Today’s reading: John 1:1-14

This is a passage that we often read around Christmas time, as it is John’s introduction to Jesus’ ministry. John does not include the stories of Jesus’ birth that we read about in Matthew and Luke. Instead, he reminds us that Jesus is the presence of God who has been around since the very beginning of time.

There are two images that are used throughout this passage – Jesus is “the word” and “light.” Why does John use the image of “word”? How is Jesus and his message “the word”? Why do you think John uses the image of “light”? How is Jesus like “light”?

Neither “word” nor “light” are tangible. Why would John use intangibles to tell us about a real, physical human being who walked upon the earth and is told about in both sacred and secular history?

There are two verses that really leap out at us as we are thinking about prevenient grace this week. The first is verse 4: “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone” (NLT), and verse 9: “The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light” (Msg). Notice how each of those verses talks about Jesus being the light to all people.

In what ways is Jesus the light to all people? The analogy I’m coming to is that even a small child knows how to turn on a light when it is dark, and they know that they prefer the dark over the light. Yet, they have no idea how the light works. To them, flipping the switch is like magic. How might that analogy relate to one who does not yet know Jesus?

In what ways is Jesus especially light to those who recognize him as the light? Do those who have a greater appreciation of who Jesus is receive more light?

Pray today a prayer of thanksgiving that Jesus loves all of us, and has come for all of us!

Today’s Reading: Matthew 9:1-8

Jesus heals someone who is paralyzed. We have read these stories enough to no longer be surprised by them. But there is a curious line in this passage that I don’t completely understand. Jesus says to the critical religion scholars who have just heard him pronounce forgiveness of the sins of the man on the mat, “Which do you think is simpler: to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’?” (9:5 Msg). I invite you to struggle with me.

What is Jesus saying? How are the man’s sins related to his ability to get up and walk?

Why is this an issue for the religion scholars?

I notice that the guy doesn’t get up after Jesus pronounces his forgiveness, but waits until Jesus tells him to get up. When was he healed? Is Jesus saying that maybe we are focused on the wrong things – our physical needs over our spiritual ones? Is he saying somehow that they are related?

You may remember from the message of Sunday, 9/5 titled “As It Should Be” that John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, often talked about sin as a sickness. How then might he have interpreted this parable?

Notice that the man does nothing to deserve this healing. He doesn’t offer Jesus anything for this miracle – not even his devotion to him if this is accomplished. This is grace. Rather the impetus, according to Matthew, is that Jesus was impressed with their bold belief. What does Jesus require of us? Do you have “bold” belief?

Have you ever felt so paralyzed by your sin and/or guilt that you needed to hear a pronouncement of forgiveness before you were able to function? Have you ever tried to justify to God that you deserve his forgiveness, his healing?

Is today a day you need to go before God, without any pretense of trying to earn his love/favor/forgiveness, and simply humble yourself before him and confess all the places where you fall short? Maybe if you do that, he will call you to “get off your mat and walk” with him.

Today’s reading: 1 John 4:17-21

If you have the time today, I encourage you to read the entire book of 1 John. It is only five chapters long; approximately 6 pages in my single column Bible. You will read a great deal about love.

A different kind of love: You may have heard about the three kinds of love in the Greek language: eros - the love of husband and wife, phileo - the love friends have for one another, and agape - the unconditional love of God for each of us. Some make a huge point of this. I have read others who say we make too much of this and the distinction between the three words in the Bible is a little fuzzy. I am no Greek scholar and have not looked deeply into this, but one thing we can say for certain: the Bible uses agape far more than any other. One author says that the score is agape: 320, phileo: 45, eros: 0.

When John uses the word love here, he is not talking about love in the way we might normally. This is not about sentimental, starry-eyed, outside-the-realm-of-reason kind of love. It is also not what I like to call “extreme like” – e.g. ‘I love chocolate.’ According to this Wikipedia article, “The term agape is rarely used in ancient manuscripts, but was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another.”

What do you think is means that “God is love”? Some have distorted that into a doctrine of “love is God.” How is that different? What is wrong with that understanding?

In this passage, John sets up love and fear as opposites. Not love and hate, nor fear and courage, but love (agape) and fear. How do you understand that. How is fear the opposite of love and agape the opposite of fear?

Take a look at verse 19. The point is simply this – God loves us before we love Him. How have you experienced God’s love before you loved him? Maybe as a child? Maybe before you were even born? Maybe as part of the reason you came to faith in God in the first place?

Last week we read about the worth/role/value of human beings. How does that play into God’s loving us? How does knowing that God created humans “good,” and that God loves us, all of us, before we love him, how does God view those “outside” of the church? How should that affect the way we view others? Even those we don’t like, or who don’t like us? (see verses 20-21)

Allow me to warn you in advance that this is a difficult passage to read. Take your time and try to absorb what it is saying. Try not to bring your assumptions to the passage, but really try to “hear” it anew.

In the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to the right (click it to see it full size), Calvin asks Hobbes a poignant questions, “Do you think human nature is good or evil?” How would you answer that question? You may have a thought as we’ve been exploring that question all week. Are we good, as originally created by God in Genesis 1? Or are we evil because of the sin of Adam in Genesis 3? Are we trying to press on toward something that we are not? Or are we striving to be the thing we were originally created to be?

In Romans 5 we read about two men: Adam, through whom sin entered the world; and Jesus, through whom grace/righteousness/justification/forgiveness entered the world. As you read this, how do you understand it? How does it work itself out for you?

What do you think of the doctrine of “original sin” (read about it on Wikipedia here)? It is helpful? Is it Scriptural? Is it accurate?

When we talked about the sin of Adam and Eve earlier this week, we noted that in many ways their story is archetypal. If that is the case, how are you and I each our own “Adam” in this Romans 5 passage? How are we responsible for our own struggles?

Certainly God offered forgiveness long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There were rituals in the Hebrew faith of the Old Testament that brought one forgiveness for their sins. So when Paul says that it is through Jesus that forgiveness came into the world, what is he saying?

Notice how Romans 5 over and over tells us that Jesus gives “life.” In what ways is Jesus giving you life? How can you celebrate it today?

How can you today take a step toward becoming restored to the person that God originally intended you to be? How can we, as the human race, become restored to the original idea God has for us when we were created? Is there hope for us this side of heaven? Or are we just called to persevere until Jesus returns?

In the paragraphs preceding today’s reading, Paul is telling the Philippians about his own journey of faith and the sacrifices he has made on behalf of Christ. So as not to give the impression that he thinks highly of himself and his spiritual “status,” he then writes about where he is and where he is going using the imagery of a sporting event, namely a race.

Paul says that he is not an expert, but just a fellow runner of this race. He runs to the best of his ability and gives it his full attention. When he writes, “I have my eye on the goal” (Msg), or “one thing I do” (NIV), what does he mean? What is the goal? What is the one thing he does? Where should we be putting our attention?

What are some of the distractions for you that might make you lose your focus? How do you get sidetracked?

In what ways does pressing on toward a goal help in your everyday living?

I like that Paul describes his spiritual life as a journey, a race, which he sees himself participating in. In the Church today, we are often asked, “When were you saved.” Some have suggested that may be the wrong question. Maybe it would be better phrased, as John Wesley would have been more comfortable with, “Where are you on your spiritual journey?”

Today is a good day to evaluate just that. Where are you on your spiritual journey? Do you still have the right focus, or have you been distracted? Are you moving ahead or sitting on the sidelines? Do you need more tools, more practice, more conditioning to be able to continue more effectively? Where are you going? Are you looking for the signs, and consulting the map from time to time?

Consider making a list of how you can get from where you are to the next stage in your spiritual life. Need help? I’d be glad to chat. Email me. Then pray over the list, and let’s get back to doing the things to which God has called us.

On Sunday, September 5, we will continue with our series on The Method in Methodism by exploring what Wesley thought about sin.

We are again reading from Genesis, the very first book of the Bible. There are many conversations around this passage that are less than helpful, but this story has much to teach us. You may know this story well. Read it today anyway. Try a different translation. That sometimes helps. Don’t skim or just refresh your knowledge. Read it and see if God has something new to show you in it.

Why do you think God put that tree in the middle of The Garden that the man and woman were not allowed to eat from? What rules/laws/norms do you see as “random”? Might we be asked to do, or not do, something without understanding the reasons? Are you one who follows the rules, or one who challenges them?

Why does the woman eat the fruit? What does the serpent represent (try some alternate answers in addition to “the devil”)? In what ways is the woman’s story the story of us all?

Why does the man eat? In what ways is the man’s story the story of us all?

When faced with the consequences of what he has done, what does the man do? Have you ever done something similar?

Many of us have been brought up with the understanding this sin of eating the fruit has somehow been passed on to all of us. What do you think of that idea? Agree with it? Are we born sinful? Or, like Adam and Eve, do we choose it?

Here is an old exercise to try that might tell you something about what you think about this, or might just occupy your mind for days to come. Imagine a person who was born, lived their life, and died on a deserted island without any contact with another human being. She/he never heard about Jesus but also never did anything that we might consider a sinful act,. When he/she died would she/he go to heaven or hell?

On Sunday, September 5, we will continue with our series on The Method in Methodism by exploring what Wesley thought about sin.

Today’s reading is from one of the very first book of the Bible. It is a passage that we spend so much time arguing about that I believe we miss the real point of what it is trying to teach us. Try to get beyond the contemporary arguments about Creation vs. Evolution, and read this passage as you would any other portion of Scripture. Listen for God speaking in it. What is the passage trying to teach us about our everyday living and not just about the origins of the world?

This story appears at the beginning of the Bible not only because it describes the very beginning of time, but also because it lays a foundation for the rest of the Bible and for understanding the way we see all of life. As you read this today, what did you hear God saying is/are the purpose(s) of creating human beings?

Better still, how does God view human beings? What does God think of us? How does he value us? What do you think that means for our life today? How does the creation story and God’s view of us relate to the New Testament story of Jesus, his life, his mission, and his work?

What do you think it means that human beings are created “in the image of God” (NIV) or “godlike, reflecting God’s nature” (Msg)? What does that say about you? How you treat yourself? How you treat others?

This may seem like a weird leap, but what about the way you talk to yourself? In his book, Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller writes about the day he realized that he would be very angry with someone talking to a friend the way he was talking to himself. What about you? What might you be saying about yourself that does not reflect your nature as one created in God’s image? Or, in counseling language, what is your negative script?

What is our basic human nature? Are we good or not? If we are born and die without doing anything good or bad, is God pleased  or not?

Last week I received three questions from a college student who used to come to our youth group meetings. She was doing research for a comparative religions class she is taking. The questions were:

1. Why is this religion important to you?
2. What benefits (emotional, physical, tangible) does it add to your life?
3. Would you advise others to practice this religion. Why or why not?

In today’s scripture lesson we are confronted with a similar question. Mary and Martha have different approaches to being with Jesus. Martha is busy. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha is doing all she can to serve Jesus and others. Mary is listening. Martha is in and out of the kitchen. Mary is in a room where social norms would have said she did not belong. Jesus seems to side with Mary.

Are you a Martha or a Mary? When you find yourself more like Martha, what do you do to get it under control? When might you take the Mary role too far?

Jesus says, “One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her” (Luke 10:42, Msg). What’s that essential thing Jesus is talking about? What are the essentials of Christianity? What are some things non-essential things that sometimes appear essential to you or others? Where can the compromise go too far?

I found this to be a great exercise. I recommend it to you. If you answer these questions, I’d love to see your responses. If you’d like, email them to me here.

My answers to the above questions are posted on my personal blog called Tuesday Thoughts.

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 4

Lest we forget, we are reading the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians this week as a sustained argument by the Apostle Paul encouraging the church in Corinth to learn to not allow the members’ differences separate them. He is encouraging them because they “must get along with each other” (1 Corinthians 1:10, Msg). Note that 5:1 begins with “I also received a report…” marking that Paul is moving on to a new topic.

There are some preachers and theologians that I deeply respect for their intellect and ability to share the word of God in ways that stick to my heart. I’m sure you have some too. This chapter reminds us not to put them up on pedestals that are too high, because after all we are not worshipping them, and they are not worthy of our worship anyway. How do you see our society elevating certain leaders to a dangerous status? Why do you think our society seems to enjoy finding out about the failures of church leaders?

In verse 1-5 what does Paul say are the marks of a good Christian leader? Why do you think he calls them “guides” and “servants”?

Verses 6-8 take me back to our Beyond Comparison series. What might Paul be saying about our need to be right? What might he be saying about our feelings of insecurity from time to time? Where does he say the church leaders fit into this?

“We’re the Messiah’s misfits” (4:10 Msg), Paul writes about himself and Apollos, church leaders. I love that phrase, which is more traditionally translated “fools for Christ.” Paul wants to be sure that we don’t think too highly of him or any of the other church leaders. In what ways might you have elevated ideals about Christian celebrities – your favorite Christian musician, artist, actor, television preacher, or a pastor you have or have had in the past? How is this dangerous? In what ways do those people encourage that perception, and why?

“There are many people.” Paul writes, “who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up” (4:15 Msg). Wow, some things haven’t changed. The same is true today about those who are ready to tell you where you have gone wrong. In fact, we seem to have made criticism one of our favorite pastimes, especially on talk radio. Paul differentiates himself from the critic by saying that he is pointing out things to help people grow – the tough talk that we read about in 1:10 on Tuesday. How is Paul trying to help this church? Do you think he is succeeding? What changes might the church in Corinth have made after the reading of this letter?

One more great quote, “there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone” (4:18 Msg). Are you teachable when it comes to matters of faith? Or are you so set in your ways that you have become full of yourself? How can you open yourself up to be more teachable? What ideas/authors are you uncomfortable with that you might benefit from exploring?

As you reflect on this larger passage of scripture that we have been exploring all week, 1 Corinthians 1-4, what are you gleaning? How would you summarize Paul’s point convincing this church that they “must get along with each other” (1 Corinthians 1:10, Msg)?

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 3

"It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow." (1 Cor 3:7 MSG)

In my Bible there is a graphic between 1 Corinthians 2 and 1 Corinthians 3 which might lead one to believe that there is a break in the thought process here. I don’t see it and want to continue understanding Paul’s attempt to convince the Corinthian church that they “must get along with each other” (1 Corinthians 1:10, Msg). You’ll notice that we are again in this chapter talking about choosing sides among Apollos, Peter, and Paul is causing division in the church, as he opened this thought in 1:11-12.

Many of us are familiar with the New Testament images of the church being the “body of Christ” and how all of us are parts of that whole. Here the images are a little different. Rather than focusing on our different giftedness, here the focus is in a “division of labor.” We have different jobs to do, but the goal is the same.

How is the growth of the church, or the spiritual growth of an individual, like a plant? Why is Paul downplaying the role that he and others play in one’s spiritual growth?

What about the image of the church, or individual spiritual growth, being that of a building being built? He again downplays the role of the builders, but says the foundation is of primary importance, and the materials we choose to build with are also extremely significant. What is he driving at here? What parameters is Paul setting here?

If we look at this passage in the larger context of 21st century church – how are our denominations contributing to the growth of the plant or the raising of the building? How are we to work in relation to one another according to the text? How are we doing along those lines in your opinion?

Toward the end of this chapter we come to an oft quoted passage about our bodies being the temple of God (16-17). In the original Greek, each time the word “you” appears, it is actually a plural “you” – “y’all” if your from the south, or “youse guys” if you are from Pittsburgh. How does that affect your understanding of this passage?

Paul concludes the chapter by recalling his thoughts about how the “wisdom of God” is different than other wisdom (from chapter 2) and about the leaders causing the division (chapter 1). Then he writes, “all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God” (23, Msg). How is knowing that what we know about God, and our relationship and status with God, is all a gift, help us to become united even in our differences?

As you reflect about other churches in our community, and other Christians with whom you agree and others with whom you disagree – what is your call? How are you to relate to them?