The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 25 May 2016 - "A disagreement led to a meeting"

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 25 May 2016 - "A disagreement led to a meeting"
Daily Scripture: Acts 15:1 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim.

3 After being sent off by the congregation, they made their way through Phoenicia and Shomron, recounting in detail how the Gentiles had turned to God; and this news brought great joy to all the brothers.

4 On arrival in Yerushalayim, they were welcomed by the Messianic community, including the emissaries and the elders; and they reported what God had done through them. 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”

6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter.

Reflection Questions:
We saw yesterday (cf. Galatians 2:11-16) that the specific Jewish practice of circumcision became divisive as Gentiles became Christians. The “believers from among the Pharisees” could quote a definite Bible passage (cf. Genesis 17:10-14). The first big church conflict was about whether Genesis 17 applied eternally and everywhere. Could uncircumcised Gentile men be Christians? The dispute led to the first big church meeting.
Why did the Christians in Antioch and the “believers from among the Pharisees” agree to meet in Jerusalem? Could either or both sides have said, “We don’t care what other Christians think—we’ll just do what we think is right”? What value (if any) do you see in our congregation choosing to live connected to other congregations, rather than being a completely stand-alone entity?

• Most of the Gentile Christians were not following painstaking religious rituals. They were just going about their day-to-day lives until Paul told them about Jesus. So Paul asked his Galatian converts, “How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you?” (Galatians 3:2, The Message) How would you answer his question? Are the good things you do an effort to earn God’s favor, or a response to God’s love and grace changing your life?

Today’s Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me free to live in the wonder of your self-giving love for me. Keep me growing in my ability to root my whole identity in being your loved, redeemed child. Amen.
-------Insights from Rev. Steven Blair

Rev. Steven Blair is the Congregational Care Pastor of Live Forward and Live Well Emotional Wellness Ministry. www.cor.org/liveforward
Coke is the “Real Thing” as the old slogan claimed. Diet Coke is a lot like Coke, but you can tell the difference from the taste. Acts 15 illustrates an argument between Grace and Diet Grace. As the message about Jesus the Messiah spread, some were excited while others had their worries. One group believed that we were saved by grace alone and not by anything that we would add. Another group also believed in grace, but believed that circumcision was also required for anyone who wished to be saved. For those in the first group, requiring circumcision of the Gentile (non-Jewish) converts was equal to saying that grace alone wasn’t enough.
God’s Grace is powerful and is all we need for salvation. We humans are tempted to add onto the list of requirements and argue that salvation requires grace plus (fill in the blank). This approach sounds a little like God’s Grace, but it falls short. It puts too much importance on what we do, which is one of the reasons why some people prefer it. Focusing on our own behavior as a key component to our salvation gives us control, or at least the illusion of control, as it relates to ours or another’s salvation.
God’s Love is unconditional. God’s Grace is unmerited. How can we tell the difference between this Biblical Grace and the substitute we try to replace it with??? They taste different.
Drink from God’s relentless Grace today, a Grace that loves you as you are and not as you should be. Stay away from Diet Grace.

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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue

Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States

913.897.0120a
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