St. Johns Church of God: Recent Episodes
St. Johns Church of God
Pray for your family, friends, and community this Christmas. Ask for the peace of the Lord to be made known to all.
Read Isaiah 9:6 Focus on the title “Everlasting Father”. What does it mean to be everlasting? Consider why this description of God is important. Connect everlasting with the idea of permanence. How does permanence impact decision making?
God makes Himself known as Father. Consider why God would choose the family word as a descriptor of His nature and relationship with us. A good father is a protector and provider. A good father is motivated by love for his children. Read Matthew 7:7-11 – What kind of Father is our Lord?
When you apply “Everlasting Father” to the context of our lives in this world the result is peace. In the Everlasting Father we find completion, fulfillment, wholeness, unity, harmony, safety, and order. This is the Biblical picture of peace. Peace is our reality. Peace is known among God’s people. Read John 14:27 – Peace is a gift that God gives us.
This Christmas. How can we pursue peace? How can the peace of God find root in your life and family? Accept the gift of peace and do not be afraid.
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Spend some time in prayer giving thanks for the wonder and awe you find in God’s presence and work.
Read Isaiah 9:6
Consider the word wonderful. Wonderful is not common. It is not casual. Something wonderful is unusual, surprising, and shocking. Our wonderful God gave a child to Abraham’s wife Sarah long after she was unable to have children. Our wonderful God rescued His people from captivity in Egypt. Our wonderful God sent His son amongst us as one of us. In what ways have you personally experienced our wonderful God?
Consider the word counselor. To counsel is to provide a plan, a new way of thinking, a new will. Counsel is everywhere. Think about all the different counsels we are given each and every day. The Lord’s counsel is eternal and mysterious. He knows what we do not. God’s will is centered is God’s love. Neither of these can be taken away. How have you experienced the counsel of the Lord?
Consider the manger A birth in an unlikely place, acknowledge by common shepherds. Unusual, centered in love, and life changing. Christ enters. In what practical ways does the coming of Christ impact your life daily?
Pray for this Christmas season. Ask God to open your eyes and ears to His presence and work in your life. Read Isaiah 9:6 • To who was the child born to? If this child is a gift, than what does that gift entail? • Consider the word “authority”. Notice that this authority is not given. It simply is. • Reflect on Christ as the authority. What significance does this truth have? Isaiah writes inside of a context to a real people in a real situation at a real time. The promise of God with us is not an abstract idea. It fundamentally impacts the real lives of people. • King Ahaz is under siege. He is in trouble and his armies are losing battles. He refuses to even seek a sign from the Lord. • Isaiah is a prophet sent by God into a world that has closed its eyes and plugged its ear to the Lord. • The world needed a true message of hope, but was unable to hear it. How different are we? How willing are we to accept and live in the authority of God, trusting Him in our context? • King Ahaz ignored God and led his people into darkness. • Isaiah kept the faith and pointed people to the light and hope of Christ. • What holds your hope today?
Spend some time in prayer • Ask the Lord to help you examine your life to see His impact on you. • Seek guidance in how you can live more like Jesus. Read John 8:31-32 • Notice the If/than nature of this passage. It is not just “the truth will set your free”. “Continuing in my word” impacts freedom in truth. • Consider how belief is connected to action. Those who believe will continue in His word and be His disciples. • What is the way of Jesus? Early Christians were known for how they lived. What they did had greater impact than what they said. • The way of Jesus is not complicated. As forgiven people, we forgive others. Forgiveness is a better way than resentment and anger. • The way of Jesus is the path to rest/peace. His yoke is easy. • The way of Jesus is honest and seeks reconciliation. We deal with the struggles we face. Reconciliation is a better way than division. The goal is not knowledge. It is life. To find life we have to trust God. Jesus is inviting us to try life this way. To take a leap of faith. Everybody believes in something. Everybody has a belief system. What is yours? The way of Christ leads us to be in tune with how God created this world and all of us to live. Leap into Him.
Spend some time in prayer • Confess your relationship with God as it is. • Give thanks to God as the Holy Spirit leads. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:13b-18 • Notice the simple clarity Paul gives the people of Thessalonica. Simple commands that reflect what it means to live well. • Consider what the will of God is and how it compares to our will. • Pay attention to how peace is accomplished among God’s people. • When are we to do good, rejoice, pray, and give thanks? Patience and peace are connected. • Peace requires action. It cannot just be wishful thinking. • How patient are we? How patient would others say that we are? • The way we deal with the idle, the fainthearted, and the weak teaches us about our willingness to pursue peace in Christ. Thanksgiving is the glue that holds us together. • Joy, prayer, and thanksgiving are imperatives. They are needed. • Thanksgiving comes from sacrifice, confession, and praise. It informs all other areas of life. Thankful people find joy, pray, and community. God sees the heart. Does He see a thankful heart in us? Do we know the value of Christ, who we are, and what is around us?
Spend some time in prayer • Pray for awareness and opportunity to make disciples. • Pray for people who you sense God leading you to impact. Read Luke 10:1-6 • Pay attention to how Christ sends out His disciples. Who do they go with? What are they to take with them? What should they do? • Notice that the task isn’t easy. Jesus sends His chosen as “lambs into the midst of wolves”. What do you think about that? • Consider what is going on with the “Peace to this house!” instruction. How does that phrase shape this evangelistic effort? • Consider the harvest and laborers truth. What is the harvest? Who are the laborers? How does the Lord of the harvest operate? Jesus sent His disciples in search of “People of peace”. • People of peace are those who were receptive to the message the disciples carried. • The disciples went ahead of Jesus. He sent them to prepare the way for His arrival. Still, God was at work in the people the disciples would find. • The disciples and Jesus didn’t force the issue. Where they were not received the “shook the dust from their feet” and moved on. Evangelism isn’t a program or a system we are trained in. Disciples aren’t made with a single prayer. How should we do evangelism today?
Spend some time praying for clarity regarding your spiritual health.
Read 1 Peter 2:4-5 • Notice the term “living”. The house God builds is alive and filled with life. • Consider what it means to be a “holy priesthood”. How does this change our identity and actions? • What does it mean to offer spiritual sacrifices? How do those sacrifices find expression in a church setting? Throughout scripture, God’s people and the church find definition through biological metaphors and references. Let us do a spiritual health checkup today using those ideas. • Movement – Living things move and respond. How are we moving and responding to the Lord and the world around us? • Respiration – Living things breathe. Prayer is breathing in God’s Spirit and exhaling God’s will. How are we doing with this? • Sensitivity – How aware are we of God’s work around us? • Growth – All things grow and change. Are we? • Reproduction – Disciples make disciples. Who are you discipling? • Elimination – Repentance is required to stay healthy. • Nutrition – What we take in matters to our health. Are we taking in the things of God? Being a Living Stone connects us to other Living Stones as God works among us. How’s your spiritual health? How can increase health here?
Pray the Lord’s Prayer through several times (Matthew 6:9-13) Read Luke 11:1-4 • Notice that the disciples observed Jesus praying, saw something different about His prayer, and asked to be taught how to pray. • There are six different elements to the Lord’s Prayer. • Look for how this prayer speaks to God’s character, kingdom, provision, forgiveness, guidance, and protection. • Compare how Jesus taught His disciples to pray to how you pray. What are the similarities? What are the differences? The Lord’s Prayer is not a word for word, repeat after me, exercise. It is a consistent, reliable, and intimate path for a disciple to know and do God’s will. Let us walk down this path today. • Acknowledge the holy nature of God. • Seek and see the Lord’s Kingdom as a true and present reality. • Recognize our need for the Lord to provide each and every day. • Embrace forgiveness as one who has been forgiven and forgives others • Follow the guidance of the Lord as we do His work in this world. • Rely on the Lord’s protection in the midst of struggle, sin, and evil. Conceptually, the Lord’s Prayer looks and feels right. It is easy to say yes to. It is harder to put into practice. How can we more fully incorporate this prayer into our lives with God?
Pray for God to show you how to best connect with Him, His community, and His work in the world. Read Luke 6:12-19 • Notice the progression of Jesus in this passage. o He began with prayer on a mountain. o He called and chose His disciples. o He went to the crowds to teach and heal. • The life of Jesus has a rhythm to it. This progression repeats often. • People sought Jesus. All in the crowd tried to touch Him. The life of Jesus drew people towards Him. Who is Jesus to you? • Perhaps we get bogged down in religious pictures of Jesus. He is the savior, the one who gets us into heaven, the central figure of Christmas and Easter, a historical figure, and the one we talk about in church. • Jesus is and was alive. He has personality. His life provides a reliable model for our lives. He shows us how to live well. • We don’t understand Jesus from a distance. Consider what it would be like to know Jesus as His disciples knew Him. This is possible. • The life of Jesus changed the world. His impact changed lives. His disciples modeled His life and changed the world. Challenge: Pray like Jesus, join the community Jesus created, reach out to those Jesus sought, and live a life of impact as you follow Him
Spend time in prayer seeking God’s calling and purpose for your life.
Read Ephesians 4:7; 11-16 • The gift of grace have roles attached. Which role resonates with you? • The roles have a purpose. Consider how you fit into that purpose both practically and potentially. • Reflect on Paul’s picture of the church. Everyone engaged, everyone connected in unity, everyone with purpose, and built up in love. • Do you ever felt disconnected, uncertain, or lost in your pursuit of God? To Each of Us. Everyone has a role in God’s Kingdom. Everyone has a place and a purpose. • What does it mean to be spiritually mature? • What does it mean to be tossed to and fro in this scripture? • Reflect on your present condition. Are you more like a spiritual child or are you established as a spiritually mature disciple of Jesus? • In what ways are you growing up into Christ? Paul’s picture of the church is beautiful. • It is disciples who are fitted together perfectly, fully functioning, and continually growing in love and service to God. • How are you equipping, building up, standing in unity with, and becoming more and more like Christ? • What’s missing? Take steps today to pursue God’s call on your life.
Spend some time considering the “God moments” of your life.
Read Matthew 17:14-21 • Pay attention to the disciples. What were they trying to do? How successful were they? • Notice the reaction of Jesus. How would you describe His emotions? • Consider that it was the disciples who came to Jesus to ask why they could not do what came so easily to Jesus. • The key is faith. Even a little faith can do great things. Kairos. Kairos is a greek word used to describe a moment in time, a significant event, where God breaks into our circumstances and provides a new way of thinking. • What are some of your Kairos moments? How did they feel? How did they change you? • Have you ever ignored, turned back due to fear, or explained away a God moment? Why? • Repentance is hard. It changes the way we think, act, and understand the world. Repentance is a fundamental aspect of discipleship. • Belief is visible. It takes action. It does what Jesus does. • To repent and believe during and following a Kairos moment causes us to grow and more fully embrace what it means to follow Jesus. The disciples had too little faith. It stopped them. Are we so different? Let us be a disciple-making people as we follow Christ.
Pray for clarity in how to follow Christ as a disciple.
What if? • What if we lived in harmony with God, ourselves, and each other? • What if people saw in us what it means to “live well”? • What if the challenge of following Jesus was connected to joy?
Read Matthew 16:16-24 • Imagine Peter’s excitement at speaking truth and being called “rock”. • Imagine Peter’s sorrow at being called Satan and a stumbling block for expressing his desire that Jesus not face suffering. • Being a disciple is accepting the invitation of Christ. • Being a disciple is facing the challenges that Jesus gives us. A Disciple is a Learner • Peter correctly answered the question “who do you say that I am?” while also incorrectly pushing back on what Jesus was sent to do. • It’s almost as if Peter acknowledged the Savior while denying the work of the Savior. Jesus would not let that go unchallenged. • Following Jesus isn’t a comfortable, cozy acceptance of an easy status quo that suits our preference. • Jesus invites us to follow Him. Then Jesus challenges us to become more, join a greater work, and be different than we are today. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. A challenge and an invitation. Will we accept both and join God in His work?
Spend some time in prayer. • Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine how you respond to others. • Pray for strength in the pursuit of God and His Will. Read Matthew 26:47-56 • Consider the tension of this moment. Swords, crowds, violence, and arrests. Notice how Jesus responded differently than others. • Pay attention to the sword and the ear. Peter acts in what he considers a proper way and Jesus stops him. Why? • Compare the strength of Jesus to the power of the chief priests, crowd, Peter, and others. The one of greatest strength chose the weakest role. Read Matthew 5:3-10 • This is the start of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is laying out how God’s Kingdom works. Notice how different than expected it is. • “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Meekness is not passive, submissive, fearful, powerless, etc. Meekness is strength under control. Strength that finds itself in a position of perceived weakness. • Where do we seek meekness in Matthew 26:47-56? Read Matthew 5:38-39 • You have heard it said…but I say. Jesus is changing the status quo. • The art of discipleship keeps us from becoming the evil around us. It is knowing and living in the strength of God even when we appear weak. • Where are we pretending to be strong that keeps us from true strength?
Spend some time in prayer • Ask the Lord for a reality check on your relationship with Him. • Ask the Lord to show you what keeps you from taking the next step. Read John 4:13-14 • This is a central verse in the story of the woman at the well. It would be good to read the entire story in John 4. • Notice the change. Jesus shifts from talking about water at a well to life. • Consider what makes you thirsty in life. What exists in your life that keeps you going back to the same well over and over again? • Reflect on the idea of living water that quenches all thirst. What is Jesus offering this woman? Read Matthew 13:44-46 • What are people willing to do to receive the Kingdom of Heaven? • Do you desire the Kingdom of Heaven above all other things? Read Ephesians 4:28 • The thief is always thirsty in life. The thief always needs more. • Notice how Paul shifts the thief from taking to creating to giving. • Theft is transformed into generosity. Thirst finds living water. Living well empties our hands to receive what is of greatest value. How empty are your hands today?
Spend some time in prayer. • Ask the Lord to show you how your faith has translated to action. • Ask the Lord to show you what He desire you to do through faith. Read James 2:18-26 • What does James think of a person who believes faith and works can exist separately from each other? • Consider the faith of Abraham, who was willing to give the Lord what was most important, most loved, and most precious. • Consider Rahab, a prostitute who put everything at risk to show mercy and hospitality to God’s people. How did her faith take action? • Reflect on what does faith without works look like today. Faith and works exist together. Each is essential for faith to come alive. • How has faith changed you, your family, and your community? • What are the roadblocks to your faith taking action? • How much of faith is defined by words rather than actions? Abraham had a “now I know” moment. What was talked about became fully known through action. • What is your “now I know” moment of faith? • How does faith take action today? • What is it that God is calling you to pursue?
Spend some time in prayer. • Examine your faith seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit. • Ask the Lord to expose stumbling blocks in your life. Read James 2:14-17 • Notice the strength of the language. James is very direct. • Examine your emotions in reading this passage. Are you feeling a bit defensive or put off by these words? • Pay attention to the words “What good”. What is James trying to say? James creates a straw man of faith without works then gives an example of just how ineffective such a person is. • What are the needs around us? • What needs exist beyond the basic needs of food and shelter? • What keeps us from seeing and responding to needs? • What is the difference between needs and wants? Faith is connected with life, not death. God’s church is to be a place of life. • How similar am I/are we to the straw man James creates? • How often do we choose the words of faith while avoiding the action that God is leading us toward? Can such a faith save us? Let us chose to embrace faith that works and become the people and the church God created us to be.
Spend some time in prayer. • Ask God to show you what He is calling you to do in God’s church. • Pray through your stumbling blocks and struggles. Read Romans 12:19-21 • Notice how Paul doesn’t explain away evil and hurt. It’s expected. • Consider how avenging ourselves or repaying evil for evil would work against God’s will for His people. • Reflect on personal examples of times you chose to extend grace to someone who had made themselves your enemy. Which is stronger? Good or evil? • Evil overcomes people. Left to its own devices, evil will break down a person who is unwilling to face it in a healthy way. • Good overcomes evil. Doing good is a choice we make that leads to action. Doing good in the face of evil is powerful. God is good. His will is good. He reliably leads His people to what is good. • Can you see how God is using you for good? • Can you see how God is forming His community in the church for His good purpose? Will you join God’s good work in this community of faith?
Spend some time in prayer • Seek God’s will inside of your relationships with other people. • Ask God to guide you to unity within this community of believers. Read Romans 12:14-18 • Notice the four “do not” phrases. See Paul’s picture of what we are to stay away from as Christ followers. • Consider how different following Christ is from normal worldly standards. • Look for the real life application of following Christ. • Examine your willingness and ability to “live peaceably with all”. Unity in Christ is an intentional and vital part of faith. • Look at the commands Paul gives in this passage. • Consider the importance of accepting and engaging your community. • The opposite of unity is isolation. Reflect on how isolated your life is from the people around you. When Christ’s community is operating in unity, the potential for evil – schism, division, estrangement, conflict, and destruction is avoided and the blessing of cooperative and balanced living is ensured. (Briscoe & Ogilive, Romans) • Barriers to unity are often found in our reaction to what is different, confusing, or outside of our preferences. • What barriers do we/you have to unity? How is Christ helping you overcome them?
Spend some time in prayer • Pray asking that God show you what genuine love looks like. • Pray for a reignited passion in following Christ. Read Romans 12:9-13 • Notice the commands. Make a list of each one. • Consider how each command connects with holding fast to what is good. • Pay attention to the role of passion and its expression through hope, patience, prayer, and giving. Paul’s picture of the church is challenging. • Love isn’t optional, casual, or passive. It is active, intentional, and filled with passionate work. • God’s church is beautiful. It is a place of opportunity, responsibility, and needed service to all. • Paul’s picture of the church is idealized. This is what could be. He gives the church a goal to pursue. How willing are we to settle for less than what Paul is showing us? • Healthy churches do good using good tools. • How often do we passively settle for or accept as normal that which is less than good? • Are we willing to be different in service to the Lord and each other?
Spend some time in prayer • Pray for the church and the work God has called the church to do. • Ask the Lord to reveal your role and gift in His work. Read Romans 12:4-8 • Notice the body language. Consider why Paul uses the image of a body to describe God’s church. • Notice the relationship between unity and diversity. • List the gifts mentioned. Consider why these gifts are important. Often, unity is confused with commonality. We think that if people conform to the same ideas, patterns, beliefs, and abilities they are unified. Paul rejects this notion. It is Christ that makes us one. • Are we ever guilty of living in a “prison of preference” where our ideas, opinions, and likes are given high or highest value? • Notice that the body of Christ is filled with members who have different functions and different gifts. • What does it mean to be “members one of another”? God gives His people gifts. That means each of us has some. • What gift from Paul’s list resonates with you? • How effectively are you putting God’s gifts to work in your life? From many…One. The church is people united by Christ who engaged each other and the world through His gifts. Let nothing stop this work.
Spend some time in prayer. • Ask the Lord to help you see yourself, others, and the church clearly. • Reflect on faith and how your faith impacts your daily life. Read Romans 12:3 • Notice the foundation of Paul’s words. He speaks from a place of grace as a recipient of grace. • Reflect on what grace is and how you can be person of grace. • Consider why Paul feels the need to warn everyone “not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think”. Our ability to know and speak truth is often clouded. That which keeps us from the truth will also keep us from being honest with ourselves. • Identify the barriers to truth that you encounter in yourself (we all have them). • Reflect on who you really are. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are you wrestling with? What significant events have shaped you? Who are the people who impacted your life? • Allow the Holy Spirit to speak into the places of joy and pain you find. We each have a measure of faith. Inside of this faith we gain insight into who we are in Christ and what we are called to do. • Consider what God’s plan and purpose is for your life. • Consider what God’s plan and purpose is for His church.
Spend some time in prayer. • Reflect on how Christ has changed your life. • Ask for the Lord to show you His will. Read Romans 12:2 • Notice the words conformed, transformed, and renewing. • Consider the difference between being conformed vs. transformed. • Renewing is an ongoing process. Consider how a mind can be renewed. Transformation reveals God’s will. It is only through the work of Christ in our lives that we can see and understand God’s purpose. • To discern is to learn and comprehend. Discernment sees through the distractions of life to find the truth. • How does my will impact how I see and respond to the world? • God’s will causes us to imitate Christ. How am I reflecting the personality, love, grace and courage of Christ? • Reflect on how your will and God’s will impacts your daily life. God’s will makes us uncomfortable. His will is larger and has greater impact than what we might create for ourselves. • Do you have a God-sized vision for your life? • Can you see the God-sized vision for His church? Everyone is needed. Christ has a purpose for us. Will we seek it out?
Spend some time in prayer. • Thank God for how He has been and is working in your life. • Ask God to show you His will for both your life and the church. Read Romans 12:1 • Consider the significance of the word appeal/urge/plead/beg. • What are the “mercies of God” and why are they important? • How does being a “living sacrifice” connect with “spiritual worship”? There is urgency in this scripture. God has a call for His people that requires a response. • What is the call or purpose God has given you? This church? • Reflect on what you think/talk about when you talk about God. o How focused are you on the purpose God has? o Do small or less important issues dominate God’s purpose? • Consider what level of urgency you have in following Christ. Being a Living Sacrifice places our lives in God’s hands • Define grace. How does God’s grace change our perspective? • What is required for a sacrifice to be holy and pleasing to God? • Worship comes from within. Consider what worship is really about. All in for Christ. What does that phrase mean to you? Is it true of you? What needs to change in order for you to be all in?
Father’s Day • Spend some time in prayer for your family. • Consider your relationships both past and present with family. Read Luke 15:20-24 • Pay attention to what the son has to say to the father. • What role does fear, shame, and guilt play in the son’s words? • How do the words of the prodigal son connect with us today? The son returns confessing his sin and disgrace. He could not survive apart from his father’s house. He sees himself as unworthy. • How does the father respond to the words of the son? • Consider how the fear, shame, and guilt of the son is overcome by the love, peace, and joy of the father. • How can we exhibit the same love, peace, and joy the father gives his son today? This parable causes the Pharisees to ridicule Jesus. The world stands opposed to the love, peace, and joy found in Christ. • For believers, what are the consequences of claiming faith while acting in a manner that does not demonstrate the Kingdom of God? • God knows our hearts. He knows our motives. He knows the darkness in us. Yet His compassion and love are without limit. • Reflect on how the love of God is exhibited in you and your family.
Read Genesis 3:11-13 • Notice the response of Adam and Eve to God. How would you describe their attitudes and emotions in this exchange? • What role does blame play in your life? When things go wrong, how do you typically respond? • Consider how guilt and blame are connected. Read Luke 4:5-8 • What does “their glory and all this authority” mean? • Where is the temptation here? Why does Jesus reject Satan’s offer? • Consider how “their glory” stands up against God’s glory. Our drive to achieve recognition, rewards, and authority rarely leads us to a place of fulfillment and joy. • Have you ever allowed a small flaw or failure take away from or ruin a significant moment in your life? • Does life ever feel like a treadmill? Not matter how fast you run, it doesn’t seem to go anywhere different. God created us and gives us meaningful work to do. In this meaningful work we find fulfillment, joy, and connection with God and each other. • Do you know the meaningful work God created you to do? • Faithfulness led Jesus to greater glory and authority than Satan could possibly give. What does faithfulness to God look like for you?
Read Genesis 1:28-31 • What has God given Adam and Eve? • Is there any need that goes unmet in the garden? • Into a world of abundance, the serpent’s lie created scarcity. Even with every need met, people feel that they still need and deserve more. Read Luke 4:1-4 • Consider the setting of these temptations. What is the “wilderness”? • Notice what Satan brings (or does not bring) with him. • Think about why turning a stone into bread would be a bad idea? One does not live by bread alone • Consider why Jesus was fasting (avoiding food) to begin with. • Notice the word live. Living (eternal life) is a major part of the ministry of Jesus. He actively wants people to have the fullness of life. • In this temptation, what would Jesus have to give up in order to gain bread? How much do we give up to cover up the fear of not having enough? • A hungry Jesus chose to trust the Lord’s provision in the wilderness. • Jesus was not afraid. He calls us to not fear. The antidote to fear is peace. We have all that we need in Christ. • Consider what it looks like to live in the abundance of Christ.
Read Luke 4:9-12 • Consider where Satan took Jesus. What was the importance of the Temple and Jerusalem? • What motive do you think Satan might have in convincing Jesus to jump and let angels catch Him? • Notice Satan’s use of the word “if”. During the baptism of Jesus, God the Father identified Jesus as His son. Now Satan is calling that identity into question. • Satan’s goal is to cast doubt on truth. He creates problems where no problem actually exists. • If Jesus had jumped and angels had caught Him, it would not have erased doubt, it would have created a cycle where Jesus needed to prove His identity time and time again…undercutting the truth… • What role does the need to prove yourself play in your everyday life? • How often does shame, fear, guilt, and doubt impact your decisions? “You must not test the Lord your God” – Jesus • Jesus was unwilling to play Satan’s games. He didn’t need too. • His identity came from the Father. It was enough. No validation required. • This is true of us as well. Yet often we seek the approval of others over the given reality of God’s grace, love, and acceptance. Surrender your shame. In Christ we find our rest. (Read Matthew 11:28-30)
Read Genesis 3:1-6 • God created Adam and Eve. They were complete and lacking nothing. They were at peace and knew the fullness of life with God. • Adam and Eve had clear answers for three key questions in life. o Who am I? (A friend to God created in His image.) o How much do I have? (All that is needed to live well.) o What am I here to do? (Care for God’s creation.) • What trick does the serpent use to entice Eve to eat of the tree? The one thing that Adam and Eve didn’t need and should not have ended up costing them everything. • The serpent’s lie shifted Adam and Eve from peace to discontentment. Suddenly, they were not enough and didn’t have enough. • How does the serpent’s lie speak to us today? • How do we respond? Read Genesis 3:7 • For the first time, Adam and Eve felt the need to hide themselves from each other and the Lord. • The need for approval and the presence of shame entered the world. Take this week to consider how often we act to seek approval or avoid shame. What do we hide from others, God, and ourselves? Are we willing to choose a better motivation in our relationships?
Read 1 Samuel 25:32-35 • How does David react to Abigail? • Notice the shift in David from vengeance to peace. Consider how Abigail was used by God to cause this shift. • Consider what it is to be blessed to and to be a blessing to others. Read all of 1 Samuel 25 • Notice the characters of Nabal, David, and Abigail. Each exhibits certain character traits. Pay attention to the differences. • Nabal is a rich fool who returns the honor that David extends him with shame and insult. How would you describe Nabal’s character? • David is the anointed king on the run from King Saul. Notice David’s willingness to move from anger to peace. • Abigail is described as intelligent and beautiful. Her actions protect Nabal and Nabal’s people. He actions protect David. How would you describe her character? Abigail found herself in an impossible situation. Her quick, smart, and risky action set people on a path that was previously unavailable. • Wisdom comes from understanding and awareness. How did the wisdom of Abigail shape the outcome of this story? • Finding the best path forward isn’t easy and it doesn’t come without risk and sacrifice. What best path forward do you need to choose today?
Read 1 Samuel 18:1-5 • Consider the connection between Jonathan and David. • Notice the presence of a covenant (agreement) between them. • Think about the importance of Jonathan (the greatest general and heir to the throne) giving his robes, armor, and sword to David. • Have you ever had a friend like this? Life is messy. Jonathan is king Saul’s son, a general and leader of the Israelite people, and David’s friend. All of these roles will end up in confusion and conflict. How Jonathan handles them matters. Read 1 Samuel 18:6 – 20:42 • How quickly does the world in which Saul, David, Jonathan, and the people go away? • Notice how Jonathan remains true to his father, David, and the people even as each of these groups are in conflict. • Consider the integrity of Jonathan. He stood true in a mess. Our Mess • Relationships are not easy. How do you respond to the awkwardness that often exists between people? • Notice how Jonathan points everyone to God consistently, speaks and seeks truth, and maintains his integrity throughout. • What are we avoiding because it’s awkward and difficult?
Read 1 John 5:13-15 • Notice the sequence of thought. Belief in Jesus leads to life, which leads to boldness/confidence, which leads to prayer (according to His will), which leads to answers. • Notice how eternal life, prayer, and God’s will are connected. • Consider the role of boldness/confidence in prayer. How often do we pray for what we want rather than what God desires? How does seeking God’s will change the dynamics of prayer and life? Read 1 John 5:18-20 • Confidence in the Lord changes how we approach other people and the world. Consider where our confidence comes from and what He does. • Notice the role understanding plays in the life of one who believes. • Consider what “being in his Son Jesus Christ” means in practical terms. The Question of Identity • Sin shapes identity. It injects destruction into creation. Sin reduces human beings down into collections of wrongs, harms, and struggles. • Christ shapes identity. He brings light into the darkness and establishes order from chaos. Christ elevates human beings to create good in an often dark world. Christ is always greater than sin. • Consider your identity. Which has shaped it more…Christ or sin? What will we do with the life and light Christ gives us?
Read 1 John 5:1-5 • Notice how verse 1 and 5 begin and end similarly. John bookends this core truth to emphasis the message found in verses 2-4. • Notice how love, obedience, and faith are connected. It does not appear that they can be understood separately. • Consider what it means to “conquer the world”. Often the commandments of the Lord are considered a burden to life. People have used the word “obedience” to press all kinds of agendas and ideas. True obedience is not burdensome. Instead, it brings life. • Consider the often-repeated command to “love one another”. What is the purpose of this command? What happens when it is obeyed? • What are the unwritten commands of this world? o Do whatever you need to do in order to survive. o Let no misdeed go unpunished. o Look out for number one at all times and at all costs. • The unwritten commands of this world are a burden that add to the worry, stress, and distractions of life. Consider their impact on you. Read 1 John 5:11-12 • The testimony is Jesus. He who conquered death gives life. • That testimony is our testimony. We find life (eternal) in Christ. What sort of life will you choose today?
Read 1 John 4:7-12 • Spend some time thinking about the love God has for us. • How does God reveal His love for us? • Where does love come from and find its full expression? The love of God is transformative. It brings life and light into this world. • Love is a reflection of the nature of God. Along with being our creator and savior, God is love. • Being loved and loving others are keys to life. • Consider the importance of love in your life. There will always be those who use the name of love (intentionally or otherwise) to achieve other purposes. John warns his people that this approach separates people from God. • The Palm Sunday crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. The Good Friday crowds chanted “Crucify Him!” • How do we respond when our expectations of people we love are not met? What does that response say about love? • Jesus willingly goes to the cross for those who chanted “Crucify Him!” What does this say about the love Jesus has for people? Read 1 John 4:16-18 • Boldness in love. Love that casts out fear. Love that unites us with God. • How well does this passage describe us? What needs to change?
Read 1 John 3:1-8 • This is a complex passage. Look for common phrases and words. • Start with the phrase “children of God”. Make a list of how this passage talks about being a child of God. • Next, pay attention to the word “revealed”. Look for what has been revealed, what will be revealed, and how those things are applied. • Compare how the words “purity” and “righteousness” are used. • Examine how “sin” is explained. John continues to put the reality of Christ in front of people. When you break this passage down certain ideas come together. • It means something to be a child of God. o Children of God are centered in the love of the Father. o Children of God have identity in Christ, are made pure, and can live righteously. o Children of God have freedom to pursue their purpose in life. • There is a now and a not yet when it comes to life and faith. • The Lord is doing a great work that His children get to participate in. John is writing to a group of people in tension with each other and in their understanding of how to follow Christ. Where is your tension with God and others? What impact does being a Child of God have on your life daily?
Read 1 John 2:15-17 • Notice the use of the word “love”. • It is something we give and something that comes from the Father. • Love in this sense is an act of will. Love represents the bedrock of our beliefs, values, morals, and actions. Our love shapes who we are. • What does love look like for you? How does your love mirror the Father’s love as expressed through Jesus Christ? What is the world that we are commanded not to love? • Remember, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 • Things not of God define the world in here. This world is the beliefs, values, morals, and things that people use in place of God. • This world is filled with cravings (lust) and pride wrapped up in an unsatisfying and endless contest for superiority. • Because of Christ, this world is passing away in favor of the Kingdom of God. Where things crumble to dust, Christ will remain forever. • What role does the world play in your life? We have a choice. We can love what will not last for the sake of that which will not matter. Or, we can abide in Christ and find the life that lasts forever. John is calling God’s people to choose life. What will you choose?
Read 1 John 2:1-6 • John addresses people as beloved children. Consider how John views the people he is writing too. Let that attitude inform everything else. • How does John view Christ? o What does Christ provide for His people? o How does the presence of Christ impact the power of sin? The first and greatest commandment is love. John intimately connects Christ with love. They do not exist apart from each other. Therefore, God’s people must be people of love. Read 1 John 2:7-11 • Consider how John 13:34-35 informs this passage. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” • Notice how John shifts his focus to how God’s people treat each other. • Hate is connected with darkness. Love is connected with light. The true light is connected with Christ. • It is impossible to live in the light of Christ while embracing the actions of the darkness. • Light and dark. Love and hate. Truth or lie. John is giving God’s people a clear foundation that reliably leads them to life in Christ. How willing are we to accept and live on this foundation?
We encourage everyone to read the book of 1 John each week from now until the week after Easter.
Read 1 John 1:1-4 • Notice the “we declare” and “we have” statements. What are they referencing? • Seeing, hearing, and touching all emphasize the reality of Christ. Consider why the reality of Christ might need emphasis. John writes this letter to connect people in fellowship (community) with God and each other. He does this by consistently placing the reality of Christ before the people and inviting a response. His goal is the joy found in a community freely following Christ together. Read 1 John 1:5-10 • Notice the shift from the reality of Christ to the present reality of people. • Consider our capacity to say one things while doing the opposite. • If the true nature of Christ connects, saves, and cleanses people, what impact might a false nature in people have? • How does God respond to confession? • Consider the image of light and darkness in this chapter. How does image intersect with our lives? How would you describe your connection to God right now?
2 Chronicles 7:14-16
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
James 5:13-16
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.