Being Selfless and Obedient

For April 1, 2012


All Scriptures are from The Message Version

This post is intended to help the reader personalize the words and thoughts in the scriptures. It works well if shared between two or more people as a conversation but there is much to be gained by just considering the questions for yourself. Commentaries for the lectionary scripture can be found on Textweek through this link http://www.textweek.com/pauline/phil2.htm

Some churches celebrate this day as Palm Sunday, the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin his final week before the crucifixion, and others as Passion Sunday the beginning of Jesus’ trials and suffering through those final days. You can read all of the events of that last week in the Passion Sunday Lectionary scripture Matthew 26:14-27:66. But today we will look at the Passion Sunday Lectionary scripture by Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi which urges upon them humility and love of one another. He uses the example of Christ and sacrifice he made for (others/us) as their example. But for some first thoughts on the nature of Christ from the gospel of John, chapter 1 which announces Jesus' mixture of divinity and humanness:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• Without getting into deep theological ideas what do these two scriptures tell us about Jesus (the Word)? How is his divinity described, what is role did he play in creation? Is any of this new to you? What questions does it raise in your mind?
• The second scripture tells us that Jesus became flesh and dwelled among us? What was his behavior, what kind of a human presence was he. How would you describe the Jesus who dwelt with us to a friend?
• In some ways are Christians similar to Jesus as we are humans in whom God’s Spirit dwells? How does you spiritual nature impact the way you live and act? Do you wish for growth of the spiritual in the midst of your humanness? What might help us grow spiritually, what has helped you grow?

The church an Philippi was one of Paul’s favorites, they had been strong spiritual and at times material supporters of his ministry. He writes urging them to be a loving community using words like these:

Philippians 2:1-4 If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life... then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends… Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

• What does Paul want the Philippians to have as a goal for their behavior? Is acting this way typical human nature or something else? It is not unusual for us to observe people who do not live this way in the secular world but what examples do you have examples when congregational life ran counter to this plea? On the other hand when have you experienced people in a faith community acting toward you in this way? What seemed to be the spiritual condition of the community when either behavior seemed to be most visible?

Philippians 2:5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

• How does Paul characterize Jesus in what is probably a hymn from the earliest days of the Christian faith? How does he contrast the status of Christ in the divine realm and as a human? How are the divine and human Jesus described? What words are used to describe the way he lived and died?
• Do you feel that there are times when you acted in a selfless and obedient (to God) way? What were the circumstances and what led you to respond in this fashion? Are there times when you weren’t, what caused you to focus on yourself instead?
• Does this description of Jesus’ behavior inspire you to be more selfless and obedient or does it not hit home today? What other words would you use to describe the nature of Jesus as you think about the crucifixion? Are there things that you want to incorporate in your life as you think about it?

Paul encourages the church to adopt a Christ like behavior:

12-13 … Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

• What words describe the kind of life Paul is urging us to adopt? Is this way of life passive? Is it a natural part of normal human behavior? What does it take for us to break away from our usual patterns of living and take on something new?
• What are we equipped with if we redouble our efforts? What can we count on as we seek spiritual growth? How has God been present in your faith journey as you grew and matured?
• Have you experience any spiritual growth during this season of Lent? As you reflect on the crucifixion what meaning does it have for you on this Palm Sunday? What words come to you mind as you look ahead to Jesus on the cross? What will you add to the spiritual food that you take with you on your faith journey?

Closing Prayer

Take Lord my sense of self and let it vanish utterly. Take Lord, my life and live through me. Between Thee and me, my God, there is no longer room for I and mine. Amen.

Tukaram. The Oxford Book of Prayer

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Matthew 28:1-10 or Isaiah 25:6-9, I Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8

The Brand New Covenant

For March 25, 2012

All Scriptures are from The Message Version

This post is intended to help the reader personalize the words and thoughts in the scriptures.  It works well if shared between two or more people as a conversation but there is much to be gained by just considering the questions for yourself.  Commentaries for the lectionary scripture can be found on Textweek through this link http://www.textweek.com/prophets/jer31c.htm.

One of the themes of Lent is renewal; setting things of the past aside and being led in the new direction that Christ’s sacrifice on that first Good Friday opened to us.  Our Old Testament Lectionary Scripture speaks to renewal, a new covenant from God to the people of Israel.  But Christians claim the prophesy as the New Covenant promises which came to us through Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.  First we will first look at the prophet Jeremiah’s words and then one of the many New Testament scriptures which speak to this New Covenant from the Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.

Jeremiah 31:31-32 "That's right. The time is coming when I will make a brand-new covenant with Israel and Judah. It won't be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant even though I did my part as their Master." God's Decree.

·       What was the original covenant?  Wikipedia introduces it this way:

The Mosaic Covenant, beginning in Exodus 19-24, contains the foundations of the Torah. In this covenant, God promises:

To make the children of Israel His special possession among all people if they obey God and keep his covenant [Exo 19:5]
To make the children of Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation[Exo 19:6]
To give the children of Israel the Sabbath as the permanent sign of this covenant [31:12-17]
As part of the terms of this covenant, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. These will later be elaborated in the rest of the Pentateuch. The Decalogue begins with Yahweh's identification and his doing for Israel ("who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Ex 20:2) as well as the stipulations commanding absolute loyalty ("You shall not have other gods apart from me"). The fullest account of the Mosaic covenant is given in the book of Deuteronomy http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy&version=MSG.

·       Can you think of some examples of transgressions which might have caused God to conclude that Israel had broken the covenant?   The Old Testament prophets wore out the theme of God’s disappointment and anger at the Israelites constant falling away – just read Isaiah 1 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%201&version=MSG for a good example of this frustration.
·       What do you imagine was the mood, demeanor, tone of voice, and frame of mind of God as the new covenant was announced?  Might God have made a mistake when the first covenant was made?  Does it speak to a God created human being that ended up operating in a manner that was not anticipated when Adam was molded from the mud?  Is the new covenant a Plan B after Plan A seems to have failed?   What other reasons might there be for the failure of the first covenant?
·       What does this announcement by God say about the tenacity in His desire to establish a relationship with humankind?  Do you have a person in your life with whom you have worked hard to maintain a relationship through times when you felt let down or shunned?  What caused you to continue to work on the relationship?  Think about that in the context of our creator and us, his creation.

Now Jeremiah prophesizes about the nature of the new covenant:

^33-34"This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They'll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!" God's Decree.

·       The Ten Commandments are a small but important part of the covenant – how have you done in keeping faith with them?    Is it easy to understand exactly how to apply the few words of each commandment to the real world?  For instance what exactly does it mean to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”?  Can you remember all of them http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020&version=MSG?  How did you learn about them?  Is continued learning and study an important part of a healthy faith life?
·       What does having something written on your heart mean to you?  Take a minute and think, what is dear, important, intuitive, and instinctive in your life?  How did these things become so much a part of you?  What went on in your life that set the stage for them to be inscribed in this way?  Do these things differ in the impact on your life from those that you may have learned through study, do out of obligation, or use to earn a living.  
·       Two very specific promises are made as a part of the new covenant, what are they and who do they apply to?

Christians have inherited this promise; we are the people of the New Covenant, as Paul explains in his letters most notably in Romans.  Below is one of the many scriptures which help us understand the new:

Romans 8:9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!

·       What must happen for the New Covenant to be written on our hearts, what does Paul give us as the big if in the first sentence?  What meaning does God himself taking up residence in your life mean to you?  Have you sensed this in your faith journey, are there specific instances that come to mind?
·       What is the reality we live with as people of faith, is our humanness ever totally removed?  But what is different for us as we travel on a faith journey, what overcomes those human failings and brings us real life?  Do you think that any of these promises are real for you, that your faith has been and continues to be transformational, that it brings real life?
·       What have you learned today?  Do we need to explore ways of making ourselves more open to God and allowing Him to take residence in our lives?  Have you found some ways to do that during your Lenten preparations this year?

 Closing Litany (from Psalm 51)

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Amen

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16

Moses and the Snakes

For March 18, 2012


All Scriptures are from The Message Version

It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate lots of thoughts if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for these scriptures can be found on Textweek.com through this link http://www.textweek.com/pentateuch/num21.htm

Numbers is a book of the bible which many of us may seldom visit but has as the rest of scripture the potential to give us insight and raise questions. When reading you will find a well-documented story of the trials and tribulations of the Israelites as they made their way through the wilderness on the way to the Promise Land. There are many trials, many miracles, and regular and vivid reminders of God’s presence with them both to support and reprimand. Today we read of more trials, more complaining and more of God’s direct intervention into the affairs of the people with more of Moses’ acting on behalf both of the people and God. We will first look at the wilderness story itself and then at the analogy Jesus made of it and to himself that we find in John’ Gospel.

The Story begins:
Numbers 21:4-5 They set out from Mount Hor along the Red Sea Road, a detour around the land of Edom. The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. They spoke out against God and Moses: "Why did you drag us out of Egypt to die in this godforsaken country? No decent food; no water—we can't stomach this stuff any longer."

• When you think about this large mass of humanity traipsing through a unfamiliar territory and living in nomadic style (imagine a 40 year camping trip with all of your family, relatives, friends, and some people that you really didn’t care for) it is understandable that there would be unrest. What would you need/want to sustain you if you were on this journey? How would you have dealt with the seemingly endless trek with a very ill-defined destination (what exactly was the Promise Land)?
• What would you have needed from your faith life to both endure the journey and at the same time nurture your spiritual life as you traveled? What might you want to initiate for yourself or with other travelers that might help address these needs?
• Might there have been a need to support one another during those stressful times? What might some needs be and how might you want to addressed these needs?
• Fast forward to your life today, can you draw any parallels to the wandering Israelites in your life? Are there any seemingly endless burdens, any loss of purpose, difficult conditions? Reflect on your thoughts as you looked at the questions about sustaining faith and mutual support for the traveling Israelites, how do they apply to your life today? How might they apply to life in a faith community?
• Moses was the leader, how difficult was his task? This story is just one of many crisis he faced, seemingly on a daily basis, what must it have taken both on his part and in his relationship with God to sustain him and maintain him as an effective leader?
• How might the example of Moses apply to congregational leadership today? What might our leaders learn from him from both a spiritual and leadership perspective? What made him successful in the midst of almost overwhelming challenges? Some scripture which will give you an understanding of Moses includes Exodus 3-4 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%203-4&version=MSGand Numbers 11 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers%2011&version=MSG.

Now Numbers tells us that God again loses patience with the Israelites:

6-7 So GOD sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke out against GOD and you. Pray to GOD; ask him to take these snakes from us." Moses prayed for the people.
8 GOD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live."
9 So Moses made a snake of fiery copper and put it on top of a flagpole. Anyone bitten by a snake who then looked at the copper snake lived.

• We can dwell for a moment on God sending the snakes and your response to that assertion in the scripture. How do you feel about the fact that God sent the snakes to punish the Israelites? What does it say about the nature of God’s relationship with humankind if direct punishment, even death, comes to us as a result of our transgressions?
• Have you ever felt that things were happening in your life because of failings on your part? Have the snakes appeared? What do you think is the source of the bad consequences of our bad choices? Is God rewarding and punishing you regularly a part of your faith journey?
• Another story of a plague of snakes which gives this story a more contemporary flavor comes from T. E. Lawrence’s (Lawrence of Arabia) story of his adventures in WWII as recorded in Seven Pillars of Wisdom Chapter XLVII:
On my dry patience they grated a little, because the plague of snakes which had been with us since our first entry into Sirhan today rose to memorable height, and became a terror. In ordinary times, so the Arabs said, snakes were little worse here than elsewhere by water in the desert: but this year the valley seemed creeping with horned vipers and puff-adders, cobras and black snakes. By night movement was dangerous: and at last we found it necessary to walk with sticks, beating the bushes each side while we stepped warily through on bare feet.


We could not lightly draw water after dark, for there were snakes swimming in the pools or clustering in knots around their brinks. Twice puff-adders came twisting into the alert ring of our debating coffee-circle. Three of our men died of bites; four recovered after great fear and pain, and a swelling of the poisoned limb. Howeitat treatment was to bind up the part with snake-skin plaster, and read chapters of the Koran to the sufferer until he died. They also pulled thick Damascene ankle-boots, red, with blue tassels and horse-shoe heels, over their horny feet when they went late abroad.

• How are you and snakes? Can you imagine the terror on the part of the people? What about the degree of relief when Moses developed a solution? What do you think that the snake represents, what brought about the healing? Was it the snake or something else that it represented?

In a second Lectionary Scripture Jesus uses this story to make a point about his presence and purpose:

John 3:13-15 "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.
16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

• What might mean when he talks of being “lifted up” as we look toward Easter Sunday? Are both the very visible nature of his death and the resurrection three days later possible interpretations? When you think of Jesus how is he made visible to you, what pictures do you carry in your mind, what captures you and makes you “trusting an expectant”?
• Why did God send Jesus to have him “lifted up”? What reasons does Jesus give us? As you travel through this Lenten season where do you pray this healing might occur in your personal life and the life of our world? What do you turn to for hope and strength as you seek this healing – both your spiritual and secular resources?
• One message for us today might be that finding God’s presence is a two way street – God is there (lifted up), it is our responsibility to respond (see and believe). What message have you heard as you have thought about these questions – feel free to leave a comment below.

Closing Prayer

Take Lord unto yourself,

My sense of self: and let it vanish utterly.

Take Lord my life,

Live your life through me.

I live no longer, Lord

But in me now you live.

Yes, between you and me, my God

There is no longer room for I and Mine.

Amen

Tukaram, Indian Mystic, Oxford Book of Prayer

Next Week’s Lectionary Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-12or Psalm 119:9-16, Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33

Please comment by clicking on the word comments in the sentence “Posted by John at XXXX “ at the bottom of the page

Sensing God's Presence

For March 11, 2012



All Scriptures are from The Message Version

It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate lots of thoughts if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for these scriptures can be found on Textweek.com through this link http://www.textweek.com/writings/psalm19.htm

One of the questions people have for those who profess a faith in God is about God’s presence; how is our life different because of our spirituality? And it is a question that we should ponder for ourselves, are we really tapping into the power of God’s spirit that is present with us? Psalm 19 is a reflection on that presence and the impact of being in touch with it. It is worth reading and contemplating on during this Lenten season – someone might ask us – or we might need reminding ourselves. The psalm begins with some reflections on the presence:

1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren't heard, their voices aren't recorded,

But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome!

The morning sun's a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed,

The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape.

6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset,

Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.

• How does the psalmist sense God’s glory, what does he cite and what words would you use to describe the nature, the effect and the characteristics of God that you find in his words?
• Madame Day and Professor Night are here to teach us, how do they instruct us? How might silence fill and the unspoken be spoken? Can you relate to a finding a sense of God’s presence in creation, the world that we live in each day? What reminders come to us as we experience the 24 hour cycle if we take time to pay attention?
• One of our reminders is the impact of the sun on our world each day. What image is the psalmist trying to give us of the sun, what is it compared to? How does the sun impact your life, how would you describe it?
• God’s Word or the Torah is compared to the sun, again what characteristics is the psalmist giving to written words? Is Torah passive or active? How do you feel about scripture, has it melted ice, scorched, or warmed your and others faith? What gives scripture power; what makes it alive for you?

The psalmist now speaks to some of the power that can flow into our faith lives whether through Torah (scripture) or through our daily relationship with God:

7-9 The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together.

The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy.

The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes.

God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee.

The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.

• The psalmist speaks of the revelation, signposts and life-maps of God; where might we find these things? The immediate response might be scripture but what about the word of others, prayer, a spiritual retreat, reading a commentary or even the words of a hymn? Think of a time when you felt that you received support and strength, direction in your life or joy; what was the spark for that experience?
• The psalmist tells us that the directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes, would you agree with him? What do you find to be clear and easy to understand about our faith life? Where did this clarity come from, was it simple logic or something else?
• But is everything so very clear after all, do you have questions and search for answers? Where do you turn to receive clarity, will it ever all be clear to us? I recommend reading John chapters 14-16 for some spiritual tools for bring more clarity to our lives. An example for me is John 14:25-26:

"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you.

• What does the psalmist say we can count on from God, what do you count on from God?

The psalmist continues with more words of praise for Torah (scripture) from which he has gained so much:

10 God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds.

You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.

Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

• What are some analogies he makes for scripture and what images do they make in your mind? Can you make some of your own analogies; how has scripture benefited you on your faith journey? How would you describe it?
• In the last section he speaks of the specific, practical benefits of using scripture to live his life. Are there specific scriptures you feel have impacted the way you live your life, established important values, given you an understanding of what it means to be a person of faith? Take time to contemplate an maybe re-look at them now.
• Do you find God’s presence in scripture? How is your relationship with God sustained and grown through your reading of scripture?
• The search for a stronger bond with God never ends, what are some ways that you might increase your sense of God’s presence during this Lenten season? Consider making some suggestions in the comment box below.

Closing Prayer

Now into the keeping of God I put

All things of today

All disappointments

Hindrances

Forgotten things

All gladness and beauty

Love

Delight

Achievement

All that people have done for me

All that I have done for them

My work and my prayers

And I commit all the people I love

To His Shepherding

To His healing and restoration

To his calling and making

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen

Margarette Cropper, The Oxford Book of Prayer

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:14-21

Please comment by clicking on the word comments in the sentence “Posted by John at XXXX “ at the bottom of the page



Trusting God's Promise

For March 4, 2012

All Scriptures are from The Message Version

It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate lots of thought if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for these scriptures can be found on Textweek.com through this link http://www.textweek.com/pauline/rom4b.htm

For the theologically oriented reader this scripture is an important part of Paul’s explanation of how and why gentiles who did not observe the Jewish Law would be granted salvation. A good deal of Paul’s thinking in the letter to the church in Rome is devoted to this topic. He as a formerly firmly committed adherent of the law who has had a vivid discernment experience on the road to Damascus with a new understanding of just who has access to God’s favor and a charge from God to take the message of salvation to the gentiles. But this blog is not for theological explorations (see the commentaries), it is instead to focus on What Does It Mean To Me!!! So let’s explore today’s scripture with that goal in mind.

Paul uses Abraham and Sarah as examples for us of the real basis for a fruitful relationship with God. Throughout scripture Abraham is held up as both the father of the chosen people (Israel) and as a vivid example of both what faith is and what comes from living a faithful life. First let’s look at the Abraham’s relationship with God for some practical ideas:

Romans 4:13-15 That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it.

• For a fuller background on the scripture you can read Genesis 15-18 but the essence are these words to the 99 year old man with no male heir in chapter 15:

4 Then GOD's Message came: "Don't worry, he won't be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir." 5 Then he took him outside and said, "Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You're going to have a big family, Abram!" 6 And he believed! Believed GOD! God declared him "Set-Right-with-God." 7 GOD continued, "I'm the same GOD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own."

• How do you think that this interaction between Abraham and God took place? Did Abraham hear God’s voice and engage God in a conversation? How does God engage us today, what is your experience with discernment of God’s will for you in a particular situation or for general direction in your life? Is the communication crystal clear and without question? How much trial and error with renewed prayer is involved? What are some ways in which we can strengthen the quality of our connection to God’s presence in our daily lives?
• Paul talks about the fallacy of trying to be right with God based on doing what we are told and filling out the right forms instead of trusting; what does that really mean for us and our relationship with God? How important does this seem to say religious practices and the right beliefs are to our relationship with God? Maybe some lyrics from Eric Bibb’s If Our Hearts Ain’t In It might give us some ideas:

Go to church 7 days a week,

Read your bible three hours a day,

Say a 1000 Hail Mary’s, rush to confession every time you stray,

We can fall down onto our knees,

And call the archangels by name,

But if our heats ain’t in it, ain’t nothing much is going to change.

• What was God’s promise to Abraham and what made the promise real, caused the promise to be fulfilled? What does Paul tell us caused God make the promise to Abraham? Did Abraham make a request of God which was then fulfilled.
• What do you think might have been some of the reasons that God decided to do this? Was Abraham part of a bigger plan? Did God have confidence that Abraham would be faithful? Can we really know how and why God reaches out to humanity as a whole and us as individuals? How do you feel about the fact that the unknowable architect of an infinite creation wants to establish a relationship with that creation (us)?
• Paul tells us that there is a difference between trust in God and a business deal, a contract. What does that mean to you? Will we get guarantees and details from God or general direction and the need to stay connected to God as we move in the direction he sends us? Again what is your experience in faithful response? Is being faithful a guarantee of easily accomplished tasks with no problems and complications?

More from Paul on the promises:

16 This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
17-18 We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"

• What does Paul remind us of again as he begins this section of his letter? When you think of the words “God’s promise” what do they mean to you. What promise(s) do you feel have been made to you that you take with you on your faith journey? What does Paul say we must do to make the promises real – does he think that embracing them is hard? What is your experience; is discerning and embracing the promises of our faith easy or are there complications?
• Paul describes Abraham, what caused him to become our spiritual father, what seemed to be his qualifications? What was the only way in which Abraham would be able to take on his role as “father”? Does it seem that he had spent long hours attempting to discern what God had in mind for him? Why do you think that he was so willing and ready to respond?
• Paul cites two proofs of what only God can do – raise the dead and with a word make something from nothing – what do you think he is referring to? What are some things you would cite as those which only God can do? Is it easy to take them for granted?

Paul"s final thoughts:
19-25 Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.

• Paul tells us that Abraham put aside all of the very practical reasons that the promise could not possibly be fulfilled and accepted it as being valid. Is it wrong to raise questions and be conscious of the roadblocks that will have to be overcome when responding to something our faith calls us to do? How does Paul say we should handle those difficulties?
• Think of situations that can be uncomfortable for you (hospital calls, intervening in personal conflict, shedding an addiction, apologizing, taking on a project, you name it) and those times that you responded; what role did your spirituality play in taking it on and in dealing with the difficulties?
• What about the basis of our faith, should we feel we cannot ask questions for fear of being skeptical? How do you deal with questions, where do you go and what do you do to deal with them.
• What is Paul’s guarantee in the final sentence? What meaning does being right with God have for your life? Is it freeing, empowering, mysterious, questionable, joyous??? What words would you use to describe or explain it to someone? What words and thoughts would you use to express these feelings in a prayer conversation with God?

Closing Litany – Psalm 22

Here's the story I'll tell my friends when they come to worship,

and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;

give glory, you sons of Jacob;

adore him, you daughters of Israel.

He has never let you down,

never looked the other way

when you were being kicked around.

He has never wandered off to do his own thing;

he has been right there, listening.

Amen

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22

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