The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "What God calls us to be the best at" for Tuesday, 28 February 2017

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "What God calls us to be the best at" for Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Romans 12:9 Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. 10 Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. 11 Don’t be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your troubles, and continue steadfastly in prayer. 13 Share what you have with God’s people, and practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you — bless them, don’t curse them! 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be sensitive to each other’s needs — don’t think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don’t be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but try to do what everyone regards as good. 18 If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people.

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The apostle Paul provided a portrait of what a Christian life should look like in this passage. Paul had never been to Rome (Romans 15:22-24), but he was aware from friends who had been there that Jewish and Gentile Christians had tensions about parts of the faith, even as they faced Roman enemies all around them. Paul offered advice on how best to interact with each other, and with people hostile to Christian faith.

• The church today has many enemies, though it’s usually expressed in more tolerant ways in the western world. Like the Christians of Rome, we cannot abandon our faith in order to repay evil with evil actions. In what ways have you blessed people who harass you? What does it mean for us today to “associate with people who have no status”? What role should these people play in the church?

• How can we best live out the love of others that Paul described in this passage? How can we live at peace with all people today, at a time when many political and social voices try to polarize us, and set us against one another? How have you fallen short of Paul’s counsel? How have you lived up to the wisdom he offered?
Prayer: God, open me to your Word. Bless my enemies. Humble me in all aspects of my life. Give me your wisdom and love, so that I may follow your commands to love others and live in peace with them. Amen.

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Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at Vibe, West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
I have a friend who had been an atheist for most of his life. Recently, he converted to Buddhism and is rediscovering the value of religion (he grew up vaguely Catholic), and has had a lot of questions for me about Christians. His most recent question to me was this: Does the good that Christians do make them good people if they’re just motivated by a fear of hell? Doesn’t doing good out of fear cheapen the action and intent? And if that fear causes Christians to hurt other people, were we ever motivated by good in the first place?
I talked a bit about the many Christians who are motivated by goodness rather than fear, of course. But the thing that shocked him was my notion on what Christians are really afraid of. I think the biggest fear in modern American Christianity isn’t the threat of hell--it’s the threat of being labeled a coward who is not serious about their faith, and subsequently being ostracized by other Christians.
While Christians today do a lot of good and help a lot of people, there are also some Christians who lash out at other groups: other religions, other political groups, sometime even other Christian denominations and churches. And the most common justification I hear is that we need to take a bold stand for Christ and denounce whatever it is that we perceive as the biggest threat to modern Christianity. I’ve heard from other Christians that if we’re not offending people who disagree with us, we’re not doing our job.
The image that springs to mind is a group of young boys, all daring each other to inch closer to a known danger--maybe an old house owned by a man who has threatened trespassers--just to prove that they’re not scared of it. Each of the boys says he’s not scared, and the other boys in turn say, “Oh yeah? Prove it!” And with every subsequent dare, the boys get closer and closer to something they know they should stay far away from.
In the past year, I’ve heard different people say that Christianity is not compatible with Republican or Democratic ideology. I’ve heard some say that atheists or Muslim believers are out to destroy Christianity, and we should not engage in civil conversation with them. I’ve heard numerous claims that you can’t be a Christian without supporting a number of social justice causes. It’s as if our claims to faith are met with, “Oh yeah? Prove it!” and we’re dared to inch closer to exclusion and contempt that we shouldn’t be anywhere near.
Paul’s words in Romans 12 run contrary to this notion: Bless people who harass you. Consider everyone as equal. Associate with people who have no status. Show respect for what everyone else believes is good. And verse 18 really drives this home: If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
The greatest fear we face as Christians shouldn’t be being labeled a coward--it should be being unloving and driving people away from God. We need to make bold stands for Christ, but those stands need to be focused on love and grace, not disgust and exclusion. We should be daring each other to inch closer to love and acceptance, even when we disagree on some big topics. This week, make it a focus to live at peace with everyone you encounter. You may find that love is a much more effective argument for Christianity than an exclusionary stand.

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"We need each other to spark love and good deeds" for Wednesday. 1 March 2017

Hebrews 10:22 Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting — with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.[Hebrews 10:22 Ezekiel 36:25] 23 Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other.

And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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As Acts 2 reported, the very first Christians in Jerusalem formed a congregation that met regularly, shared life, and supported one another. As the gospel spread, Christians in other places also formed congregations, often more than one in each city. They knew they were part of something bigger than just their local congregation. But they also knew that they belonged, grew and served together in those local churches.

• Pastor Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote, “The final miracle of the Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost was the birth of the church. You may wonder why I call that a miracle. It is because I know human nature. Next to the transformation of persons, the second greatest miracle is oneness with others who have been transformed.”* In what ways has the Holy Spirit helped you bridge differences and find oneness with other members of your church family?

• Think about the depth and quality of the connection you have with other people in your church. Is anyone on your “2 a.m. call list” if you faced a serious problem? Are you on anyone else’s list? That kind of connection never happens overnight; building trust takes time and shared experiences. How can you let the Holy Spirit deepen your friendships now, so that you are there to uphold one another through any of life’s storms? (If you need ideas about how to start, visit cor.org/connect/community-life.)

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for connecting me to your family. Help me to “spark” love and good deeds in others, and to be receptive to your sparks as they arrive in my life. Amen. * Lloyd John Ogilvie, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 28: Acts. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983, p. 72.

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"The body of Christ—parts of each other, helping each other" for Thursday, 2 March 2017

1 Corinthians 12:12 For just as the body is one but has many parts; and all the parts of the body, though many, constitute one body; so it is with the Messiah. 13 For it was by one Spirit that we were all immersed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14 For indeed the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body,” that doesn’t make it stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not part of the body,” that doesn’t make it stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If it were all hearing, how could it smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged each of the parts in the body exactly as he wanted them.

26 Thus if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; and if one part is honored, all the parts share its happiness.

27 Now you together constitute the body of the Messiah, and individually you are parts of it.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

6:1 Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won’t be tempted too. 2 Bear one another’s burdens — in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah’s true meaning, which the Messiah upholds.

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The apostle Paul reminded his readers in Corinth that their varied gifts were not tools to outdo others in a quest for power or glory. Connected in Christ, they needed to depend on and support one another. To the Galatian Christians, he wrote that part of their God-given mission was to “carry each other’s burdens.”

• As Paul unfolded the metaphor of Christians as “the body of Christ,” he noted that our body parts do not envy or compete with another. Rather, as he wrote in verse 26, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.” Who have you known who lived out that spirit as a member of “the Body of Christ”? How can you more fully honor both your own gifts and those of others?

• John Wesley built the Methodist movement by inviting people into a kind of life he called “watching over one another in love.” Are there people in your life with whom you have the kind of trust, candor and mutual support Galatians 6:1-2 describe? What concrete choices can make this a reality in the relationships you value most?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, so often the world around me says, openly or subtly, “It’s every man (and woman) for himself.” You call me to a very different approach to life. Give me the heart to live out your calling. Amen.

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"God’s family: living in peace, building each other up" for Friday, 3 March 2017

Romans 14:13 Therefore, let’s stop passing judgment on each other! Instead, make this one judgment — not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. 14 I know — that is, I have been persuaded by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah — that nothing is unclean in itself. But if a person considers something unclean, then for him it is unclean; 15 and if your brother is being upset by the food you eat, your life is no longer one of love. Do not, by your eating habits, destroy someone for whom the Messiah died! 16 Do not let what you know to be good, be spoken of as bad; 17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. 18 Anyone who serves the Messiah in this fashion both pleases God and wins the approval of other people.

19 So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding.

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We sometimes think “church” means a big building. Paul’s letter went to a group of smaller “house churches” in Rome (cf. Romans 16:5, 10, 15). Paul wrote to Roman Christians about disputes over food choices, urging “the strong” to care about and encourage “the weak,” rather than mocking or discouraging them. They didn’t always agree on how best to live their faith. We can differ on the details, Paul said. The central command is to love. Life in God’s Kingdom is about “about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

• Paul wrote that as Christians focus their spiritual walk on “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” they are able to stop sniping at one another. How easy or hard do you find it to lay aside a value system built on “being right” to live a life that seeks to lift up others? What helps you see whatever good things you have as gifts meant to bless others, not just to cling to for your own sake?

• “Stop judging each other,” Paul wrote directly. In what ways does that set a high, serious standard for how we relate to one another? Could it be seen as setting a “low” norm for acceptance, one even a woman taken in adultery or a thief on a cross could pass? Which do you find more challenging: the “height” or the “lowness” of Paul’s standard? 

Prayer: Lord God, only you are wise enough to judge the thoughts and intentions of each person’s heart. Help me release the urge to judge others, and instead to seek to live with all people in your peace and love. Amen.

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"Loving one another with God’s love" for Saturday, 4 March 2017

1 John 4:7 Beloved friends, let us love one another; because love is from God; and everyone who loves has God as his Father and knows God. 8 Those who do not love, do not know God; because God is love. 9 Here is how God showed his love among us: God sent his only Son into the world, so that through him we might have life. 10 Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the kapparah for our sins.

11 Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains united with us, and our love for him has been brought to its goal in us.

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As John wrote about how Christians treat one another, he likely thought about himself and Jesus’ other disciples. They jockeyed for position, and got angry with one another at times (cf. Mark 10:35-45). Over time, Jesus re-shaped their thoughts and actions. John knew that loving others with Christ’s love doesn’t spring from a naturally warm human disposition. It goes much deeper than just being “nice.” This kind of active love comes from the heart of the God of the universe. God loves us—that is the reason that we love.

• An unknown humorist wrote, “To live above with saints we love—ah, that will be glory! To live below with saints we know—well, that’s another story.” But John (and the other Bible writers) said that, in Christ, we are able to grow beyond that. Which people, inside or beyond the church, do you find it hardest to love? Read and pray through this passage, plugging in their names and faces. Ask God to help you live out God’s love even toward them.

Prayer: Dear God, you ARE love—what an amazing, mind-stretching truth. You know that it’s not quite as natural for me to love. Please keep loving me as I stretch and grow in my ability to reflect your love to others. Amen.

Family Activity: Jesus asked His followers to treat others the way He did. As a family, discuss your responses to each of these scenarios:

• A new person comes to your Sunday school class and doesn’t know anyone. 

• The person standing in front of you at the grocery store drops a dollar.

• Your neighbor is an older woman and lives alone. A storm comes and all her trash cans fall over.

Talk together about ways to be Christ-like in each of these situations. This week ask each other, “How did you follow Jesus today? Did you ignore an opportunity to serve? How can you do a better job being kind to others tomorrow?” Pray together, asking God to help you be a faithful follower of Jesus.

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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:

• Karen McCarthy and family on the death of her mother Margaret Stewart, 2/22

• Craig Allers and family on the death of his father Alan Allers, 2/21

• Roger and Glenda Wright and family on the death of their daughter Kassandra Wright, 2/19

• Terrie Dalrymple and family on the death of her niece Kassandra Wright, 2/19

• Marilyn Brewer and family on the death of her cousin Rev. James Kimbrough, 2/18

• Judy Setley and family on the death of her husband Gary Setley, 2/15

• Brian Setley and family on the death of his father Gary Setley, 2/15

• Steve Campbell and family on the death of his father James Campbell, 2/15

• Betty Walter and family on the death of her brother Jack Goodman, 2/15
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13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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