The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow. Pray. Study. Guide "Upside Down 'A Good Risk'” from Sunday, 2 July 2017 through Saturday, 8 July 2017
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Sunday, 2 July 2017
Prayer Tip: A Good Risk
Prayer Tip:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
As we prepare to celebrate our country’s independence, I always like to take time to think about what a blessing our liberties are. The most important of these is being able to openly worship our God, attend church and be in community with others. The freedoms in our country support God’s design of free will.
Of course, we have the moral freedom to make bad choices, to hurt others, to lie, cheat or steal from one another. We also can use that freedom to worship God and love our neighbors as ourselves. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the freedoms you have, and pray about whether you are using your freedom to make the best choices in your life to bring glory and honor to God.
Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of our freedom to choose to love you and our neighbors with our whole hearts. Please help us to use this powerful gift wisely to bring peace, joy and comfort to our communities. Amen and Amen. [Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries]
Daily Scripture:
Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
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Sunday, July 2, 2017
"Upside Down 'A Good Risk'”
Scripture: Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
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“Who is my neighbor?”
Monday, 3 Monday, 2017
Luke 10:25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 26 But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”[Luke 10:27 Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18] 28 “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, “And who is my ‘neighbor’?”
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Lawyers or legal experts worked closely with the Pharisees in ancient Judaism. Luke Timothy Johnson wrote that “the religious convictions concerning Torah (the law books of the Old Testament) was shaped by the interpretive skills of the scribes.” * The legal expert, a skilled interpreter of religious traditions, asked Jesus a rhetorical question. He knew the answer. So did Jesus, and turned it back on him. Then the savvy lawyer, knowing that “neighbor” was a nuanced, complex noun, pushed Jesus for a definitive answer: “Who is my neighbor?” But Jesus answered with a story that turned legal arguments upside down.
• In Jesus day (and in many circles today), the Talmud was a book that aimed to discuss and answer questions about Jewish history and law. It helped the Jewish culture think about how to apply laws to everyday life. Like our modern laws, people interpreted the law in a variety of ways. The legal expert, knowing different teachers gave different answers, tried to trip up Jesus by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” “Neighbor” can still mean many different things. Who do you consider your neighbor?
• In our culture, we spend a significant amount of time detached from even our next-door neighbors. Electric garage door openers allow us to stay in our vehicles and enter our homes through an interior door, without having to set foot outside. We can go days without seeing a single neighbor. Who might you see or reconsider as a neighbor if you took less advantage of modern conveniences?
Prayer: Lord God, I want to love you with my whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul. I want to love my neighbor as I love myself. Help me open my eyes to see the neighbors who live, work and breathe all around me. Amen.
* Luke Timothy Johnson. The Writings of the New Testament (Kindle Locations 925-926). Kindle Edition.
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Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
Who is my neighbor?
I’d like to look at how our Downtown Campus has been answering that question this summer. Pastor Scott Chrostek recently described two ways the church has reached out to its neighbors—with amazing, wonderful results.
Here’s the link for you to hear all about these ways that Resurrection Downtown is sharing God’s Kingdom in the heart of our community—and how they are being a true neighbor by “doing” the command to love their neighbor!
https://vimeo.com/224013577
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“Which one of these three was a neighbor?”
Tuesday, 4 July 2017
Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
33 “But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two days’ wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I’ll pay you back when I return.’ 36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the ‘neighbor’ of the man who fell among robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Yeshua said to him, “You go and do as he did.”
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Jesus portrayed two men in elevated religious positions who, for unstated reasons, totally ignored the plight of a man beaten, robbed and left lying in the road. Then he imagined a character who turned everything upside down. He pictured a Samaritan (a group Israelites in his day regarded in about the same light as many of them regard Palestinians today) who acted with extravagant compassion and caring.
• In the story, the Samaritan didn’t just offer casual roadside help. He put the injured man on “his own donkey” (which would have meant he had to walk), brought him to an inn, cared for him, paid two days’ wages for more care, and offered to pay more on his return if needed. How did Jesus’ picture of the Samaritan reflect God’s vast generosity to us? How can knowing God has been generous to us move us to be generous to other people in ways we’d be unlikely to achieve out of our own goodness?
• We usually apply this parable to the need for us to help others, which was a big part of Jesus’ teaching. But in this story, an Israelite also accepted a Samaritan’s help, though Israelites usually shunned such help. How open are you to accepting help from others (even unlikely others) when you need it? Have you ever seen a situation in which asking for or accepting help opened the door to a warmer relationship?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I don’t mind being generous if it’s easy and inexpensive, in time and certainly in money. Help me incorporate your idea of sacrifice into my thinking about what it might mean to be a true neighbor. 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.
A college professor of philosophy posed an interesting moral question to his students. On your way to class, you encounter a small child who is drowning in a lake. You don’t have time to remove the new shoes and clothes you just bought for $456, and saving the child means ruining them. Do you save the child? The class unanimously answered yes, of course they would save the child. The professor then explained the problem behind the problem. Hunger and malnutrition kill 3.1 million children annually--45% of child deaths in 2011. You can sponsor a child and prevent this for--you guessed it--$456 dollars a year. While the entire class said that they would definitely forfeit the money to save a child dying in front of them, none of them were spending the money to prevent the death of a child they would never see, even though the net result is the same.
Going back to today’s passage of the good Samaritan, the professor’s problem becomes much more troubling. What I find most interesting about the teaching I’ve heard on the good Samaritan passage is what it doesn’t address: the legal expert’s original question. The legal expert asked Jesus who his neighbor was, hoping for some guidelines on how to be good. Rather than making things easier, Jesus’ answer made things much harder. The implication is that your neighbor--whom you are to love as yourself--is anyone you encounter that needs help. The Samaritan and the Israelite in the story were not only complete strangers--they were enemies. Their people had a long history of contempt and violence toward each other. Even people with that relationship are your neighbor.
The Samaritan in Jesus’ story demonstrates what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. He met the Israelite man in his moment of need and didn’t ask him to change--he simply helped him without putting conditions on it. He made sure the man’s medical needs were taken care of and paid for it himself. He let the man’s need completely disrupt his life for a few days, and helped him even at great personal cost.
As he typically does, Jesus presents a higher ideal than we could ever live up to. Taking Jesus’ story in a modern context, it’s clear that even our best efforts are never going to be enough. The point isn’t to highlight our failure but to make sure we’re always growing in love for the rest of humanity. We need to meet them in their moment of need and help them, whether that means feeding them, making sure they have the medical help they need, or being there for them when they’re going through the toughest times in their lives, and we need to do it without putting conditions on it or asking them to change first, and we need to do it for everyone. This is an impossible task, but it’s one we can always be working toward. Think of the good we could accomplish together if we refuse to settle for good enough. That is the goal that will drive us to give more and more and become the best versions of ourselves.
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"Love your enemies—but not to gain people’s attention"
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor[Matthew 5:43 Leviticus 19:18] — and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. 46 What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! 47 And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! 48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
6:1 “Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So, when you do tzedakah, don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 3 But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
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The Old Testament did not plainly teach “hate your enemy,” but some rabbis thought it did: “The command to hate enemies, while emphasized by some contemporary Jewish sects, was not explicit in Scripture, but extrapolated from pious examples there (Ps 31: 6; 119: 113; 139: 21).” * Jesus’ teaching was (and is) counter-cultural. Ancient Greek and Roman culture did not urge personal charity; Jewish piety often made it central but limited. Jesus stressed God’s mercy to all people through his faithful servants. He taught us to do good not for reward, but with a humble spirit, and promised an eternal, not temporal, reward from the heavenly Father.
• Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.” What do you think his point was? “When God makes straight our path, and we walk in peace, man can only do so because it is the Lord God who enables us to do so.” ** In what ways do evil and good collide in you? Why is it that without God’s help, even your most well-intentioned actions fall short of glorifying the Father?
• Christ is, as Hebrews 1:3 put it, the exact representation of God. The reward Jesus spoke of is not of this earth, but the privilege of abiding in the everlasting presence of the Father. If you depend on such an amazing reward, how can you go about remaining humble in spirit while serving God faithfully in all walks of life?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s hard for me, but teach me how to love all the people you love. And help me to do the right things, not because I’m addicted to human approval, but because your love has changed me inwardly. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 219237-219240). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Augustine, On Grace and Free Will (p. 18)
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Jennifer Creagar
Jennifer Creagar is the Financial Care Program Director in Congregational Care at Resurrection Leawood. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you as children of your Father who is in heaven." [Matthew 5:44]
I think many of us read this verse and think, "I don't really have any enemies. Enemies seems like such a large, harsh word. And do I really feel like someone is harassing me? I don't think so...."
The dictionary defines enemy as: "one that is antagonistic to another; especially one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent" (from Merriam Webster Online).
Here's a question: How do you feel when you read through your Facebook "Top Stories" or your Twitter feed? How do you feel after watching the news or listening to podcasts about current issues? Do you have an urge to overthrow or confound? Do you feel that there are others who are seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound you?
We are living in a time when good people can find themselves with vastly different ideas about the world and how it should work. In our own families, communities and church, there are many issues about which we have strong feelings, and do not agree with others near us. Harassed is a pretty good term for how we feel when we read or hear someone enthusiastically supporting something we oppose strongly and passionately. Even if they are friends or family, we read or listen to their words and suddenly, they don't seem very lovable. If we try really hard, we might be able to tolerate them, or just avoid them and their terrible ideas and opinions. We "unfriend" them. We quit following them on social media. We avoid them at the family get-together.
But Jesus didn't say to tolerate them, and he didn't say to just keep away from our enemies to avoid trouble. Jesus, in his revolutionary way, tells us to love them. You can't love someone from a safe distance. You can't love someone you are avoiding while you say to yourself, "I can't believe he/she could be so stupid/unfeeling/WRONG."
Jesus even told us how to love that person with the impossible ideas. He told us to pray for the person that is harassing us, whose ideas and actions are antagonistic to us. And Jesus didn't say to pray for them to see the light and suddenly agree with us. There is nothing wrong with praying about the issues we care about - about justice and fairness and safety and good in the world. When it comes to individuals, Jesus wants us to see and pray for each other as individuals, not as representatives of a certain set of political, social, or even religious beliefs.He wants us to see each other as God's beloved, and pray for all God's blessings for each and every one.
What if we opened up our Twitter accounts and our Facebook pages and stopped to pray for every single person we see represented there? What if we prayed for every name we hear in the news tonight? What if we didn't pray about their politics or their philosophy, but prayed for their hearts and hurts and health and families? No matter how we feel about their social and political priorities, we will know that we have reached out with the love of Christ to the other children of our Father in heaven, just as Jesus said we should.
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"Two went to work, one buried his master’s money"
Thursday, 6 July 2017
Matthew 25:14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
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The “coins” in this story were valuable indeed. “The Greek word is talanton, often translated as ‘talent,’ which refers to a monetary unit equal to more than 16 years of earnings for a laborer.” * But in Jesus’ story, the emphasis was less on the amount of money, and more on how faithful each servant was or wasn’t. Jesus said our faithfulness to God shows in our willingness to use whatever resources of energy, time, skills, money or other assets God gives us to bless others and build God’s kingdom.
• Jesus’ story wouldn’t have worked if the three servants had all immediately forgotten the source of the large sum of money they had to manage. Our culture tends to teach us to think, “You earned all this money and these possessions, so you can do anything you want with them.” Read Deuteronomy 8:12-18[Deuteronomy 8:12 Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, 13 and increased your herds, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, 14 you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting Adonai your God — who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves; 15 who led you through the vast and fearsome desert, with its poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground; who brought water out of flint rock for you; 16 who fed you in the desert with man, unknown to your ancestors; all the while humbling and testing you in order to do you good in the end — 17 you will think to yourself, ‘My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 No, you are to remember Adonai your God, because it is he who is giving you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as is happening even today.]. How easy or hard do you find it to make the inner shift from “I OWN all this” to “I’m a steward to whom God has entrusted these things to use for God’s purposes”?
• That settled, what resources has God placed in your life? How are you using those resources to serve God’s Kingdom and bless others? Are there any resources or life-giving abilities you have “buried in a hole in the ground,” so to speak? If so, how can you begin to use them actively for God’s purposes?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the good abilities and resources you’ve placed in my life (even if I sometimes wish there were more of them). Help me to manage them in ways that are faithful to your principles. Amen.
* Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 25:15 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 54 NT.
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Chris Abel
Chris Abel is the Young Adults Pastor at Resurrection, and he describes himself as a "Pastor/Creative-type/Adventurer." A former atheist turned passionate follower of Christ, he completed his seminary education in Washington, DC. Before coming to Resurrection, Chris was a campus pastor near St. Louis, MO.
There have been two powerful realizations in my life that changed everything for me.
The first was when I was in high school. One night I dreamt I was adventuring in a far off land, adrenaline pumping through my veins, soaking up the excitement of encountering new places, people, sights and sounds. But when I woke up, the far off land materialized back into the floor I had fallen asleep on after playing video games and eating pizza at a friend's house. Not quite the same.
And that’s when it struck me. I can remember the exact moment I realized I didn’t just have to dream about adventure,
I could live a life of adventure.
I was still wiping sleep from my eyes when it became evident that I could work and save (and work and save some more) in order to travel, get outside my comfort zone and take the path less traveled. It was do-able!
So I did it. It took years, but I’ve adventured. I’ve hiked glaciers in Iceland and worked construction side by side with villagers in Mozambique. I’ve sweated over makeshift ovens cooking tortillas for orphans in Honduras, and clumsily shopped floating markets on the rivers of Vietnam. I've dined with Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims searching for the truths that we might share in our faiths.
A silly realization when I was in high school changed the trajectory of entering into adulthood. If I had never had the realization that I was capable of acting on my dream of adventure, I never would have done those things.
How you think about yourself impacts who you become.
Which leads me to my second life changing realization. I was in my first full-time job as a Youth Minister (not quite as exciting as glaciers…), and I was not great with my finances. So I skeptically enrolled in a Dave Ramsey course and during one session my ears perked up when Dave explained the meaning of “stewardship” in a way that resonated. I can’t remember the exact quote, but it was essentially that a “steward” is a caretaker of someone else’s property therefore, “stewardship” is acknowledging that your life and finances are not your own.
I had seriously never considered this idea before. But I liked it.
If my first realization helped me see my life in a different way, this second realization helped me see that my life isn’t my own. And this had all sorts of implications. It meant that my time wasn’t mine. My energy wasn’t mine. My money wasn’t mine. It meant that instead of taking life for granted, as if it was owed to me, I realized this thing we call life is a loan.
We have it for a time, and then we give it back. Just like the workers in today’s parable, we’ve each been given abilities, energy and possibility. And if you’re anything like me, it’s super easy to spend all that potential… on Netflix. Or on a business that won’t exist in 100 years. Or consumed by anxiety and stress.
Realizing that your life isn’t yours is the first step to realizing God didn’t just give you this life for fun. God gave you this life because He needs you for something. He invested in this world and the atoms and molecules and DNA that led to YOU—because He anticipates what you might do with it.
This greater calling is so much more exciting than climbing glaciers. This means that in whatever we do, whether parenting, purchasing, exercising, or working—we’re employing God’s gift.
Which also means:
When you have negative self talk,
Take advantage of others,
Hold onto anger,
Take poor care of yourself,
Hoard your finances,
Have a poor work ethic,
And all the things that are so tempting to do,
Then you are failing to steward the gift of life you’ve been given.
The truth is, this is a hard reality for all of us. And although I don't always get it right, it’s been transformative for me because now I am no long living just for me. This life is tied to something bigger, and my Father has asked that I use it well.
You may be waking up on the floor next to a pizza box (or maybe not), but today—this now—is the first day of the rest of this gift.
And God yearns for you to use it.
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"Faithful, or lazy?"
Friday, 7 July 2017
Matthew 25:19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’
24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 29 For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’
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Three servants—two called “good and faithful,” the third fired for being “wicked and lazy.” The apostle Paul wrote that “it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). He also followed Jesus’ teaching when he wrote that living selfishly destroys our freedom, and that serving each other in love is the divine antidote for selfishness (cf. Galatians 5:13-14). God’s Spirit guides us to be faithful to our commitments to serve God and bless others.
• John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, was a “good and faithful servant.” He made a remarkable entry in his Journal at age 81. He wrote, “On this and the four following days I walked through the town and begged two hundred pounds in order to clothe them that needed it most. But it was hard work as most of the streets were filled with melting snow… so that my feet were steeped in snow water nearly from morning till evening.” What sacrifices do you sense God calling you to make as one of God’s servants?
• Richard Foster, well-known author of Celebration of Discipline, also wrote a book called Freedom of Simplicity. The first chapter bore the paradoxical title “The Complexity of Simplicity.” The complexity comes as we realize that it won’t do to just try to imitate some other person’s actions, whether John Wesley’s or your pious grandmother’s. How do you cultivate a listening heart, a spirit receptive to God’s direction? What do you believe it means for you to respond to God as a “good and faithful servant”?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, “good and faithful servant”—what beautiful words to hear from your lips. But, sometimes, what difficult words to live into in my day-to-day routine. Keep shaping and guiding me into faithfulness. Amen.
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Ginger Rothhaas
Ginger is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology. She and her husband Rob have a son, a daughter, and a high energy dog. She loves writing, conversations over coffee, and teaching spiritual classes.
This parable always puzzles me. Maybe it is because I feel compassion for the third servant. I see myself in the servant who gets thrown under the proverbial bus by his master. He is afraid. He takes the safest approach.
But the play-it-safe-servant is told that playing it safe isn’t the right answer.
I too have doubted that abundance is mine. I fear making a mistake. I don’t like to disappoint people. I convince myself there is a lot to lose and I don’t want to be the one who loses it. I forget to trust God…and I forget to trust myself.
Based on the description of the master, I know I would have played this investment strategy very safe, just like the play-it-safe-servant did. What do you think you would do?
If you are like me and my servant friend who said, “I was afraid…I hid…,” let’s try this:
God, help me release this fear of taking a risk for your glory. Help me have courage to share the abundance of love and gifts you have given me. Please remind me that you have my back, you aren’t a scorekeeping master, you are pure unconditional love. Show me how you intend for me to use the gifts I have been given and with whom you would have me share my resources. Help me have courage to live big and quit playing small in my faith life. I have been dimming my light; please give me the courage I need to shine brighter. Thank you for entrusting me to be a steward of your abundant love. Amen.
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"Gratitude for God’s good gifts"
Saturday, 8 July 2017
Luke 17:11 On his way to Yerushalayim, Yeshua passed along the border country between Shomron and the Galil. 12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara‘at met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out, “Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!” 14 On seeing them, he said, “Go and let the cohanim examine you!” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God, 16 and fell on his face at Yeshua’s feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron. 17 Yeshua said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And to the man from Shomron he said, “Get up, you may go; your trust has saved you.”, Psalm 126:1 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
2 Our mouths were full of laughter,
and our tongues shouted for joy.
Among the nations it was said,
“Adonai has done great things for them!”
3 Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.
4 Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping
as he carries his sack of seed
will come home with cries of joy
as he carries his sheaves of grain.
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Jesus healed a group of ten lepers—men with visible skin diseases, shunned and outcast. Of the ten, only a Samaritan came back to say “thank you.” This real-life experience echoed Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan. Israel’s long history included incredibly low times of misery at the hands of tyrants (notably exile in Babylon—cf. 2 Kings 24:13-14, 25:11[2 Kings 24:13 He also carried away from there all the treasures in the house of Adonai and the treasures in the royal palace. He cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Shlomo king of Isra’el had made in the temple of Adonai, as Adonai had said would happen. 14 He carried all Yerushalayim away captive — all the princes, all the bravest soldiers — 10,000 captives; also all the craftsmen and metalworkers. No one was left but the poorest people of the land.
11 N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard then deported the remaining population of the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Bavel and the rest of the common people.]). It also included their joyous gratitude for God’s action to deliver them from exile. Psalm 126 poetically recalled the gladness of the times when God lifted Israel up from their lowly status, and prayed that God would again allow them to live in the joy of divine deliverance.
• Unlike the story in Luke 17, where only one of ten bothered to say “thank you,” Ephesians 5:20 invited God’s people to “always give thanks to God the Father for everything.” Whatever your current problems, take time to list anything you’re thankful for (e.g. a glorious sunset, a child’s giggle, the velvety texture of a dog’s ears, your favorite meal, a roof over your head, Jesus’ love) and thank God for it. Make a game of it—make daily gratitude your way of life. The second half of Psalm 126 was a confident prayer, trusting that the same God who delivered in the past would do it again. How can weaving the practice of gratitude into your life help you to pray, and mean, the words of the psalm: “Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts”?
Prayer: Lord, it’s easy for me to celebrate the raise, the new job, the healthy new baby. I wish it weren’t so easy for me to forget my gratitude every time things don’t turn out as I’d wished. Make me more and more like the Samaritan who remembered to express gratitude. Amen.
Family Activity: As a family, discuss your response 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, an older woman, lives alone. A storm comes and all her trash cans fall over.
Talk together about ways to respond and serve in each of these situations. This week ask each other, “How did you serve someone today? Was there a time you chose not to serve or decided you were too busy? How can you do better tomorrow?” Pray together and ask God to help you serve others.
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Cathy Bien
Cathy Bien serves as the Director of Communications at Church of the Resurrection. She and her husband Rick have been members of the church since 1993 and have four adult children.
This passage in Luke 17 teaches us a lesson about the importance of gratitude--recognizing and acknowledging God’s gifts. But it also has an important message about faith. In verse 19, Jesus tells the Samaritan “Your faith has healed you.”
This simple phrase reminds us that no matter what we are going through, no matter how much pain we are in, we can hold on to our faith, looking to God with gratitude and confidence that God is with us and will bless us.
This week the communication team has been busy preparing materials and videos for the weekend’s sermon on suicide. The stories have been gut-wrenching--individuals and families in such pain that it’s hard to imagine they will every experience joy again.
Yet, the message from Psalm 126 is that God will change our circumstances. Verse 5 says: “Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts.” What powerful imagery! From our tears will come a harvest--a good and wonderful gift from God.
If you are at a place where you are planting with tears, hang on. The harvest will come. To use Pastor Adam’s phrase, “The worst thing is never the last thing.” Jesus brought hope to the world.
The Church of the Resurrection is filled with amazing people and resources. Reach out and let us share your pain and walk with you. God loves you and will heal you.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joan Felling and family on the death of her husband David Felling, 6/28
• Nick and Josh Felling on the death of their father, David Felling, 6/28
• Linn Ver Meer and family on the death of her sister Marilyn Rausch, 6/25
•Friends and family of Lois Elcock on her death, 6/17
•Don Giles and family on the death of his father William Giles, 6/6
• Jennifer Reid and family on the death of her grandfather James “Jim” Unruh, 5/29
Sunday, 2 July 2017
Prayer Tip: A Good Risk
Prayer Tip:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
As we prepare to celebrate our country’s independence, I always like to take time to think about what a blessing our liberties are. The most important of these is being able to openly worship our God, attend church and be in community with others. The freedoms in our country support God’s design of free will.
Of course, we have the moral freedom to make bad choices, to hurt others, to lie, cheat or steal from one another. We also can use that freedom to worship God and love our neighbors as ourselves. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the freedoms you have, and pray about whether you are using your freedom to make the best choices in your life to bring glory and honor to God.
Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of our freedom to choose to love you and our neighbors with our whole hearts. Please help us to use this powerful gift wisely to bring peace, joy and comfort to our communities. Amen and Amen. [Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries]
Daily Scripture:
Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
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Sunday, July 2, 2017
"Upside Down 'A Good Risk'”
Scripture: Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
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“Who is my neighbor?”
Monday, 3 Monday, 2017
Luke 10:25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 26 But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”[Luke 10:27 Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18] 28 “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, “And who is my ‘neighbor’?”
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Lawyers or legal experts worked closely with the Pharisees in ancient Judaism. Luke Timothy Johnson wrote that “the religious convictions concerning Torah (the law books of the Old Testament) was shaped by the interpretive skills of the scribes.” * The legal expert, a skilled interpreter of religious traditions, asked Jesus a rhetorical question. He knew the answer. So did Jesus, and turned it back on him. Then the savvy lawyer, knowing that “neighbor” was a nuanced, complex noun, pushed Jesus for a definitive answer: “Who is my neighbor?” But Jesus answered with a story that turned legal arguments upside down.
• In Jesus day (and in many circles today), the Talmud was a book that aimed to discuss and answer questions about Jewish history and law. It helped the Jewish culture think about how to apply laws to everyday life. Like our modern laws, people interpreted the law in a variety of ways. The legal expert, knowing different teachers gave different answers, tried to trip up Jesus by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” “Neighbor” can still mean many different things. Who do you consider your neighbor?
• In our culture, we spend a significant amount of time detached from even our next-door neighbors. Electric garage door openers allow us to stay in our vehicles and enter our homes through an interior door, without having to set foot outside. We can go days without seeing a single neighbor. Who might you see or reconsider as a neighbor if you took less advantage of modern conveniences?
Prayer: Lord God, I want to love you with my whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul. I want to love my neighbor as I love myself. Help me open my eyes to see the neighbors who live, work and breathe all around me. Amen.
* Luke Timothy Johnson. The Writings of the New Testament (Kindle Locations 925-926). Kindle Edition.
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Donna KarlenDonna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
Who is my neighbor?
I’d like to look at how our Downtown Campus has been answering that question this summer. Pastor Scott Chrostek recently described two ways the church has reached out to its neighbors—with amazing, wonderful results.
Here’s the link for you to hear all about these ways that Resurrection Downtown is sharing God’s Kingdom in the heart of our community—and how they are being a true neighbor by “doing” the command to love their neighbor!
https://vimeo.com/224013577
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“Which one of these three was a neighbor?”
Tuesday, 4 July 2017
Luke 10:30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
33 “But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two days’ wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I’ll pay you back when I return.’ 36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the ‘neighbor’ of the man who fell among robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Yeshua said to him, “You go and do as he did.”
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Jesus portrayed two men in elevated religious positions who, for unstated reasons, totally ignored the plight of a man beaten, robbed and left lying in the road. Then he imagined a character who turned everything upside down. He pictured a Samaritan (a group Israelites in his day regarded in about the same light as many of them regard Palestinians today) who acted with extravagant compassion and caring.
• In the story, the Samaritan didn’t just offer casual roadside help. He put the injured man on “his own donkey” (which would have meant he had to walk), brought him to an inn, cared for him, paid two days’ wages for more care, and offered to pay more on his return if needed. How did Jesus’ picture of the Samaritan reflect God’s vast generosity to us? How can knowing God has been generous to us move us to be generous to other people in ways we’d be unlikely to achieve out of our own goodness?
• We usually apply this parable to the need for us to help others, which was a big part of Jesus’ teaching. But in this story, an Israelite also accepted a Samaritan’s help, though Israelites usually shunned such help. How open are you to accepting help from others (even unlikely others) when you need it? Have you ever seen a situation in which asking for or accepting help opened the door to a warmer relationship?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I don’t mind being generous if it’s easy and inexpensive, in time and certainly in money. Help me incorporate your idea of sacrifice into my thinking about what it might mean to be a true neighbor. Amen.
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Brandon GregoryBrandon 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.
A college professor of philosophy posed an interesting moral question to his students. On your way to class, you encounter a small child who is drowning in a lake. You don’t have time to remove the new shoes and clothes you just bought for $456, and saving the child means ruining them. Do you save the child? The class unanimously answered yes, of course they would save the child. The professor then explained the problem behind the problem. Hunger and malnutrition kill 3.1 million children annually--45% of child deaths in 2011. You can sponsor a child and prevent this for--you guessed it--$456 dollars a year. While the entire class said that they would definitely forfeit the money to save a child dying in front of them, none of them were spending the money to prevent the death of a child they would never see, even though the net result is the same.
Going back to today’s passage of the good Samaritan, the professor’s problem becomes much more troubling. What I find most interesting about the teaching I’ve heard on the good Samaritan passage is what it doesn’t address: the legal expert’s original question. The legal expert asked Jesus who his neighbor was, hoping for some guidelines on how to be good. Rather than making things easier, Jesus’ answer made things much harder. The implication is that your neighbor--whom you are to love as yourself--is anyone you encounter that needs help. The Samaritan and the Israelite in the story were not only complete strangers--they were enemies. Their people had a long history of contempt and violence toward each other. Even people with that relationship are your neighbor.
The Samaritan in Jesus’ story demonstrates what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. He met the Israelite man in his moment of need and didn’t ask him to change--he simply helped him without putting conditions on it. He made sure the man’s medical needs were taken care of and paid for it himself. He let the man’s need completely disrupt his life for a few days, and helped him even at great personal cost.
As he typically does, Jesus presents a higher ideal than we could ever live up to. Taking Jesus’ story in a modern context, it’s clear that even our best efforts are never going to be enough. The point isn’t to highlight our failure but to make sure we’re always growing in love for the rest of humanity. We need to meet them in their moment of need and help them, whether that means feeding them, making sure they have the medical help they need, or being there for them when they’re going through the toughest times in their lives, and we need to do it without putting conditions on it or asking them to change first, and we need to do it for everyone. This is an impossible task, but it’s one we can always be working toward. Think of the good we could accomplish together if we refuse to settle for good enough. That is the goal that will drive us to give more and more and become the best versions of ourselves.
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"Love your enemies—but not to gain people’s attention"
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor[Matthew 5:43 Leviticus 19:18] — and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. 46 What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! 47 And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! 48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
6:1 “Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So, when you do tzedakah, don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 3 But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
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The Old Testament did not plainly teach “hate your enemy,” but some rabbis thought it did: “The command to hate enemies, while emphasized by some contemporary Jewish sects, was not explicit in Scripture, but extrapolated from pious examples there (Ps 31: 6; 119: 113; 139: 21).” * Jesus’ teaching was (and is) counter-cultural. Ancient Greek and Roman culture did not urge personal charity; Jewish piety often made it central but limited. Jesus stressed God’s mercy to all people through his faithful servants. He taught us to do good not for reward, but with a humble spirit, and promised an eternal, not temporal, reward from the heavenly Father.
• Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.” What do you think his point was? “When God makes straight our path, and we walk in peace, man can only do so because it is the Lord God who enables us to do so.” ** In what ways do evil and good collide in you? Why is it that without God’s help, even your most well-intentioned actions fall short of glorifying the Father?
• Christ is, as Hebrews 1:3 put it, the exact representation of God. The reward Jesus spoke of is not of this earth, but the privilege of abiding in the everlasting presence of the Father. If you depend on such an amazing reward, how can you go about remaining humble in spirit while serving God faithfully in all walks of life?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s hard for me, but teach me how to love all the people you love. And help me to do the right things, not because I’m addicted to human approval, but because your love has changed me inwardly. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 219237-219240). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Augustine, On Grace and Free Will (p. 18)
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Jennifer CreagarJennifer Creagar is the Financial Care Program Director in Congregational Care at Resurrection Leawood. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you as children of your Father who is in heaven." [Matthew 5:44]
I think many of us read this verse and think, "I don't really have any enemies. Enemies seems like such a large, harsh word. And do I really feel like someone is harassing me? I don't think so...."
The dictionary defines enemy as: "one that is antagonistic to another; especially one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent" (from Merriam Webster Online).
Here's a question: How do you feel when you read through your Facebook "Top Stories" or your Twitter feed? How do you feel after watching the news or listening to podcasts about current issues? Do you have an urge to overthrow or confound? Do you feel that there are others who are seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound you?
We are living in a time when good people can find themselves with vastly different ideas about the world and how it should work. In our own families, communities and church, there are many issues about which we have strong feelings, and do not agree with others near us. Harassed is a pretty good term for how we feel when we read or hear someone enthusiastically supporting something we oppose strongly and passionately. Even if they are friends or family, we read or listen to their words and suddenly, they don't seem very lovable. If we try really hard, we might be able to tolerate them, or just avoid them and their terrible ideas and opinions. We "unfriend" them. We quit following them on social media. We avoid them at the family get-together.
But Jesus didn't say to tolerate them, and he didn't say to just keep away from our enemies to avoid trouble. Jesus, in his revolutionary way, tells us to love them. You can't love someone from a safe distance. You can't love someone you are avoiding while you say to yourself, "I can't believe he/she could be so stupid/unfeeling/WRONG."
Jesus even told us how to love that person with the impossible ideas. He told us to pray for the person that is harassing us, whose ideas and actions are antagonistic to us. And Jesus didn't say to pray for them to see the light and suddenly agree with us. There is nothing wrong with praying about the issues we care about - about justice and fairness and safety and good in the world. When it comes to individuals, Jesus wants us to see and pray for each other as individuals, not as representatives of a certain set of political, social, or even religious beliefs.He wants us to see each other as God's beloved, and pray for all God's blessings for each and every one.
What if we opened up our Twitter accounts and our Facebook pages and stopped to pray for every single person we see represented there? What if we prayed for every name we hear in the news tonight? What if we didn't pray about their politics or their philosophy, but prayed for their hearts and hurts and health and families? No matter how we feel about their social and political priorities, we will know that we have reached out with the love of Christ to the other children of our Father in heaven, just as Jesus said we should.
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"Two went to work, one buried his master’s money"
Thursday, 6 July 2017
Matthew 25:14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
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The “coins” in this story were valuable indeed. “The Greek word is talanton, often translated as ‘talent,’ which refers to a monetary unit equal to more than 16 years of earnings for a laborer.” * But in Jesus’ story, the emphasis was less on the amount of money, and more on how faithful each servant was or wasn’t. Jesus said our faithfulness to God shows in our willingness to use whatever resources of energy, time, skills, money or other assets God gives us to bless others and build God’s kingdom.
• Jesus’ story wouldn’t have worked if the three servants had all immediately forgotten the source of the large sum of money they had to manage. Our culture tends to teach us to think, “You earned all this money and these possessions, so you can do anything you want with them.” Read Deuteronomy 8:12-18[Deuteronomy 8:12 Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, 13 and increased your herds, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, 14 you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting Adonai your God — who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves; 15 who led you through the vast and fearsome desert, with its poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground; who brought water out of flint rock for you; 16 who fed you in the desert with man, unknown to your ancestors; all the while humbling and testing you in order to do you good in the end — 17 you will think to yourself, ‘My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 No, you are to remember Adonai your God, because it is he who is giving you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as is happening even today.]. How easy or hard do you find it to make the inner shift from “I OWN all this” to “I’m a steward to whom God has entrusted these things to use for God’s purposes”?
• That settled, what resources has God placed in your life? How are you using those resources to serve God’s Kingdom and bless others? Are there any resources or life-giving abilities you have “buried in a hole in the ground,” so to speak? If so, how can you begin to use them actively for God’s purposes?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the good abilities and resources you’ve placed in my life (even if I sometimes wish there were more of them). Help me to manage them in ways that are faithful to your principles. Amen.
* Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 25:15 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 54 NT.
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Chris AbelChris Abel is the Young Adults Pastor at Resurrection, and he describes himself as a "Pastor/Creative-type/Adventurer." A former atheist turned passionate follower of Christ, he completed his seminary education in Washington, DC. Before coming to Resurrection, Chris was a campus pastor near St. Louis, MO.
There have been two powerful realizations in my life that changed everything for me.
The first was when I was in high school. One night I dreamt I was adventuring in a far off land, adrenaline pumping through my veins, soaking up the excitement of encountering new places, people, sights and sounds. But when I woke up, the far off land materialized back into the floor I had fallen asleep on after playing video games and eating pizza at a friend's house. Not quite the same.
And that’s when it struck me. I can remember the exact moment I realized I didn’t just have to dream about adventure,
I could live a life of adventure.
I was still wiping sleep from my eyes when it became evident that I could work and save (and work and save some more) in order to travel, get outside my comfort zone and take the path less traveled. It was do-able!
So I did it. It took years, but I’ve adventured. I’ve hiked glaciers in Iceland and worked construction side by side with villagers in Mozambique. I’ve sweated over makeshift ovens cooking tortillas for orphans in Honduras, and clumsily shopped floating markets on the rivers of Vietnam. I've dined with Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims searching for the truths that we might share in our faiths.
A silly realization when I was in high school changed the trajectory of entering into adulthood. If I had never had the realization that I was capable of acting on my dream of adventure, I never would have done those things.
How you think about yourself impacts who you become.
Which leads me to my second life changing realization. I was in my first full-time job as a Youth Minister (not quite as exciting as glaciers…), and I was not great with my finances. So I skeptically enrolled in a Dave Ramsey course and during one session my ears perked up when Dave explained the meaning of “stewardship” in a way that resonated. I can’t remember the exact quote, but it was essentially that a “steward” is a caretaker of someone else’s property therefore, “stewardship” is acknowledging that your life and finances are not your own.
I had seriously never considered this idea before. But I liked it.
If my first realization helped me see my life in a different way, this second realization helped me see that my life isn’t my own. And this had all sorts of implications. It meant that my time wasn’t mine. My energy wasn’t mine. My money wasn’t mine. It meant that instead of taking life for granted, as if it was owed to me, I realized this thing we call life is a loan.
We have it for a time, and then we give it back. Just like the workers in today’s parable, we’ve each been given abilities, energy and possibility. And if you’re anything like me, it’s super easy to spend all that potential… on Netflix. Or on a business that won’t exist in 100 years. Or consumed by anxiety and stress.
Realizing that your life isn’t yours is the first step to realizing God didn’t just give you this life for fun. God gave you this life because He needs you for something. He invested in this world and the atoms and molecules and DNA that led to YOU—because He anticipates what you might do with it.
This greater calling is so much more exciting than climbing glaciers. This means that in whatever we do, whether parenting, purchasing, exercising, or working—we’re employing God’s gift.
Which also means:
When you have negative self talk,
Take advantage of others,
Hold onto anger,
Take poor care of yourself,
Hoard your finances,
Have a poor work ethic,
And all the things that are so tempting to do,
Then you are failing to steward the gift of life you’ve been given.
The truth is, this is a hard reality for all of us. And although I don't always get it right, it’s been transformative for me because now I am no long living just for me. This life is tied to something bigger, and my Father has asked that I use it well.
You may be waking up on the floor next to a pizza box (or maybe not), but today—this now—is the first day of the rest of this gift.
And God yearns for you to use it.
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"Faithful, or lazy?"
Friday, 7 July 2017
Matthew 25:19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’
24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 29 For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’
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Three servants—two called “good and faithful,” the third fired for being “wicked and lazy.” The apostle Paul wrote that “it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). He also followed Jesus’ teaching when he wrote that living selfishly destroys our freedom, and that serving each other in love is the divine antidote for selfishness (cf. Galatians 5:13-14). God’s Spirit guides us to be faithful to our commitments to serve God and bless others.
• John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, was a “good and faithful servant.” He made a remarkable entry in his Journal at age 81. He wrote, “On this and the four following days I walked through the town and begged two hundred pounds in order to clothe them that needed it most. But it was hard work as most of the streets were filled with melting snow… so that my feet were steeped in snow water nearly from morning till evening.” What sacrifices do you sense God calling you to make as one of God’s servants?
• Richard Foster, well-known author of Celebration of Discipline, also wrote a book called Freedom of Simplicity. The first chapter bore the paradoxical title “The Complexity of Simplicity.” The complexity comes as we realize that it won’t do to just try to imitate some other person’s actions, whether John Wesley’s or your pious grandmother’s. How do you cultivate a listening heart, a spirit receptive to God’s direction? What do you believe it means for you to respond to God as a “good and faithful servant”?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, “good and faithful servant”—what beautiful words to hear from your lips. But, sometimes, what difficult words to live into in my day-to-day routine. Keep shaping and guiding me into faithfulness. Amen.
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Ginger RothhaasGinger is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology. She and her husband Rob have a son, a daughter, and a high energy dog. She loves writing, conversations over coffee, and teaching spiritual classes.
This parable always puzzles me. Maybe it is because I feel compassion for the third servant. I see myself in the servant who gets thrown under the proverbial bus by his master. He is afraid. He takes the safest approach.
But the play-it-safe-servant is told that playing it safe isn’t the right answer.
I too have doubted that abundance is mine. I fear making a mistake. I don’t like to disappoint people. I convince myself there is a lot to lose and I don’t want to be the one who loses it. I forget to trust God…and I forget to trust myself.
Based on the description of the master, I know I would have played this investment strategy very safe, just like the play-it-safe-servant did. What do you think you would do?
If you are like me and my servant friend who said, “I was afraid…I hid…,” let’s try this:
God, help me release this fear of taking a risk for your glory. Help me have courage to share the abundance of love and gifts you have given me. Please remind me that you have my back, you aren’t a scorekeeping master, you are pure unconditional love. Show me how you intend for me to use the gifts I have been given and with whom you would have me share my resources. Help me have courage to live big and quit playing small in my faith life. I have been dimming my light; please give me the courage I need to shine brighter. Thank you for entrusting me to be a steward of your abundant love. Amen.
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"Gratitude for God’s good gifts"
Saturday, 8 July 2017
Luke 17:11 On his way to Yerushalayim, Yeshua passed along the border country between Shomron and the Galil. 12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara‘at met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out, “Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!” 14 On seeing them, he said, “Go and let the cohanim examine you!” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God, 16 and fell on his face at Yeshua’s feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron. 17 Yeshua said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And to the man from Shomron he said, “Get up, you may go; your trust has saved you.”, Psalm 126:1 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
2 Our mouths were full of laughter,
and our tongues shouted for joy.
Among the nations it was said,
“Adonai has done great things for them!”
3 Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.
4 Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping
as he carries his sack of seed
will come home with cries of joy
as he carries his sheaves of grain.
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Jesus healed a group of ten lepers—men with visible skin diseases, shunned and outcast. Of the ten, only a Samaritan came back to say “thank you.” This real-life experience echoed Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan. Israel’s long history included incredibly low times of misery at the hands of tyrants (notably exile in Babylon—cf. 2 Kings 24:13-14, 25:11[2 Kings 24:13 He also carried away from there all the treasures in the house of Adonai and the treasures in the royal palace. He cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Shlomo king of Isra’el had made in the temple of Adonai, as Adonai had said would happen. 14 He carried all Yerushalayim away captive — all the princes, all the bravest soldiers — 10,000 captives; also all the craftsmen and metalworkers. No one was left but the poorest people of the land.
11 N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard then deported the remaining population of the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Bavel and the rest of the common people.]). It also included their joyous gratitude for God’s action to deliver them from exile. Psalm 126 poetically recalled the gladness of the times when God lifted Israel up from their lowly status, and prayed that God would again allow them to live in the joy of divine deliverance.
• Unlike the story in Luke 17, where only one of ten bothered to say “thank you,” Ephesians 5:20 invited God’s people to “always give thanks to God the Father for everything.” Whatever your current problems, take time to list anything you’re thankful for (e.g. a glorious sunset, a child’s giggle, the velvety texture of a dog’s ears, your favorite meal, a roof over your head, Jesus’ love) and thank God for it. Make a game of it—make daily gratitude your way of life. The second half of Psalm 126 was a confident prayer, trusting that the same God who delivered in the past would do it again. How can weaving the practice of gratitude into your life help you to pray, and mean, the words of the psalm: “Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts”?
Prayer: Lord, it’s easy for me to celebrate the raise, the new job, the healthy new baby. I wish it weren’t so easy for me to forget my gratitude every time things don’t turn out as I’d wished. Make me more and more like the Samaritan who remembered to express gratitude. Amen.
Family Activity: As a family, discuss your response 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, an older woman, lives alone. A storm comes and all her trash cans fall over.
Talk together about ways to respond and serve in each of these situations. This week ask each other, “How did you serve someone today? Was there a time you chose not to serve or decided you were too busy? How can you do better tomorrow?” Pray together and ask God to help you serve others.
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Cathy BienCathy Bien serves as the Director of Communications at Church of the Resurrection. She and her husband Rick have been members of the church since 1993 and have four adult children.
This passage in Luke 17 teaches us a lesson about the importance of gratitude--recognizing and acknowledging God’s gifts. But it also has an important message about faith. In verse 19, Jesus tells the Samaritan “Your faith has healed you.”
This simple phrase reminds us that no matter what we are going through, no matter how much pain we are in, we can hold on to our faith, looking to God with gratitude and confidence that God is with us and will bless us.
This week the communication team has been busy preparing materials and videos for the weekend’s sermon on suicide. The stories have been gut-wrenching--individuals and families in such pain that it’s hard to imagine they will every experience joy again.
Yet, the message from Psalm 126 is that God will change our circumstances. Verse 5 says: “Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts.” What powerful imagery! From our tears will come a harvest--a good and wonderful gift from God.
If you are at a place where you are planting with tears, hang on. The harvest will come. To use Pastor Adam’s phrase, “The worst thing is never the last thing.” Jesus brought hope to the world.
The Church of the Resurrection is filled with amazing people and resources. Reach out and let us share your pain and walk with you. God loves you and will heal you.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joan Felling and family on the death of her husband David Felling, 6/28
• Nick and Josh Felling on the death of their father, David Felling, 6/28
• Linn Ver Meer and family on the death of her sister Marilyn Rausch, 6/25
•Friends and family of Lois Elcock on her death, 6/17
•Don Giles and family on the death of his father William Giles, 6/6
• Jennifer Reid and family on the death of her grandfather James “Jim” Unruh, 5/29
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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