your understanding and application of the Bible in your own life?
Prayer: Lord God, you give me a high and holy calling, and you make the Bible’s writings readily available to guide me in living out that calling. I’m no Luther, but give me his devotion and willingness to learn from you. Amen.
* Steven Paulson, Luther for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 163.
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“The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!”
Saturday, 4 November 2017
Psalm 46:1 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
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All through his life, Luther battled against awful low points. “The content of the depressions was always the same, the loss of faith that God is good and that he is good to me….Always and above all else, the one great objective aid for Luther was the Scriptures ….[He wrote,] ’The true Christian pilgrimage is not to Rome or
Compostela, but to the prophets, the Psalms and the Gospels.’” * In his later years, he wrote one anti-Semitic pamphlet that even admiring biographer Roland Bainton called a “vulgar blast,” adding that “one could wish that Luther had died before ever this tract was written.” ** Yet this flawed but faithful servant, like the apostle
Peter we studied in August and September, left an overall legacy of faith and fortitude that continues to challenge and inspire Christ-followers today.
• Luther based one of his greatest, most enduring hymns on Psalm 46. Let the message of his powerful lyrics sink deeply into your heart:
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.” ***
Prayer: Lord God, you are a mighty fortress, one to whom I can turn amid whatever flood of mortal ills I face. Thank you that I can share with Luther the confidence that, in the end, you must win the battle. Amen.
* Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 282-283, 288.
** Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950; paperback edition by Mentor
Books, pp. 297.
*** Two stanzas of the hymn in the familiar English translation by Frederick Hedge. For all four stanzas, and an alternate
English version, click here.
Family Activity: For us 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 passages 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 a Bible story or to help other family members. Keep adding to your family’s stack throughout the year and see how many portions of the Bible you can memorize!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• LaRue Wyatt and family on the death of her husband Don E. Wyatt, 10/24
• Clara Clark and family on the death of her husband Edward F. “Ed” Clark, 10/23
• Carrie Soper and family on the death of her husband Kurt Brannon Soper, 10/22
• Cricket Culp and family on the death of her husband Dean Culp, 10/22
• Family and friends of Delores Jean “Jeanie” Scott on her death, 10/22
• Sue Babson and family on the death of her mother Eleanor Dye, 10/21
• Michelle Hodge and family on the death of her mother Elaine Smith, 10/20
• Paula Slifer and family on the death of her father Paul Allan Cole, 10/20
• Glynn and Nancy Brown and family on the death of their daughter Lia Brown, 10/19
• Sherri Comfort and family on the death of her father Kenneth E. “Ken” Bowers, 10/17
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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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