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Wednesday, 8 November 2017
Philippians 2:1 Therefore, if you have any encouragement for me from your being in union with the Messiah, any comfort flowing from love, any fellowship with me in the Spirit, or any compassion and sympathy, 2 then complete my joy by having a common purpose and a common love, by being one in heart and mind. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves — 4 look out for each other’s interests and not just for your own., 3:3 For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, 4 even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
a. 5 b’rit-milah on the eighth day,
b. by birth belonging to the people of Isra’el,
c. from the tribe of Binyamin,
d. a Hebrew-speaker, with Hebrew-speaking parents,
e. in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
f. 6 in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
g. in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
7 But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. 8 Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah 9 and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust., 4:1 So, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, my dear friends, keep standing firm in union with the Lord.
2 I beg Evodia and I beg Syntyche to agree with each other in union with the Lord.
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Two apparently influential women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, seem to have come into some kind of conflict. The apostle Paul used that as an opportunity to teach the entire church important lessons. In chapter 2 he described the state of mind in which, ideally, all Christians relate to one another. In chapter 3, he told about his own shift from religious arrogance to humble trust in Christ. Only then did he directly appeal to the two feuding women to find common ground “in the Lord.”
Ø The young Pharisee Saul had all the human credentials—“proper” birth, great education, and even persecuting Christians. What family heritages, human accomplishments and credentials are you proudest of? If preserving any of them ever conflicted with heeding God’s call on your life, what would you choose? What basis for self-worth (other than relying on his own accomplishments) did Paul claim? To what extent are you able to find your value where he did?
• Facing death (at the hands of a Roman executioner), Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Does it sound like Paul was sad about “throwing away” his promising career to follow Jesus? In what ways has your commitment to Christ given you the kind of sense of purpose Paul showed?
Prayer: Lord God, I’m no less loved by you than the greatest saint, and no more loved by you than the most miserable sinner. Help that to be more than enough for me, as it was for your servant Paul. Amen.
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Wendy Connelly
Wendy Connelly is wife to Mark, mom to two kids and a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology. She teaches classes at Resurrection Downtown and hosts an interfaith podcast, which you can subscribe to at TheLiftPodcast.org.
The Reformation has been described as a necessary tragedy. Necessary, because the church of 16th century Rome had lost sight of its mission and needed a corrective. Tragic, because of the divisions and wars that followed in its wake. The Greek word for devil—diabolos—means “the divider,” and I can’t help but to imagine he’d be dancing with his proverbial pitchfork at the sight of the divisions lingering among the Body of Christ today.
Christians too often delegitimize other Christians who think differently. We argue over a sprinkle, somersault or dunk (baptism). We condemn and disdain those who interpret the Bible with too lax or too literal a lens. And some of us refuse to break bread with our brothers and sisters over beliefs about the Eucharist, though we proclaim the same Resurrected Christ.
Does this division reflect the God revealed in Jesus?
500 years after the Reformation, I am praying for unity and reconciliation among the Body of Christ. The word “reconciliation” contains “cilia,” eyelash. To be reconciled is to be eyelash-to-eyelash with one another.
Reconciliation does not require that we see alike, think alike, worship alike, or lose the beauty of our diversity.
Reconciliation does, however, require us to love alike. It's to finally gaze at one another, with eyelash-to-eyelash intimacy, and affirm with a “butterfly kiss” of peace: “Ah, yes! I see Christ in you.”
---
"Jesus on the foundation for all true reform"
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Matthew 22:34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[Matthew 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5] 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18] 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
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Scholar William Barclay noted that there were two schools of thought among rabbis. Some believed “there were lighter and weightier matters of the law…great principles which were all important to grasp.” Others “held that every smallest principle was equally binding.” * When asked, Jesus was clear about that—he saw some principles as far more vital than others, central to understanding God’s will. Loving God and loving your neighbor are the greatest
commandments, Jesus said, pivotal expressions of God’s will.
• Christians “get it wrong” when we defend any other idea we see as “truth” in ways that keep us from loving God totally, and our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus clearly taught (as reported in all three Synoptic gospels) that any other truth or orthodoxy has value only as it leads us to more fully love God and neighbor. Have you ever seen “truth” presented in ways that were unloving to neighbors, and ultimately even to God?
Ø Jesus said that everything the Bible teaches, all the truths we know about what God wants, “depend” on the two commands he quoted. How would you explain to someone else what makes these two commands so essential? Can you recall any instance when some belief you held led you to be unloving, maybe even without realizing it at first?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to truly love you with all my heart, all my mind, all my being. And as an outgrowth of that, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself, to live my life in accord with your great commandments. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 294.
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"Humility before God: essential for all lasting reformation"
Friday, 10 November 2017
1 Peter 5:1 Therefore, I urge the congregation leaders among you, as a fellow-leader and witness to the Messiah’s sufferings, as well as a sharer in the glory to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is in your care, exercising oversight not out of constraint, but willingly, as God wants; and not out of a desire for dishonest gain, but with enthusiasm; 3 also not as machers domineering over those in your care, but as people who become examples to the flock. 4 Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive glory as your unfading crown.
5 Likewise, you who are less experienced, submit to leaders. Further, all of you should clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, because
God opposes the arrogant,
but to the humble he gives grace.[1 Peter 5:5 Proverbs 3:34]
6 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the right time he may lift you up.
---
Peter called on early Christian converts (and us) to find the freedom that comes from humility with each other and trust in God. Too often, we’re tempted (like many church reformers at some
point in their life) to link the idea of “reform” with “We have to do everything my way.” But Peter said “no” to that idea. Relate to each other humbly, he wrote, and trust your anxieties to God.
Ø Do you believe it is possible to act with confidence (in a church ministry or reform movement, your work, your family, or just your own life) out of humility rather than pride? What attitudes or actions does it take to make that a reality? How can mutual humility
smooth dealings between followers and leaders, or between people on different sides of a difficult (but not central to the faith) issue?
• James 3:13-15 named “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” as being the reverse of the humility that comes from wisdom. Have you ever seen qualities like bitter jealousy or selfish ambition damage interactions between you and others, especially if you are dealing with a disagreement? How does humility guard your mind and heart from these hurtful ways of thinking?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, maybe I need a new mental “outfit.” Help me every day, in all my contacts, to clothe myself with humility toward the other people with whom I deal. Amen.
---
---
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God"
Saturday, 11 November 2017
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. 5 And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, 6 and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
---
This passage named central truths all Christians hold in common. These are the foundation for God’s new community—a community united, despite its members’ many differences, by their loyalty to the same God. Yet before, during and since the Reformation, Christians have
disagreed (and often divided) for many reasons—from circumcision in New Testament times to the “right” form of baptism or communion in Reformation Europe to slavery in American history and ordaining women among Methodists in the middle of the 20th century. Today, some honest Christians on all sides of the issue argue that the United Methodist church must divide over the issue of same-sex marriage. But, as with all the other issues, we all serve the same God. Many Methodists believe we can disagree on this issue without needing to divide (visit unitingmethodists.com for more information about the “Uniting Methodists” movement).
• Methodism’s founder John Wesley often echoed Ephesians 4. In the introduction to his Notes on the New Testament, he wrote, “Would to God that all the party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms, which have divided the Christian world, were forgot: and that we might all agree to sit down together, as humble, loving disciples, at the feet of our common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe his Spirit, and to transcribe his life in our own!” In his sermon titled “Catholic Spirit”, he asked, “"Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?... Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences." * If more Christians
through the ages had followed Ephesians 4:1-6, as well as Wesley’s counsel, do you believe the church would be stronger and more respected, or weaker? For what reasons?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, guide your people all over the earth. Guide me. As the world looks at your followers, help us to so conduct ourselves that words like “peace,” “unity,” “humility” and “love” will be the main descriptors that come to minds. Amen.
* To read Wesley’s entire sermon on unity, visit www.umcmission.org and search Sermon-39-Catholic-Spirit.
Family Activity: Through portraits of biblical characters and God’s followers of today, the Leawood stained glass window tells the story of God’s transforming love for all people in past, present and future generations. See how many people you can identify and whose stories you can share. Discuss how your life and your family’s life displays God’s love for all people. Gather some family pictures and with words, phrases, drawings, and magazine cutouts design your own artistic expression of God’s love. Find a special place in your home for your family’s creation. Consider a title for it such as “Our family shares God’s love with all!” Thank God for His love. Ask God to help you continue to tell the story of his amazing, faithful love.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Haines and family on the death of her aunt Patricia Grey (Twilley) Stone, 10/30
• Nancy Nance and family on the death of her brother Jess D. Paul, Jr., 10/26
• Anne Sanders and family on the death of her cousin Marilynn Roche, 10/21
• Diane and Tom Slezak and family on the death of Diane’s mother Cora Magdaleno, 10/19
Philippians 2:1 Therefore, if you have any encouragement for me from your being in union with the Messiah, any comfort flowing from love, any fellowship with me in the Spirit, or any compassion and sympathy, 2 then complete my joy by having a common purpose and a common love, by being one in heart and mind. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves — 4 look out for each other’s interests and not just for your own., 3:3 For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, 4 even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
a. 5 b’rit-milah on the eighth day,
b. by birth belonging to the people of Isra’el,
c. from the tribe of Binyamin,
d. a Hebrew-speaker, with Hebrew-speaking parents,
e. in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
f. 6 in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
g. in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
7 But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. 8 Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah 9 and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust., 4:1 So, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, my dear friends, keep standing firm in union with the Lord.
2 I beg Evodia and I beg Syntyche to agree with each other in union with the Lord.
---
Two apparently influential women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, seem to have come into some kind of conflict. The apostle Paul used that as an opportunity to teach the entire church important lessons. In chapter 2 he described the state of mind in which, ideally, all Christians relate to one another. In chapter 3, he told about his own shift from religious arrogance to humble trust in Christ. Only then did he directly appeal to the two feuding women to find common ground “in the Lord.”
Ø The young Pharisee Saul had all the human credentials—“proper” birth, great education, and even persecuting Christians. What family heritages, human accomplishments and credentials are you proudest of? If preserving any of them ever conflicted with heeding God’s call on your life, what would you choose? What basis for self-worth (other than relying on his own accomplishments) did Paul claim? To what extent are you able to find your value where he did?
• Facing death (at the hands of a Roman executioner), Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Does it sound like Paul was sad about “throwing away” his promising career to follow Jesus? In what ways has your commitment to Christ given you the kind of sense of purpose Paul showed?
Prayer: Lord God, I’m no less loved by you than the greatest saint, and no more loved by you than the most miserable sinner. Help that to be more than enough for me, as it was for your servant Paul. Amen.
---
Wendy ConnellyWendy Connelly is wife to Mark, mom to two kids and a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology. She teaches classes at Resurrection Downtown and hosts an interfaith podcast, which you can subscribe to at TheLiftPodcast.org.
The Reformation has been described as a necessary tragedy. Necessary, because the church of 16th century Rome had lost sight of its mission and needed a corrective. Tragic, because of the divisions and wars that followed in its wake. The Greek word for devil—diabolos—means “the divider,” and I can’t help but to imagine he’d be dancing with his proverbial pitchfork at the sight of the divisions lingering among the Body of Christ today.
Christians too often delegitimize other Christians who think differently. We argue over a sprinkle, somersault or dunk (baptism). We condemn and disdain those who interpret the Bible with too lax or too literal a lens. And some of us refuse to break bread with our brothers and sisters over beliefs about the Eucharist, though we proclaim the same Resurrected Christ.
Does this division reflect the God revealed in Jesus?
500 years after the Reformation, I am praying for unity and reconciliation among the Body of Christ. The word “reconciliation” contains “cilia,” eyelash. To be reconciled is to be eyelash-to-eyelash with one another.
Reconciliation does not require that we see alike, think alike, worship alike, or lose the beauty of our diversity.
Reconciliation does, however, require us to love alike. It's to finally gaze at one another, with eyelash-to-eyelash intimacy, and affirm with a “butterfly kiss” of peace: “Ah, yes! I see Christ in you.”
---
"Jesus on the foundation for all true reform"
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Matthew 22:34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[Matthew 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5] 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18] 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
---
Scholar William Barclay noted that there were two schools of thought among rabbis. Some believed “there were lighter and weightier matters of the law…great principles which were all important to grasp.” Others “held that every smallest principle was equally binding.” * When asked, Jesus was clear about that—he saw some principles as far more vital than others, central to understanding God’s will. Loving God and loving your neighbor are the greatest
commandments, Jesus said, pivotal expressions of God’s will.
• Christians “get it wrong” when we defend any other idea we see as “truth” in ways that keep us from loving God totally, and our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus clearly taught (as reported in all three Synoptic gospels) that any other truth or orthodoxy has value only as it leads us to more fully love God and neighbor. Have you ever seen “truth” presented in ways that were unloving to neighbors, and ultimately even to God?
Ø Jesus said that everything the Bible teaches, all the truths we know about what God wants, “depend” on the two commands he quoted. How would you explain to someone else what makes these two commands so essential? Can you recall any instance when some belief you held led you to be unloving, maybe even without realizing it at first?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to truly love you with all my heart, all my mind, all my being. And as an outgrowth of that, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself, to live my life in accord with your great commandments. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 294.
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---
"Humility before God: essential for all lasting reformation"
Friday, 10 November 2017
1 Peter 5:1 Therefore, I urge the congregation leaders among you, as a fellow-leader and witness to the Messiah’s sufferings, as well as a sharer in the glory to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is in your care, exercising oversight not out of constraint, but willingly, as God wants; and not out of a desire for dishonest gain, but with enthusiasm; 3 also not as machers domineering over those in your care, but as people who become examples to the flock. 4 Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive glory as your unfading crown.
5 Likewise, you who are less experienced, submit to leaders. Further, all of you should clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, because
God opposes the arrogant,
but to the humble he gives grace.[1 Peter 5:5 Proverbs 3:34]
6 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the right time he may lift you up.
---
Peter called on early Christian converts (and us) to find the freedom that comes from humility with each other and trust in God. Too often, we’re tempted (like many church reformers at some
point in their life) to link the idea of “reform” with “We have to do everything my way.” But Peter said “no” to that idea. Relate to each other humbly, he wrote, and trust your anxieties to God.
Ø Do you believe it is possible to act with confidence (in a church ministry or reform movement, your work, your family, or just your own life) out of humility rather than pride? What attitudes or actions does it take to make that a reality? How can mutual humility
smooth dealings between followers and leaders, or between people on different sides of a difficult (but not central to the faith) issue?
• James 3:13-15 named “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” as being the reverse of the humility that comes from wisdom. Have you ever seen qualities like bitter jealousy or selfish ambition damage interactions between you and others, especially if you are dealing with a disagreement? How does humility guard your mind and heart from these hurtful ways of thinking?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, maybe I need a new mental “outfit.” Help me every day, in all my contacts, to clothe myself with humility toward the other people with whom I deal. Amen.
---
---
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God"
Saturday, 11 November 2017
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. 5 And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, 6 and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
---
This passage named central truths all Christians hold in common. These are the foundation for God’s new community—a community united, despite its members’ many differences, by their loyalty to the same God. Yet before, during and since the Reformation, Christians have
disagreed (and often divided) for many reasons—from circumcision in New Testament times to the “right” form of baptism or communion in Reformation Europe to slavery in American history and ordaining women among Methodists in the middle of the 20th century. Today, some honest Christians on all sides of the issue argue that the United Methodist church must divide over the issue of same-sex marriage. But, as with all the other issues, we all serve the same God. Many Methodists believe we can disagree on this issue without needing to divide (visit unitingmethodists.com for more information about the “Uniting Methodists” movement).
• Methodism’s founder John Wesley often echoed Ephesians 4. In the introduction to his Notes on the New Testament, he wrote, “Would to God that all the party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms, which have divided the Christian world, were forgot: and that we might all agree to sit down together, as humble, loving disciples, at the feet of our common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe his Spirit, and to transcribe his life in our own!” In his sermon titled “Catholic Spirit”, he asked, “"Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?... Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences." * If more Christians
through the ages had followed Ephesians 4:1-6, as well as Wesley’s counsel, do you believe the church would be stronger and more respected, or weaker? For what reasons?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, guide your people all over the earth. Guide me. As the world looks at your followers, help us to so conduct ourselves that words like “peace,” “unity,” “humility” and “love” will be the main descriptors that come to minds. Amen.
* To read Wesley’s entire sermon on unity, visit www.umcmission.org and search Sermon-39-Catholic-Spirit.
Family Activity: Through portraits of biblical characters and God’s followers of today, the Leawood stained glass window tells the story of God’s transforming love for all people in past, present and future generations. See how many people you can identify and whose stories you can share. Discuss how your life and your family’s life displays God’s love for all people. Gather some family pictures and with words, phrases, drawings, and magazine cutouts design your own artistic expression of God’s love. Find a special place in your home for your family’s creation. Consider a title for it such as “Our family shares God’s love with all!” Thank God for His love. Ask God to help you continue to tell the story of his amazing, faithful love.
---
---
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Haines and family on the death of her aunt Patricia Grey (Twilley) Stone, 10/30
• Nancy Nance and family on the death of her brother Jess D. Paul, Jr., 10/26
• Anne Sanders and family on the death of her cousin Marilynn Roche, 10/21
• Diane and Tom Slezak and family on the death of Diane’s mother Cora Magdaleno, 10/19
---
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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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- “The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!”
- “You are being made into a holy priesthood”
- “Not ashamed of the gospel”
- “While we were still sinners Christ died for us”
- “God’s justice” and “God’s righteousness by his grace”
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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