The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 29 May 2016 - "Prayer Tip: Unsettled: The Leading Question"

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 29 May 2016 - "Prayer Tip: Unsettled: The Leading Question"
Daily Scripture: Matthew 18:1 At that moment the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” 2 He called a child to him, stood him among them, 3 and said, “Yes! I tell you that unless you change and become like little children, you won’t even enter the Kingdom of Heaven! 4 So the greatest in the Kingdom is whoever makes himself as humble as this child. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me;
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Prayer Tip:
Memorial Day is set aside specifically to remember those who have served in America’s military. It is also a time when many remember any loved ones who have passed away. This Memorial Day, I especially remember my grandfather, Jim Baker – “Poppa” to me, my brother, and my cousins. He was in the US Army and served in France during World War II. He taught me to value and take care of the things I have. He showed me how much it means to spend time with those you love. Maybe most importantly, he modeled Jesus Christ for me.
He worshipped at church every Sunday as long as he was able. He loved his neighbors. He started every morning sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and his Bible, spending time in prayer and scripture. I remember the legacy he – and all those who have come before me in the faith – left behind to teach me what it means to be a Christian.
Holy God,
We come before you today grateful for the ways you have guided us and drawn us near to you. We thank you for your Word, written and studied and commented on by the faithful over thousands of years. We thank you for those who have directly worked in our lives to show us your love and teach us about you. May we honor their memories this Memorial Day. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and work through us to touch others for you.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen[Angela LaVallie Tinsley, Funeral and Prayer Ministry]
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“What are you looking for?”

Monday, 30 May 2016 John 1:35 The next day, Yochanan was again standing with two of his talmidim. 36 On seeing Yeshua walking by, he said, “Look! God’s lamb!” 37 His two talmidim heard him speaking, and they followed Yeshua. 38 Yeshua turned and saw them following him, and he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi!” (which means “Teacher!”) “Where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and remained with him the rest of the day — it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

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Two of John’s followers (we learn that one of them was Andrew) were so intrigued when they heard John describe Jesus as “the Lamb of God” that they followed Jesus on the spot. When Jesus noticed them, he asked a simple question that shaped his ministry, and reshaped the two men’s lives: “What are you looking for?” The two men couldn’t say for sure—they simply asked where he was staying. Jesus compellingly invited them to “come and see.”

• Re-imagine this scene. What if instead of his question, Jesus had greeted the two men by saying, “Please take one of these tracts. Have a seat, and I’ll explain the plan of salvation to you in detail, using these diagrams.” What made Jesus' simple question more effective in starting what became a life-long relationship? What wisdom might his example give us as we seek to relate to people around us?

• In response to Jesus' invitation to “come and see,” verse 39 said the two men “remained with him that day.” Is it still possible for you to respond to Jesus' invitation today, or was that limited to first-century people? In what ways might your desire to follow Jesus mean spending time with him, listening and learning? (For ideas about the disciplines through which many Christians spend time with Jesus, go to this site: https://renovare.org/about/ideas/spiritual-disciplines)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you ask me what I am looking for in life. Help me to take the question seriously, and to shape my life by ultimately looking for the true life that you offer me. Amen.-------
“Do you also want to leave?”

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

John 6:61 But Yeshua, aware that his talmidim were grumbling about this, said to them, “This is a trap for you? 62 Suppose you were to see the Son of Man going back up to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life, 64 yet some among you do not trust.” (For Yeshua knew from the outset which ones would not trust him, also which one would betray him.) 65 “This,” he said, “is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has made it possible for him.”

66 From this time on, many of his talmidim turned back and no longer traveled around with him. 67 So Yeshua said to the Twelve, “Don’t you want to leave too?” 68 Shim‘on Kefa answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the word of eternal life. 69 We have trusted, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”

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The gospel of John focused on the meaning of events in Jesus' life, not just on the outward facts. Instead of just reporting Jesus' use of bread and wine at the Last Supper, John wrote about a time when Jesus used graphic imagery to express the Supper’s meaning. Many people left Jesus because of that strong imagery (cf. John 6:48-55). It must have been painful, and Jesus asked the Twelve if they intended to leave too. Peter expressed faith—but in slightly shaken (“Where would we go?”) terms.

• How can having some bread and grape juice be what John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, called a “means of grace,” a way of taking in God’s love and life, and not just a tiny snack in church? In what ways do the physical acts of eating and drinking, which Jesus used as symbols, help you to fill your inner self with Jesus' forgiving, strengthening grace and love?

• Earlier in John 6, Jesus invited his listeners to consider what kind of "food" they valued most: "Don't work for the food that doesn't last but for the food that endures for eternal life" (verse 27). When he asked the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” he was inviting them to carefully ponder the spiritual consequences of their choice. How clear is your sense of the two kinds of food Jesus spoke of? In what sense(s) do you trust Jesus to be “the bread of life,” the ultimate source of consistent spiritual nourishment for your life?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, please nurture and nourish all that is best in me. And when I start to stray, ask me through your Spirit whether I really want to leave your side. Amen.-------
“Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Matthew 19:16 A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, 17 “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” 18 The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony [Matthew 19:18 Exodus 20:13(13–16); Deuteronomy 5:17(17–20)] 19 honor father and mother [Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16] and love your neighbor as yourself.”[Matthew 19:19 Leviticus 19:18] 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” 21 Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.
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Sometimes Jesus asked people important questions. At other times, people came to him with important questions. That was the case with the young man’s serious question in today’s reading. His question about how to find eternal life seemed to come from a genuine desire to follow Jesus. But when Jesus made it plain to the young man that his heart was not free because of the way he idolized wealth, the young man sadly turned away.
• All kinds of life-shaping questions stand behind the surface question in this story. Jeremiah 31:33 said, “I will put my instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts.” The young man said, perhaps proudly, that God’s instructions were in his mind, but his sad decision showed that they hadn’t quite reached his heart. He refused Jesus’ call to new priorities. One question is, do you obey God out of a sense of duty or family pressure, out of heartfelt love for God and others—or not at all?
• Another crucial question that grows from this story is: Is there any possession or position that is so precious to me that I’d choose it over Jesus? The central issue for Jesus was not the young man’s wealth, but what held the central place in his heart. The gospel of Matthew told us how the young man sadly answered the question. What is your honest answer today?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m asking you what I must do to have eternal life. Please show me if there is anything I value more highly than you and your Kingdom—and if there is, help free my heart from that captivity. Amen.
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“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you?”

Thursday, 2 June 2016

Matthew 25:37 Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’

Matthew 19:13 Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them. 14 However, Yeshua said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 Then, after laying his hands on them, he went on his way.

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Jesus' parable in Matthew 25 held the delightful picture of those invited into the Kingdom asking the King, “When did we see you hungry and feed you?” But one dimension of Jesus' answer often escapes us. When the disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (cf. Matthew 18:1), Jesus called a little child to sit among them as his answer to the question. Our world and culture tends to value children highly, so it is hard for us to sense how little regard most people in Jesus' day had for children.

• Pastor John Ortberg wrote, “In the ancient, status-ordered world, children were at the bottom of the ladder….Jesus said the kind of thing that would literally never enter the mind of another human being to say: ‘And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’” When children were brought to Jesus, “the disciples rebuked the parents. Jesus rebuked the disciples.”1 When Jesus spoke of “the least of these,” we often realize that his words applied to the hungry, the sick and the prisoners. How often does it cross your mind that Jesus was probably also thinking of the youngest among us?

• Plutarch, a Greek writer who lived shortly after Jesus' life, wrote that infants were “more like a plant than a human being.” By contrast, the early Christian book The Shepherd of Hermas said, “All babies are glorious before God.” How crucial was Jesus' regard for children in showing how highly God values children? How does our KidsCOR ministry seek to live out that value? What qualities of children do you believe make them a picture of the spirit God seeks in all of us?

Prayer: Jesus, King Herod called himself “the Great,” and slaughtered children in Bethlehem. But you showed us how God values all people, including children. Remind me that it is those who offer innocent trust who are truly great in your sight. Amen.

1 John Ortberg, Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012, pp. 24, 29.

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“Who do you say that I am?”

Friday,  3 June 2016

Matthew 16:13 When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying the Son of Man is?” 14 They said, “Well, some say Yochanan the Immerser, others Eliyahu, still others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” 16 Shim‘on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” 17 “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven. 18 I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it.

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Jesus’ first question was, in one sense, a setup. He knew, as the disciples did, that there were many opinions about him. The disciples’ answer to that question (“Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets”) tried to shield Jesus a bit. They knew that most of the religious leaders hated Jesus as a threat to their cherished traditions. But his second question to the disciples (a question he asks us, too) was the defining, personal question.

• As Peter and the other disciples heard Jesus ask, “Who do you say that I am?” do you think they fully understood what it meant to believe that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God”? (Don’t forget: a few weeks later, they all fled, and Peter denied knowing Jesus.) Why would Jesus ask that question before they could fully answer it? How important was it that they sensed how central that question was in their lives?

• Has there ever been a point in your life when you have come face to face with the question, “Who do you say that I am?” If so, how did you answer the question—who do you believe Jesus is? If not, take this moment right now to ponder the question, and to answer it for God and for yourself. Picture Jesus looking you in the eye and asking, “Who do you say that I am?”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I wish you wouldn’t be so direct. But that’s how life’s most important questions are. Like the father you met in the gospels, I say, “I believe—help my unbelief.” Amen

-------“How can we know the way?”

Saturday, 4 June 2016

John 14:1 “Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also. 4 Furthermore, you know where I’m going; and you know the way there.”

5 T’oma said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; so how can we know the way?” 6 Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me. 7 Because you have known me, you will also know my Father; from now on, you do know him — in fact, you have seen him.”

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Thomas had a gift for honest questions. He wouldn’t pretend to understand if he didn’t understand. Madeleine l’Engle’s A Wind in the Door imagined a setting in which her young heroes asked “Where?” and were told, “Where doesn’t matter.” Similarly, when Thomas asked where Jesus was going, Jesus responded that he was going (along with all his children) “to the Father”—a person, not a place. Our confidence and security does not rest in a map or detailed “where” description, but in the eternal person of Jesus, of God.

• Earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus said those who trust in him have eternal life—present tense (John 3:36, 5:24, 6:47 and 54). We don’t need to wait until our death to begin living the eternal quality of life that Jesus came of offer us. In what ways can you make God’s love and grace the “home” in which you live spiritually every day? How can making Jesus your spiritual “home” fill your life with what the apostle Paul called “the peace of God that exceeds all understanding” (Philippians 4:7)?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the joy of walking with you each day through the Holy Spirit’s presence with me. Guide me as I make you my home for eternity, starting now.Amen.

Family Activity: God is always with us. Many times, though, we are not aware of God’s presence. At mealtime, ask each member of your family where he or she saw God at work that day, or in what or whom they experienced God’s presence. Consider establishing this question as part of your daily family conversation. You might create a journal or a banner where you can illustrate or write out some of your responses. Each month, review the ways you have each experienced God. Allow these experiences to be opportunities for each person to become increasingly aware of God’s presence in his or her life. Thank God for being a constant and faithful presence.

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Prayer Requests – submit requests at cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Judy Wimmer and family on the death of her mother Naomi McMillan on 5/22.
• Darryl Burton and family on the death of his aunt Louise Bradley on 5/21.
• Fred Wiese and family on the death of his mother Minnie Wiese on 5/19.
• Julie Hanson and family on the death of her mother Beverly Swanson on 5/19.
• Patti Lanzer and family on the death of her father David Mihalko on 5/18.
• Shari Hamblin and family on the death of her father Jack Arnold on 5/15.
• Maureen Ball and family on the death of her mother Shirley Whitney on 5/15.

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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue

Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States

913.897.0120
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