Grow. Pray. Study. Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Saturday, 11 January 2014 – "The imprint of God's
being"
Daily Scripture: Hebrews God Has Spoken by His Son
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways
by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,[a] whom
he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He
is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and
he sustains[b] all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification
for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Footnotes:
a. Hebrews 1:2 Or the Son
b. Hebrews 1:3 Or bears along
Reflection Question:
In everything from popular novels to scholarly articles and
books today, you can read claims that no one thought Jesus was divine until
centuries after his death. Yet that's plainly not the case. No responsible
scholar dates the letters of Paul, and other first-century writings like Hebrews,
that late. These documents clearly show that people spoke of Jesus as God
within (at the very most) a few decades. (For deeper study of this subject,
consider books like Larry Hurtado, How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?:
Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus.)
Many political and religious leaders challenged Rome's power.
The Romans crucified most of them. In EVERY case except one, when the leader
died, the movement died too. But Jesus' followers were bolder and more
confident than ever after his death. They wrote letters and books about why
that was—they were convinced that their leader had defeated death, and was
alive and guiding them. Whether you find that easy or hard to believe, the fact
of their activity and writings is historical evidence to be taken seriously.
Think and pray hard during this series, and focus on the difference between
evidence and opinion. Jesus is a crucial figure in human history—it's worth the
effort to learn as much about what really happened as possible.
Family Activity:
As a family, discuss how you decide whether to believe stories
you hear about other kids at school, or about people in your neighborhood. When
you share things with each other, are you more inclined to believe each other
when you can say, "I was there—I saw it"? Read this week's first
Scripture reading (1 John The Word of Life
1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have
heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with
our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have
seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with
the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and
heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so
that our[a] joy may be complete.
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to
you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 1:4 Other ancient authorities read your) together,
perhaps from a modern language version like The Message. What do you notice or
learn about the letter's witness about Jesus? We learn about people like
Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Nelson Mandela from people who
knew them. Discuss how we can know about Jesus, and how we can trust what
people who knew him wrote down for us.
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, sometimes I find faith easy, but sometimes I find it
hard. I ask you to be present with me, to help me discern how I can find the
reality of you amid all of the claims and confusion that surround your story.
Amen.
Saturday, 11 January 2014 – Insight from Clif Guy
Clifton Guy is the Director of Information Technology at The
Church of the Resurrection.
People say I look like my dad. Perhaps more accurately they mean
I look like my dad looked when he was my age. I know this is true because
sometimes when I look in a mirror I suffer an awful fright seeing my dad
looking back at me.
The author of today’s passage, Hebrews 1:1-3, began his letter
(which is also a sermon) with an attempt at explaining who Jesus is. He felt it
important to teach who Jesus is not, and he struggled for a metaphor to explain
who Jesus is. The first part was easy: Jesus is neither a human prophet (vs.
1), nor a heavenly angel (vs. 4).
After that, the explanation gets a bit trickier. Jesus is
something like a son. However, the author didn’t want his readers to come away
with the false idea that Jesus was like God in the same way as I am like my
dad. Jesus doesn’t merely look like God. He didn’t pick up some of God’s
mannerisms from growing up around God. He didn’t have half of God’s DNA and
half of Mary’s.
Jesus is God. Jesus, the Son, is the co-creator of everything
along with God, the Father (vs. 2). Jesus is “the light of God’s glory” (vs. 3)
and “the imprint of God’s being.” Instead of “imprint” (CEB), other translators
have chosen phrases such as “exact representation” (NIV), “perfectly mirrors”
(MSG), “like in every way” (CEV), and “flawless expression” (Phillips).
Thinking about these various translations, Jesus is more like God’s twin than
he is like God’s child. Jesus isn’t half God and half human. Jesus is 100% God
in the same way that the Father is 100% God.
When we look at Jesus, we’re looking at God–exactly God,
perfectly God, flawlessly God. This
Jesus is the same God who had the power to create the universe and who
transcends it today. Yet this Jesus, mysteriously, became a human being and
lived a human life, in order to show us exactly, perfectly, and flawlessly who
God is.
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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