The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 4 September 2016 "Prayer Tip: The God Who Lived in a Tent"Daily Scripture:
Exodus 3:9 Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”
29:2 Through all your generations this is to be the regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before Adonai. There is where I will meet with you to speak with you. 43 There I will meet with the people of Isra’el; and the place will be consecrated by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, likewise I will consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve me in the office of cohen.45 Then I will live with the people of Isra’el and be their God: 46 they will know that I am Adonai their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to live with them. I am Adonai their God.
John 1:14 The Word became a human being and lived with us,
and we saw his Sh’khinah,
the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
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Prayer Tip:
One of my favorite worship songs was one I sang often when I was in youth group: “Lord, Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary,” written by Randy Scruggs and John Thompson. If you haven’t heard this song, check it out here. (I grew up on the Gaithers, so this is version takes me back. Please excuse the dated hairstyles and clothing.) Concentrate on the beauty in the words of this earnest prayer in song.
The chorus is as follows:
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You
The words are so simple, yet there’s so much depth in each of these four lines. I’m pretty sure there’s at least a sermon, if not a short sermon series, in this chorus. But for the sake of brevity, I’m just going to throw out a few ideas.What does it take to be a sanctuary? To start with, we need to know that a sanctuary is a dwelling place for God. Repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to “be holy just as the LORD is holy.” Holiness requires us to be different from the world, to pursue a God-honoring life, concentrating on each day so that we’re in it for the long haul.
We give thanks to God in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), so that our attitudes are such that we can’t help but have God’s presence dwelling in us. As that happens, we—and others through us—can connect more fully with God.
Let this song be your prayer this week.[Angela LaVallie, Resurrection Funeral and Prayer Ministry
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Sunday, September 4, 2016 – “The God Who Lived in a Tent”
Scripture: Exodus 3:9 Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”
29:2 Through all your generations this is to be the regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before Adonai. There is where I will meet with you to speak with you. 43 There I will meet with the people of Isra’el; and the place will be consecrated by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, likewise I will consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve me in the office of cohen.45 Then I will live with the people of Isra’el and be their God: 46 they will know that I am Adonai their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to live with them. I am Adonai their God.
John 1:14 The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh’khinah,
the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
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“Make me a sanctuary”
Monday, 5 September 2016
Exodus 25:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el to take up a collection for me — accept a contribution from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give. 3 The contribution you are to take from them is to consist of gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen, goat’s hair, 5 tanned ram skins and fine leather; acacia-wood; 6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 onyx stones and other stones to be set, for the ritual vest and breastplate.
8 “They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. 9 You are to make it according to everything I show you — the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it.
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The Exodus was so sudden. Practically overnight, the Israelites went from being slaves, struggling to survive making bricks without any straw provided for them to use, to being a free people, but out in a desert they had never lived in. Leaving an Egypt that worshiped frogs, cows, a river and the
sun (among other “gods”), the Israelites had a lot to learn about Yahweh, the awe-inspiring LORD who had freed them. And God commanded Moses, “Build me a sanctuary”—a visible symbol that God was in their midst.
• The desert was not the land God had promised Israel ever since Abraham’s time
(cf. Genesis 12:1-3). They wouldn’t settle there. So the sanctuary was, basically, a tent—an elaborate, beautiful tent, but still made to be carried from place to place. It must not have seemed like much compared to the huge temples in Egypt. What was central to the sanctuary’s importance—its physical workmanship, or the God whose presence it evoked?
• Much Christian preaching in the New Testament is hard to understand unless we know about the sanctuary. In the poetic prologue to his story of Jesus, John wrote, “The Word (i.e. Jesus) became flesh and made his home among us” (John 1:14). The Greek word translated “made his home” meant, literally, “live in a tent.” As God was with the Israelites in a tent, John said, so
in Jesus God was fully present with the human family. What spiritual practices help you to
maintain a sense that God is present with you at all times?
Prayer: O Lord, you are a God who wants to connect with us, and a God who wants us to know you. Help me learn lessons about how you are with me every day, every moment from Israel’s desert sanctuary. Amen.
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"Two altars: forgiveness and ongoing relationship"
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
Exodus 27:1 (vi) “You are to make the altar of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide — the altar is to be square and four-and-a-half feet high. 2 Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece with it; and you are to overlay it with bronze.
3 “Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils you are to make of bronze. 4 Make for it a grate of bronze netting; and on the four corners of the netting, make four bronze rings. 5 Put it under the rim of the altar, so that the netting reaches halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia-wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 Its poles are to be put into the rings; the poles are to be on both sides of the altar for carrying it. 8 The altar is to be made of planks and hollow inside. They are to make it just as you were shown on the mountain.
30:1 (vii) “You are to make an altar on which to burn incense; make it of acacia-wood. 2 It is to be eighteen inches square and three feet high; its horns are to be of one piece with it. 3 Overlay it with pure gold — its top, all around its sides, and its horns; and put around it a molding of gold. 4 Make two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides; this is where the carrying-poles will go. 5 Make the poles of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 “Place it in front of the curtain by the ark for the testimony, in front of the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 Aharon will burn fragrant incense on it as a pleasing aroma every morning; he is to burn it when he prepares the lamps. (Maftir) 8 Aharon is also to burn it when he lights the lamps at dusk; this is the regular burning of incense before Adonai through all your generations.
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It may be hard to visualize the desert sanctuary just from the Biblical text. Click here to view a web page with photos of a full-size model of the sanctuary built in the desert in Israel. In the barren wilderness, God miraculously fed the Israelites (cf. Exodus 16:11-15, 31, 35). Inside the sanctuary, a gold-covered table held “the bread of the presence” as a sign that God nourished them spiritually as well as physically. Similarly, the physical light from the seven-branched lampstand (Hebrew menorah) reminded Israel that their God provided the spiritual light to guide
their steps on the path of true life.
• Jesus drew directly on the symbolism of both the Tabernacle’s table and lampstand. John reported that Jesus said explicitly, “I am the Bread of Life,” and elaborated on the image in ways that shape our understanding of the meaning of the bread we eat at the Lord’s Supper (cf. John 6:47-51). How much hunger do you feel for the Bread of Life? What are some of the ways that you can feed your spiritual life on Jesus?
• Remembering the lampstand, Jesus twice announced, “I am the Light of the world”
(John 8:12, 9:4-5). The second time, John said, came as he gave a blind man sight—a physical sign that underlined his power to give spiritual sight to all who desire it. That led to the formerly blind man’s well-known statement to skeptical religious leaders, “Here’s what I do know: I was
blind and now I see” (John 9:25). In what ways has Jesus given you clearer spiritual sight, and brought heaven’s light more fully into your life?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when I am empty and hungry inside, be the Bread of Life for me. When I’m confused and in the dark, be the Light of my world. Amen.
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"Bread of life, light of the world"
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Exodus 25:23 “You are to make a table of acacia-wood three feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it. 25 Make around it a rim a handbreadth wide, and put a molding of gold around the rim. 26 Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners, near its four legs. 27 The rings to hold the poles used to carry the table are to be placed close to the rim. 28 Make the poles of acacia-wood, overlay them with gold, and use them to carry the table.
29 “Make its dishes, pans, bowls and pitchers of pure gold. 30 On the table you are to place the bread of the presence in my presence always.
(S: iii) 31 “You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it. 32 It is to have six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other. 33 On one branch are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah. 34 On the central shaft of the menorah are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals. 35 Where each pair of branches joins the central shaft is to be a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches — thus for all six branches. 36 The rings of outer leaves and their branches are to be of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah is to be a single piece of hammered work made of pure gold.
37 “Make seven lamps for the menorah, and mount them so as to give light to the space in front of it.
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It may be hard to visualize the desert sanctuary just from the Biblical text. Click here to view a web page with photos of a full-size model of the sanctuary built in the desert in Israel. In the barren wilderness, God miraculously fed the Israelites (cf. Exodus 16:11-15, 31, 35). Inside the sanctuary, a gold-covered table held “the bread of the presence” as a sign that God nourished them spiritually as well as physically. Similarly, the physical light from the seven-branched lampstand (Hebrew menorah) reminded Israel that their God provided the spiritual light to guide
their steps on the path of true life.
• Jesus drew directly on the symbolism of both the Tabernacle’s table and lampstand. John reported that Jesus said explicitly, “I am the Bread of Life,” and elaborated on the image in ways that shape our understanding of the meaning of the bread we eat at the Lord’s Supper (cf. John 6:47-51). How much hunger do you feel for the Bread of Life? What are some of the ways that you can feed your spiritual life on Jesus?
• Remembering the lampstand, Jesus twice announced, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:4-5). The second time, John said, came as he gave a blind man sight—a physical sign that underlined his power to give spiritual sight to all who desire it. That led to the formerly blind man’s well-known statement to skeptical religious leaders, “Here’s what I do know: I was blind
and now I see” (John 9:25). In what ways has Jesus given you clearer spiritual sight, and
brought heaven’s light more fully into your life?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when I am empty and hungry inside, be the Bread of Life for me. When I’m confused and in the dark, be the Light of my world. Amen.
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"God’s holiness veiled"
Thursday, 8 September 2016
Exodus 26: (v) 31 “You are to make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Make it with k’ruvim worked in, that have been crafted by a skilled artisan. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four acacia-wood posts overlaid with gold and standing in four silver sockets. 33 Hang the curtain below the fasteners. Then bring the ark for the testimony inside the curtain; the curtain will be the divider for you between the Holy Place and the Especially Holy Place. 34 You are to put the ark-cover on the ark for the testimony in the Especially Holy Place.
35 “You are to put the table outside the curtain and the menorah opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; put the table on the north side.
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It may be hard to visualize the desert sanctuary just from the Biblical text. Click here to view a web page with photos of a full-size model of the sanctuary built in the desert in Israel. The Tabernacle vividly taught the Israelites to respect God’s holiness. Ordinary Israelites could only
enter the outer courtyard; only priests could go into the Tabernacle’s first room, known as “the holy place.” Beyond that, an elaborate veil separated “the holy from the holiest space.” Only the high priest could go behind that veil, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The chest or “Ark of the Covenant,” the central symbol of God’s presence, rested behind the veil.
• We live in a culture that largely rejects the idea of unapproachable authority and power. To us, the idea of the veil and the “holiest space” may seem like a barrier to hide God’s love. But the Israelites had just seen Egypt’s “gods” defeated by the plagues. They seemed, at times, to think of the LORD as just one more fallible, disposable god like Egypt’s (cf. Exodus 32:1-5). In what ways can the Tabernacle give us, as it did the Israelites, a useful reminder that we serve the great I AM, creator and sustainer of all that is?
• But by Jesus’ day, the idea that most people could not come to God directly had become spiritually damaging. When Jesus died, Mark 15:38 said that “the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom,” a clear sign that in Jesus God had indeed “made his home” with all of us (cf. John 1:14). Hebrews 10:19-20 boldly affirmed, “We can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood.” How does it matter to your spiritual walk that you do not need
professional go-betweens, but are free to go to God directly?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, as the great I AM, you came to tell us that you love us. Help me to rejoice and live in your loving presence, without losing a profound sense of your awesome power as my Creator as well as my Savior. Amen.
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"A golden symbol of God’s throne"
Friday, 9 September 2016
Exodus 25:10 “They are to make an ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high. 11 You are to overlay it with pure gold — overlay it both inside and outside — and put a molding of gold around the top of it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it, and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 13 Make poles of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 Put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark; you will use them to carry the ark. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they are not to be removed from it. 16 Into the ark you are to put the testimony which I am about to give you.
(ii) 17 “You are to make a cover for the ark out of pure gold; it is to be three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet high. 18 You are to make two k’ruvim of gold. Make them of hammered work for the two ends of the ark-cover. 19 Make one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; make the k’ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends. 20 The k’ruvim will have their wings spread out above, so that their wings cover the ark, and their faces are toward each other and toward the ark-cover. 21 You are to put the ark-cover on top of the ark.
“Inside the ark you will put the testimony that I am about to give you. 22 There I will meet with you. I will speak with you from above the ark-cover, from between the two k’ruvim which are on the ark for the testimony, about all the orders I am giving you for the people of Isra’el.
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It may be hard to visualize the desert sanctuary just from the Biblical text. Click here to view a web page with photos of a full-size model of the sanctuary built in the desert in Israel. Indiana Jones may have made more people aware of “the Ark of the Covenant” than all of the country’s Sunday Schools. But the Ark was not a strange, spooky power source (though it seems clear that the Power behind it would not have helped the Nazis). The Ark was a gold-plated acacia wood chest that held the Ten Commandments, God’s covenant with Israel. Its golden cover with two angels on it represented God’s throne, the place from which God ruled over all that existed.
• Tradition (in many versions) said the sacred Ark was somehow hidden before Babylon leveled Solomon’s Temple in 586 BCE. But early Christians never wrote about searching for the Ark, and hardly ever mentioned it in their writings. Revelation 11:19 put the Ark in a heavenly vision. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ,” the prophet said, and “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the chest containing his covenant appeared in his temple.” How can you value God’s covenant (and your part in it—cf. Galatians 3:29), without viewing the Ark as a magical object apart from its role in Israel’s worship?
• John evoked the Ark’s cover in his description of Jesus’ tomb after the Resurrection (cf. John 20:12). Most scholars understand Romans 3:25 and 1 John 4:10 as using the image of the cover or “mercy seat” (Hebrew kapporet) to describe Jesus’ saving work. How can it deepen your gratitude for forgiveness and salvation to picture it as coming directly from the center of God’s rulership over the universe?
Prayer: LORD God, just a wooden box covered with gold. Instead of Pharaoh’s massive stone
temples your power rested in the symbol of your relationship with your people. Please dwell in my heart as of old you dwelt in the Ark of your covenant. Amen.
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“The LORD’s glorious presence filled the dwelling”
Saturday, 10 September 2016
Exodus 40:33 Finally, he erected the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar and set up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.
(Maftir) 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle. 35 Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle.
36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Isra’el continued with all their travels. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not travel onward until the day when it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of Adonai was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra’el could see it throughout all their travels.
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So back to the beginning of this week’s study: “Build me a sanctuary,” God said, “so I can be present among them.” For people newly come into freedom (unlike us), and with short memories (very much like us!), it mattered that the LORD was not just a remote concept, or a theory that Moses kept telling them was real. And God honored the sanctuary the Israelites built. During years of desert journeying, Exodus said, visible signs of God’s presence went everywhere with Israel.
• Have you ever envied the Israelites who could see “the LORD’s glorious presence” at their sanctuary? Sadly, their history, told in their own Scriptures, showed that God’s physically visible presence did not keep them from doubting God’s love and care, nor from being drawn to other “gods.” And one reason they may have needed a visible sign of God’s presence was that unlike us, they did not have the historical record of God becoming human, dying for their sins, and then rising from the dead (a reality attested by multiple eyewitnesses, and whose spiritual impact Roman and Jewish historians who denied its truth also recorded). What anchors your
faith, and makes it real for you day by day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I wish you’d billow into my room. But Jesus said that, through the Holy Spirit, you do something even better—you blow into my heart and my mind like the wind. Keep me sensitive and attuned to your presence with me. Amen.
Family Activity: Worshipping and praising God is an important focus in the story of Moses and the Israelites as they built the Tabernacle. Create an “Adoration Book” using the alphabet as your guide. Fasten twenty-six pieces of paper together to create a book. In alphabetical order, write one letter of the alphabet at the top of each page. Encourage your family to name all of the qualities of
God that begin with each letter. (For example, on the “A” page, you might write “active in my life” and “awesome power.”) Include pictures your family members have drawn or cut from magazines as well. Use your book to learn more about God and grow in your faith. Thank God in prayer for who he is in your life!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Health & Healing: David Zook
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Marilyn Apel and family on the death of her husband Myron Apel, 8/29
• Carol Smith and David Apel on the death of their father Myron Apel, 8/29
• Mark Thompson and family on the death of his wife Scarlett Bowlin Thompson, 8/27
• Lacey Thompson and family on the death of her mother Scarlett Bowlin Thompson 8/27
• Sue Craft and family on the death of her sister Lida Turner, 8/25
• Sonja Clifton and family on the death of her stepfather Bill Armstrong, 8/24
• Richard Bethay and family on the death of his brother Joseph Bethay, 8/22
• Sally Retz and family on the death of her grandmother Freida M. Anderson, 8/21
• Scott Feaster and family on the death of his father James R. Feaster, 8/17
• Dale Hoak and family on the death of his mother Lucille Hoak, 8/11
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Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
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To support the goal of reading the Exodus story, some of the daily readings are longer than typical for the GPS. We encourage you: have an extra cup of coffee, use your lunch break—find a way to hang in there and read this defining Biblical story.
"Passover is our story, too" for Saturday, 3 September 2016
John 1:29 The next day, Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, “Look! God’s lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world!
Luke 22:14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, 15 and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
John 19:28 After this, knowing that all things had accomplished their purpose, Yeshua, in order to fulfill the words of the Tanakh, said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of cheap sour wine was there; so they soaked a sponge in the wine, coated it with oregano leaves and held it up to his mouth. 30 After Yeshua had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know the saying, “It takes only a little hametz to leaven a whole batch of dough?” 7 Get rid of the old hametz, so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. 8 So let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.
Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God’s fury is finished. 2 I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. 3 They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and wonderful are the things you have done,
Adonai, God of heaven’s armies![Revelation 15:3 Amos 3:13, 4:13]
Just and true are your ways,
king of the nations!
4 Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name?
because you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”
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The Exodus might just be an interesting story from 1400 years ago that explained one of the
quaint customs of our devout Jewish neighbors. But the story of Jesus and his disciples was saturated with images and extensions of the Exodus story. Jesus expanded the meaning of a Passover seder into the Lord’s Supper, the Communion service Christians around the world take part in. The apostle Paul conveyed the good news of salvation by saying that Jesus, God’s Passover lamb, freed us from sin and death by shedding his blood. And Revelation, the
Bible’s last book, described the victory song of God’s faithful people as “the song of
Moses…and the Lamb.” The Exodus and the Passover are our story.
• For some of us, the Exodus story immediately rings true with our life experience. We know what held us captive, and we know how God’s power has set us free. For others of us, the connection may be more obscure. We may have grown up religious, in comfortable, respectable homes—we may find it hard to identify with the experience of a slave people marching out to freedom. How easy or hard is it for you to identify with the Exodus experience of the people of Israel? If it’s hard, spend time asking God to help you identify the subtler inner forces that try to enslave all humans, even you, spiritually. If it’s easy, join Moses and the redeemed in singing a song of praise to the Lamb who has saved you!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Passover Lamb, my Passover lamb, thank you for offering yourself to save me. Walk with me each day, helping me to live as a truly redeemed subject of your kingdom. Amen.
Family Activity: People can bring God’s hope and healing to others by comforting them in
times of fear, concern and worry. As a family, share ideas about how you can work with God to bring comfort and care to others. Discuss each person’s unique gifts and abilities. How can those be used to comfort others? How can those same gifts be combined with those of other family members to care and help? Use construction paper to create the symbol of a heart. On it, write or draw the gifts of each person. Also write or draw about how each gift can help to comfort people who are sad or lonely. Pray together, asking God to help guide you to use your
ideas and gifts. Thank God for giving them to you. Display your family’s “heart” as a reminder to comfort others.
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Insights from Jane Fowler
Jane Fowler serves as Group Life Program Director at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. In that capacity, she encourages our congregation to be a part of the Journey of Knowing, Loving and Serving God and others by being in authentic community and growing in your love and knowledge of Christ.
Several years ago I participated in the Disciple Bible studies. It was during Disciple 2 where I first understood that the story of Exodus was not just a defining story for our Jewish friends, but one for the Christian faith as well. Often when you read stories like this, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the wrath and judgment of God instead of seeing the promises God fulfilled: promises of protection for those who love him, and promises of provision for those families and for the generations to come. One of our verses today reminds us of the promise fulfilled by Jesus: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
When I take communion, I often think of the story of the Exodus. When we profess Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life, the blood of The Lamb is spread over the doorway of our soul. The angel of death no longer has power over us, and we will one day enter into the Promised Land of heaven with praise and thanksgiving.
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Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
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Luke 22:14 When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, 15 and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
John 19:28 After this, knowing that all things had accomplished their purpose, Yeshua, in order to fulfill the words of the Tanakh, said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of cheap sour wine was there; so they soaked a sponge in the wine, coated it with oregano leaves and held it up to his mouth. 30 After Yeshua had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know the saying, “It takes only a little hametz to leaven a whole batch of dough?” 7 Get rid of the old hametz, so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. 8 So let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.
Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God’s fury is finished. 2 I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. 3 They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and wonderful are the things you have done,
Adonai, God of heaven’s armies![Revelation 15:3 Amos 3:13, 4:13]
Just and true are your ways,
king of the nations!
4 Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name?
because you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”
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The Exodus might just be an interesting story from 1400 years ago that explained one of the
quaint customs of our devout Jewish neighbors. But the story of Jesus and his disciples was saturated with images and extensions of the Exodus story. Jesus expanded the meaning of a Passover seder into the Lord’s Supper, the Communion service Christians around the world take part in. The apostle Paul conveyed the good news of salvation by saying that Jesus, God’s Passover lamb, freed us from sin and death by shedding his blood. And Revelation, the
Bible’s last book, described the victory song of God’s faithful people as “the song of
Moses…and the Lamb.” The Exodus and the Passover are our story.
• For some of us, the Exodus story immediately rings true with our life experience. We know what held us captive, and we know how God’s power has set us free. For others of us, the connection may be more obscure. We may have grown up religious, in comfortable, respectable homes—we may find it hard to identify with the experience of a slave people marching out to freedom. How easy or hard is it for you to identify with the Exodus experience of the people of Israel? If it’s hard, spend time asking God to help you identify the subtler inner forces that try to enslave all humans, even you, spiritually. If it’s easy, join Moses and the redeemed in singing a song of praise to the Lamb who has saved you!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Passover Lamb, my Passover lamb, thank you for offering yourself to save me. Walk with me each day, helping me to live as a truly redeemed subject of your kingdom. Amen.
Family Activity: People can bring God’s hope and healing to others by comforting them in
times of fear, concern and worry. As a family, share ideas about how you can work with God to bring comfort and care to others. Discuss each person’s unique gifts and abilities. How can those be used to comfort others? How can those same gifts be combined with those of other family members to care and help? Use construction paper to create the symbol of a heart. On it, write or draw the gifts of each person. Also write or draw about how each gift can help to comfort people who are sad or lonely. Pray together, asking God to help guide you to use your
ideas and gifts. Thank God for giving them to you. Display your family’s “heart” as a reminder to comfort others.
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Insights from Jane Fowler
Jane Fowler serves as Group Life Program Director at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. In that capacity, she encourages our congregation to be a part of the Journey of Knowing, Loving and Serving God and others by being in authentic community and growing in your love and knowledge of Christ.Several years ago I participated in the Disciple Bible studies. It was during Disciple 2 where I first understood that the story of Exodus was not just a defining story for our Jewish friends, but one for the Christian faith as well. Often when you read stories like this, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the wrath and judgment of God instead of seeing the promises God fulfilled: promises of protection for those who love him, and promises of provision for those families and for the generations to come. One of our verses today reminds us of the promise fulfilled by Jesus: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
When I take communion, I often think of the story of the Exodus. When we profess Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life, the blood of The Lamb is spread over the doorway of our soul. The angel of death no longer has power over us, and we will one day enter into the Promised Land of heaven with praise and thanksgiving.
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