Weekly Grow Pray Study Guide from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States from Sunday, 22 July 2018 through Saturday, 28 July 2018
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Sunday, July 22, 2018 The Gospel in Film “The Greatest Showman”
Luke 5:12 Once, when Yeshua was in one of the towns, there came a man completely covered with tzara‘at. On seeing Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged him, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 Yeshua reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing! Be cleansed!” Immediately the tzara‘at left him.
27 Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, “Follow me!” 28 He got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Levi gave a banquet at his house in Yeshua’s honor, and there was a large group of tax-collectors and others at the table with them. 30 The P’rushim and their Torah-teachers protested indignantly against his talmidim, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?”
Luke 7:34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’ (Complete Jewish Bible) (Luke 5:12-13, 27-30; 7:34)
Luke 5:12 Once, when Yeshua was in one of the towns, there came a man completely covered with tzara‘at. On seeing Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged him, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 Yeshua reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing! Be cleansed!” Immediately the tzara‘at left him.
27 Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, “Follow me!” 28 He got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Levi gave a banquet at his house in Yeshua’s honor, and there was a large group of tax-collectors and others at the table with them. 30 The P’rushim and their Torah-teachers protested indignantly against his talmidim, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?”
Luke 7:34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’ (Complete Jewish Bible) (Luke 5:12-13, 27-30; 7:34)
Questions in this GPS marked with an arrow bullet point are particularly recommended for group discussion. Group leaders may add other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
In The Greatest Showman, you see P. T. Barnum’s effect on his circus players when Lettie Lutz, the “bearded lady,” sings: “I am brave. I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be. This is me. Look out 'cause here I come, And I'm marching on to the beat I drum. I'm not scared to be seen, I make no
apologies, this is me.” Jesus’ “circus” of followers, including the women Luke named, upset “proper” men in his day. The apostle Paul, who had hunted Christians, said, “I don’t deserve to be called an apostle.” But he didn’t hide in shame—he said, “I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing.”
• In a related passage (cf. 1 Timothy 1:12-16), Paul said, “Our Lord’s favor poured all over me along with the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus,” and emphasized that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” In what ways is God’s eagerness to welcome you into heaven’s “circus” a source of comfort and confidence to you? Are there times when it challenges
you in your reaction to other “sinners”?
Ø Later in the film, Lettie told Barnum, “The world was ashamed of us, but you put us in the spotlight. You gave us a real family.” Luke and Paul both learned that Jesus didn’t care about whether the world was ashamed of certain people—he wanted them all in his family, in his kingdom. Can you think of people you’d be ashamed to have sitting next to you in church? If so, what would it take to align your feelings more closely with those of Jesus?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’ve done plenty of things that disappointed you and hurt others. Thank you for showing me mercy, and calling me into your service. Amen.
Tuesday, 24 July 2018 Mark 3:22 The Torah-teachers who came down from Yerushalayim said, “He has Ba‘al-Zibbul in him,” and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons.”, Acts 17:26 “From one man he made every nation living on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the limits of their territories and the periods when they would flourish. 27 God did this so that people would look for him and perhaps reach out and find him although in fact, he is not far from each one of us, 28 ‘for in him we live and move and exist.’ Indeed, as some of the poets among you have said, ‘We are actually his children.’ (Complete Jewish Bible).In The Greatest Showman, theater critic James Gordon Bennett harshly blasted Barnum’s “fake” show. In a pensive moment near the film’s end, though, he told Barnum, “Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you…all colors, shapes, sizes…presenting them as equals…why, another critic might have even called it ‘a celebration of humanity.’” “I would’ve liked that,” Barnum replied. Religious critics said what Jesus did was evil, not good. But Jesus acted on what his follower Paul told philosophers in Athens. Jesus and his followers believed that all people, not just a select few, are
children of a personal, life-giving, loving God.
• Paul quoted a line from an Athenian poet named Aratus in verse 28—“We are his offspring.” Today many believe that “science” means we are simply a cosmic accident, no one’s offspring (though many highly-qualified scientists believe in God as much as Paul did). * How does it shift
your outlook on other people to see them as God’s “offspring” rather than as results of a random accident?
• Paul also told the Athenians that “God isn’t far away from any of us.” One whole group of Greek philosophers believed that the gods were very far away from human beings indeed, and were quite indifferent to what happened to us. Do you find inner resonance with Paul’s assertion about God’s nearness, or do you struggle to believe that is true? What experiences either support or
challenge your ability to believe God cares about you?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we certainly could call your life and ministry “a celebration of humanity.” Help me move beyond cynicism and mistrust, and learn with you to celebrate this vast, diverse human family I belong to. Amen.
* Some scientists who who’ve written about their faith are Francis S. Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents
Evidence for Belief, Owen Gingerich and Rev. Peter J. Gomes, God’s Universe, Joan Roughgarden, Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist and Kenneth Miller, Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution (P.S.).
19 Going on a little farther, he saw Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, his brother, in their boat, repairing their nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zavdai in the boat with the hired men and went after Yeshua. (Complete Jewish Bible).
"I am what I am by God’s grace”
Monday, 23 July 2018 Luke 8:1 After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve, 2 and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses — Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out; 3 Yochanah the wife of Herod’s finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him., 1 Corinthians 15:3 For among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received, namely this: the Messiah died for our sins, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 4 and he was buried; and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 5 and he was seen by Kefa, then by the Twelve; 6 and afterwards he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Later he was seen by Ya‘akov, then by all the emissaries; 8 and last of all he was seen by me, even though I was born at the wrong time. 9 For I am the least of all the emissaries, unfit to be called an emissary, because I persecuted the Messianic Community of God. 10 But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain; on the contrary, I have worked harder than all of them, although it was not I but the grace of God with me. 11 Anyhow, whether I or they, this is what we proclaim, and this is what you believed. (Complete Jewish Bible)In The Greatest Showman, you see P. T. Barnum’s effect on his circus players when Lettie Lutz, the “bearded lady,” sings: “I am brave. I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be. This is me. Look out 'cause here I come, And I'm marching on to the beat I drum. I'm not scared to be seen, I make no
apologies, this is me.” Jesus’ “circus” of followers, including the women Luke named, upset “proper” men in his day. The apostle Paul, who had hunted Christians, said, “I don’t deserve to be called an apostle.” But he didn’t hide in shame—he said, “I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing.”
• In a related passage (cf. 1 Timothy 1:12-16), Paul said, “Our Lord’s favor poured all over me along with the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus,” and emphasized that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” In what ways is God’s eagerness to welcome you into heaven’s “circus” a source of comfort and confidence to you? Are there times when it challenges
you in your reaction to other “sinners”?
Ø Later in the film, Lettie told Barnum, “The world was ashamed of us, but you put us in the spotlight. You gave us a real family.” Luke and Paul both learned that Jesus didn’t care about whether the world was ashamed of certain people—he wanted them all in his family, in his kingdom. Can you think of people you’d be ashamed to have sitting next to you in church? If so, what would it take to align your feelings more closely with those of Jesus?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’ve done plenty of things that disappointed you and hurt others. Thank you for showing me mercy, and calling me into your service. Amen.
Tuesday, 24 July 2018 Mark 3:22 The Torah-teachers who came down from Yerushalayim said, “He has Ba‘al-Zibbul in him,” and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons.”, Acts 17:26 “From one man he made every nation living on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the limits of their territories and the periods when they would flourish. 27 God did this so that people would look for him and perhaps reach out and find him although in fact, he is not far from each one of us, 28 ‘for in him we live and move and exist.’ Indeed, as some of the poets among you have said, ‘We are actually his children.’ (Complete Jewish Bible).In The Greatest Showman, theater critic James Gordon Bennett harshly blasted Barnum’s “fake” show. In a pensive moment near the film’s end, though, he told Barnum, “Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you…all colors, shapes, sizes…presenting them as equals…why, another critic might have even called it ‘a celebration of humanity.’” “I would’ve liked that,” Barnum replied. Religious critics said what Jesus did was evil, not good. But Jesus acted on what his follower Paul told philosophers in Athens. Jesus and his followers believed that all people, not just a select few, are
children of a personal, life-giving, loving God.
• Paul quoted a line from an Athenian poet named Aratus in verse 28—“We are his offspring.” Today many believe that “science” means we are simply a cosmic accident, no one’s offspring (though many highly-qualified scientists believe in God as much as Paul did). * How does it shift
your outlook on other people to see them as God’s “offspring” rather than as results of a random accident?
• Paul also told the Athenians that “God isn’t far away from any of us.” One whole group of Greek philosophers believed that the gods were very far away from human beings indeed, and were quite indifferent to what happened to us. Do you find inner resonance with Paul’s assertion about God’s nearness, or do you struggle to believe that is true? What experiences either support or
challenge your ability to believe God cares about you?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we certainly could call your life and ministry “a celebration of humanity.” Help me move beyond cynicism and mistrust, and learn with you to celebrate this vast, diverse human family I belong to. Amen.
* Some scientists who who’ve written about their faith are Francis S. Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents
Evidence for Belief, Owen Gingerich and Rev. Peter J. Gomes, God’s Universe, Joan Roughgarden, Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist and Kenneth Miller, Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution (P.S.).
“Come, follow me”
Wednesday, 25 July 2018 Mark 1:16 As he walked beside Lake Kinneret, he saw Shim‘on and Andrew, Shim‘on’s brother, casting a net into the lake; for they were fishermen. 17 Yeshua said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you into fishers for men!” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.19 Going on a little farther, he saw Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, his brother, in their boat, repairing their nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zavdai in the boat with the hired men and went after Yeshua. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Invited to join Barnum’s early museum, Phillip Carlyle said, “Do you understand that just associating with you could cost me my inheritance?” Barnum said, “Oh, it could cost you more than that. You’d be risking everything. But, on the other hand, you just might find yourself a free man.” Jesus could
have had a conversation much like that as he called his first followers. Mark typically gave the story an urgent feeling, using phrases like “right away” or “at that very moment.”
Ø What do you think made Jesus and his invitation so compelling that, when he called, these four men would promptly leave the security and familiarity of their family fishing business to follow him? There are, to be sure, many good ways to serve Jesus today, not just church employment. But what has gotten lost so that too many people see church work as boring, dull or dead-end?
• As we study Jesus’ ministry, we find that he called people to change their employment (as in today’s reading), their habits, their attitudes or beliefs, their relationships, or even their understanding of life’s ultimate purpose. Is there any place in your life where you believe God is calling you to change something, maybe “right away”? If so, how much is your response like the response of the men in this story?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I’d rather not hear your call. But I have a sense that it’s a bigger risk to miss your call—so keep my ears and my heart open to you and your calling on my life. Amen.
34 Then Yeshua called the crowd and his talmidim to him and told them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. 35 For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it. 36 Indeed, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? 37 What could a person give in exchange for his life? (Complete Jewish Bible).
Resisting Barnum’s invitation, Philip Carlyle said, “Let's just say that I find it much more comfortable...admiring your show from afar.” And Barnum murmured, “Comfort, the enemy of progress.” Jesus’ closest followers became uncomfortable when he talked about suffering and crosses. Scholar Craig Evans wrote, “In that time there was no sentimentality attached to Jesus’ death, and certainly not to the cross, a horrifying symbol in Roman antiquity.” * Peter found the idea of Jesus on a cross appalling. But Jesus didn’t shrink from using the cross as a positive, yet hugely challenging, symbol of the cost of following him.
Ø “Jesus said to them, ‘All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.’” Did Jesus’ words apply only to his first-century followers who faced Roman persecution, or do they apply to us in the 21st century, too? If so, what does “taking up your cross” look like in your daily life? In what ways have you found greater depth of life by saying “no” to yourself at key times?
• Peter’s effort to deny Jesus’ words about suffering and dying fit with the disciples’ belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Scholar David Garland wrote that “most Jews… hoped for a Messiah [who] would be a kingly figure who would reign triumphantly as David had.” ** For what reason(s) do you think Jesus found it important to talk to his disciples in advance about his death? Had you been one of them, how easy or hard would it have been for you to accept what he said?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, at times, like Peter, I have strong ideas about how you should do things, especially as they affect me. Maybe at least one part of “the cross” you ask me take up is releasing my own ideas in favor of yours. Amen.
* Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright, Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened, ed. By Troy A. Miller. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 4.
** David E. Garland, comments on Mark in Matthew, Mark, Luke: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002, p. 255.
And God’s “weakness” is stronger than humanity’s “strength.”, Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, 4 even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
a. 5 b’rit-milah on the eighth day,
b. by birth belonging to the people of Isra’el,
c. from the tribe of Binyamin,
d. a Hebrew-speaker, with Hebrew-speaking parents,
e. in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
f. 6 in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
g.in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
7 But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. 8 Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah 9 and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Late in The Greatest Showman, vandals burned down the building that housed Barnum’s circus. In the wreckage, Phillip Carlyle said, “You know, Barnum…when I first met you…I had an inheritance, acclaim, an invitation to every party in town. And now, thanks to you, all that’s gone. All that’s left is friendship, love, and work that I adore. You brought joy into my life.” Lettie, the bearded lady, added, “Into all our lives.” Doesn’t that sound like what the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about how making Jesus his Lord had changed his life?
• A friend of Donald Miller said to him, “There is this part of me that wants to believe…. I feel as though I need to believe…. But it is all so completely stupid.” * It’s true—human wisdom wouldn’t
invent a God like the God of the Bible. God in Jesus many times reversed the values of our broken world. In what ways has the “foolishness of God” changed your world and you for the better? The Church of the Resurrection says you don’t have to check your brain at the door, it’s okay to ask tough questions, and faith runs deeper than a few pious sayings. What are some of the toughest faith questions you’ve had to face?
• Paul said he came to see all his human credentials—his top-notch rabbinic education, his renown as a religious leader, his respectability and status—as “sewer trash” compared to the value of knowing Jesus. Of what achievements, degrees or awards, if any, are you particularly proud? Would you rank knowing Jesus above them or not? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord God, my mind was a gift from you, and you want me to use it. But you also yearn for my heart. Please free me at those times when my mind tries to get in the way of my heart, when I ache to love and serve you even if I can’t answer all the questions. Amen.
* Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p. 53.
6 When they were together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore self-rule to Isra’el?” 7 He answered, “You don’t need to know the dates or the times; the Father has kept these under his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y’hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!” (Complete Jewish Bible).
In Acts 1, the risen Jesus was eating with his disciples. Their question—“are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”—showed that their imagination still rested on the nation-bound dreams of a conquering earthly king in Jerusalem. Jesus had a vastly larger vision. The Greatest Showman
quoted P.T. Barnum as saying, “Men suffer more from imagining too little than too much,” and what Jesus was picturing must have made his followers gasp. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,” he said. There were 120 of them at most. Imagine them wondering, “Did we hear him right? To the end of the earth?” That was, and remains, Jesus’ vision. Today millions of people follow him, some more fervently than others—but we’re still called to do our part in carrying his kingdom of love to the end of the earth.
Ø When the disciples asked, “Is this the time?” The Message said Jesus answered, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” * Have you ever had to set aside your own wishes and plans, and accept what God gives you instead? How hard or difficult is it at those times for you to trust that God is doing what is best? How big is your imagination for what God can do in and through you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you’re a big God. Help me never to settle for a small, constrained imagination about what you want to do through me. Make my dreams big, not about myself, but about you. Amen.
Family Activity: Many stories of missionaries are shared in the Bible. Create your own family “missionary” story. Gather your family for a local “missionary” drive. Before you leave, select a few places you would like to stop and share God’s love in some way. Would you like to take treats to
firefighters or police officers and thank them for their service? How about praying for local store owners as you shop? Could you offer to do some yard work for a neighbor? Maybe you could visit those in the nursing home or a lonely neighbor. You might also want to walk through your neighborhood praying for your school and places of worship. Pray and ask God to help your family be missionaries, sharing God’s love wherever you go.
* Acts 2:7-8 from Eugene H. Peterson, The Message. NavPress, 1993-2002.
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
have had a conversation much like that as he called his first followers. Mark typically gave the story an urgent feeling, using phrases like “right away” or “at that very moment.”
Ø What do you think made Jesus and his invitation so compelling that, when he called, these four men would promptly leave the security and familiarity of their family fishing business to follow him? There are, to be sure, many good ways to serve Jesus today, not just church employment. But what has gotten lost so that too many people see church work as boring, dull or dead-end?
• As we study Jesus’ ministry, we find that he called people to change their employment (as in today’s reading), their habits, their attitudes or beliefs, their relationships, or even their understanding of life’s ultimate purpose. Is there any place in your life where you believe God is calling you to change something, maybe “right away”? If so, how much is your response like the response of the men in this story?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I’d rather not hear your call. But I have a sense that it’s a bigger risk to miss your call—so keep my ears and my heart open to you and your calling on my life. Amen.
Take up your cross
Thursday, 26 July 2018 Mark 8:31 He began teaching them that the Son of Man had to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanimand the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that after three days, he had to rise again. 32 He spoke very plainly about it. Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him. 33 But, turning around and looking at his talmidim, he rebuked Kefa. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said, “For your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”34 Then Yeshua called the crowd and his talmidim to him and told them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. 35 For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it. 36 Indeed, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? 37 What could a person give in exchange for his life? (Complete Jewish Bible).
Resisting Barnum’s invitation, Philip Carlyle said, “Let's just say that I find it much more comfortable...admiring your show from afar.” And Barnum murmured, “Comfort, the enemy of progress.” Jesus’ closest followers became uncomfortable when he talked about suffering and crosses. Scholar Craig Evans wrote, “In that time there was no sentimentality attached to Jesus’ death, and certainly not to the cross, a horrifying symbol in Roman antiquity.” * Peter found the idea of Jesus on a cross appalling. But Jesus didn’t shrink from using the cross as a positive, yet hugely challenging, symbol of the cost of following him.
Ø “Jesus said to them, ‘All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.’” Did Jesus’ words apply only to his first-century followers who faced Roman persecution, or do they apply to us in the 21st century, too? If so, what does “taking up your cross” look like in your daily life? In what ways have you found greater depth of life by saying “no” to yourself at key times?
• Peter’s effort to deny Jesus’ words about suffering and dying fit with the disciples’ belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Scholar David Garland wrote that “most Jews… hoped for a Messiah [who] would be a kingly figure who would reign triumphantly as David had.” ** For what reason(s) do you think Jesus found it important to talk to his disciples in advance about his death? Had you been one of them, how easy or hard would it have been for you to accept what he said?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, at times, like Peter, I have strong ideas about how you should do things, especially as they affect me. Maybe at least one part of “the cross” you ask me take up is releasing my own ideas in favor of yours. Amen.
* Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright, Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened, ed. By Troy A. Miller. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 4.
** David E. Garland, comments on Mark in Matthew, Mark, Luke: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002, p. 255.
All that’s gone…all that’s left
Friday, 27 July 2018 1 Corinthians 1:21 For God’s wisdom ordained that the world, using its own wisdom, would not come to know him. Therefore God decided to use the “nonsense” of what we proclaim as his means of saving those who come to trust in it. 22 Precisely because Jews ask for signs and Greeks try to find wisdom, 23 we go on proclaiming a Messiah executed on a stake as a criminal! To Jews this is an obstacle, and to Greeks it is nonsense; 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, this same Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom! 25 For God’s “nonsense” is wiser than humanity’s “wisdom.”And God’s “weakness” is stronger than humanity’s “strength.”, Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, 4 even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
a. 5 b’rit-milah on the eighth day,
b. by birth belonging to the people of Isra’el,
c. from the tribe of Binyamin,
d. a Hebrew-speaker, with Hebrew-speaking parents,
e. in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
f. 6 in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
g.in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
7 But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. 8 Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah 9 and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Late in The Greatest Showman, vandals burned down the building that housed Barnum’s circus. In the wreckage, Phillip Carlyle said, “You know, Barnum…when I first met you…I had an inheritance, acclaim, an invitation to every party in town. And now, thanks to you, all that’s gone. All that’s left is friendship, love, and work that I adore. You brought joy into my life.” Lettie, the bearded lady, added, “Into all our lives.” Doesn’t that sound like what the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about how making Jesus his Lord had changed his life?
• A friend of Donald Miller said to him, “There is this part of me that wants to believe…. I feel as though I need to believe…. But it is all so completely stupid.” * It’s true—human wisdom wouldn’t
invent a God like the God of the Bible. God in Jesus many times reversed the values of our broken world. In what ways has the “foolishness of God” changed your world and you for the better? The Church of the Resurrection says you don’t have to check your brain at the door, it’s okay to ask tough questions, and faith runs deeper than a few pious sayings. What are some of the toughest faith questions you’ve had to face?
• Paul said he came to see all his human credentials—his top-notch rabbinic education, his renown as a religious leader, his respectability and status—as “sewer trash” compared to the value of knowing Jesus. Of what achievements, degrees or awards, if any, are you particularly proud? Would you rank knowing Jesus above them or not? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord God, my mind was a gift from you, and you want me to use it. But you also yearn for my heart. Please free me at those times when my mind tries to get in the way of my heart, when I ache to love and serve you even if I can’t answer all the questions. Amen.
* Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p. 53.
Imagine—“to the end of the earth”
Saturday, 28 July 2018 Acts 1:4 At one of these gatherings, he instructed them not to leave Yerushalayim but to wait for “what the Father promised, which you heard about from me. 5 For Yochanan used to immerse people in water; but in a few days, you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh!”6 When they were together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore self-rule to Isra’el?” 7 He answered, “You don’t need to know the dates or the times; the Father has kept these under his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y’hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!” (Complete Jewish Bible).
In Acts 1, the risen Jesus was eating with his disciples. Their question—“are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”—showed that their imagination still rested on the nation-bound dreams of a conquering earthly king in Jerusalem. Jesus had a vastly larger vision. The Greatest Showman
quoted P.T. Barnum as saying, “Men suffer more from imagining too little than too much,” and what Jesus was picturing must have made his followers gasp. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,” he said. There were 120 of them at most. Imagine them wondering, “Did we hear him right? To the end of the earth?” That was, and remains, Jesus’ vision. Today millions of people follow him, some more fervently than others—but we’re still called to do our part in carrying his kingdom of love to the end of the earth.
Ø When the disciples asked, “Is this the time?” The Message said Jesus answered, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” * Have you ever had to set aside your own wishes and plans, and accept what God gives you instead? How hard or difficult is it at those times for you to trust that God is doing what is best? How big is your imagination for what God can do in and through you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you’re a big God. Help me never to settle for a small, constrained imagination about what you want to do through me. Make my dreams big, not about myself, but about you. Amen.
Family Activity: Many stories of missionaries are shared in the Bible. Create your own family “missionary” story. Gather your family for a local “missionary” drive. Before you leave, select a few places you would like to stop and share God’s love in some way. Would you like to take treats to
firefighters or police officers and thank them for their service? How about praying for local store owners as you shop? Could you offer to do some yard work for a neighbor? Maybe you could visit those in the nursing home or a lonely neighbor. You might also want to walk through your neighborhood praying for your school and places of worship. Pray and ask God to help your family be missionaries, sharing God’s love wherever you go.
* Acts 2:7-8 from Eugene H. Peterson, The Message. NavPress, 1993-2002.
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort:
• Elisa Velez-Makar and family on the death of her mother Natividad “Natty” Velez, 7/15/18
• John Geuss and family on the death of his wife Susan Geuss, 7/12/18
• Angela Thomas and family on the death of her daughter Madison Januszewski, 7/9/18
• Jim Nelson and family on the death of his father Don Nelson, 7/3/18
• Craig and Christine Anderson and family on the death of their daughter Julie Anderson, 6/18/18
• Marilou Simmons and family on the death of her husband Clayton Elliott "Clay" Simmons, 6/22/17
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• Elisa Velez-Makar and family on the death of her mother Natividad “Natty” Velez, 7/15/18
• John Geuss and family on the death of his wife Susan Geuss, 7/12/18
• Angela Thomas and family on the death of her daughter Madison Januszewski, 7/9/18
• Jim Nelson and family on the death of his father Don Nelson, 7/3/18
• Craig and Christine Anderson and family on the death of their daughter Julie Anderson, 6/18/18
• Marilou Simmons and family on the death of her husband Clayton Elliott "Clay" Simmons, 6/22/17
***
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