"The Gospel in Peanuts: The Hound of Heaven"

   Sometimes I think we don't follow the love of God for the exact wording that we cling to Romans 8: 26-39. Separate. We love the idea that nothing can seperate us from the love of God. We find hope and grounding in the idea that the love of God cleaves to us, even in the most desperate and trying times in our lives. 

   But we struggling with the truth that the love of God also transforms us and calls us to separation. What do I mean by that? The love of God calls us to separate ourselves, by the power of the cross, from sin. It calls us to choose the way of God. It beckons us to do the will of God and follow where God leads. By the very virtue of choosing to fall into the love of God, we are excluding something else - we are choosing the option and way of God. 
  
   We live in a world where we think we can have everything - but in Paul's letter to the Romans, he is urging them to turn away from the path of sin - the path that leads to destruction and choose the life and love of Christ. 

   Let us choose to accept that love of God today. The love that will not let us go and will not give up on us. Let us choose to follow the way of the cross. Let us choose to turn from sin. Let us find the life abundant. Amen. 

The Gospel in Peanuts: The Hound of Heaven Devo

July 29th, 2018

“The Gospel in Peanuts: The Hound of Heaven” - Romans 8: 26-39 and Matt 15: 21-28

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle at her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Spirit Comes to Help” - Romans 8: 26-30

We often do not talk about the power of the Holy Spirit enough. The Spirit that lives inside of us when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Spirit that Jesus promised to his disciples before handing himself over to face death, even death on the cross. 

Paul tells the church in Rome that the Spirit does several things. First, the Spirit comes to help in our weakness. We know that we struggle from time to time. We have physical weaknesses. Spiritual weaknesses. Sometimes the temptation of sin is strong, but we are told that Spirit is there to help, even in our weaknesses. We don’t have to have it all together in order to turn to God. 

Second, the Spirit pleads for us, even when we don’t have the words. When we don’t have words to express our prayers, when we can’t even begin to articulate what we are thinking and feeling, the Spirit interprets that before God. 

Third, the Spirit searches our hearts. Often in Psalms we find David crying out that God search him and know him. The Spirit aids that searching and points out to us the blind spots we may not be aware of in our life. 

How would you talk about what the Holy Spirit does in your life?

Why do you think we sometimes do not talk about the work of the Spirit?

Prayer: Precious Lord, giver of life, we thank you this day for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We praise you for all of the many ways the Spirit ministers in our lives. Let us not take this for grant it, but forever look for the Spirit’s guiding along the road of faith. Amen. 

Tuesday: “God is For Us” - Romans 8: 31-34

How do we know that God is for us? God’s love for us. But not just any type of love - agape love. God’s agape love for us, also called charity. The type of love that is unconditional, even when we screw up and in all circumstances. This is the greatest love that can exist, and is the love that God showed us not only in our creation but also through Jesus‘ sacrifice on the cross.

In other words, we cannot do anything to make God love us more, and we cannot do anything to make God love us less, for the love of God isn’t based on us, but is a self-giving of God’s own spirit. Agape love is self-sacrificing, and can be seen as the highest form of love that anyone can ever give to another.

 The apostle Paul today in his letter to the Romans speaks of this deep, unconditional love of God for us that was manifested through Jesus Christ. If the God who loves us like this is for us then who is against us? No one. 

How do you experience the love of God in your life?

How do you share this love with others?

Prayer:  God of Grace and Love, we praise you this day for your love - a love that you have shown for us on the cross. A love that will not let us go. A love that will not let us stay the same. Let us proclaim the transformational power of your love with all we meet. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Pleads Our Case” - Romans 8: 33-34

We all have different images of God that we recall of God at different times in our life, depending on the circumstances. Paul is speaking to the Romans about the image of God as judge and jury.
The idea of having judges among the people traces back to Leviticus - where there were judges who heard the charges people brought against one another and searched for evidence. In other scriptures, we see the King acting as the judge of the people. And still other places we see these earthly images of judges being transferred to God. 

But Paul essentially flips the idea of God as judge on its head - if people bring charges against you to be judged, who has the power to acquit you (or free you) other than God. There is no one left to convict you, for God has forgiven you. 

When I was younger, our youth group used to be in charge of the Easter Sunrise service. For many years, my parents directed the program and had us do short skits, with deep meaning, to open up Easter morning. In one skit, God is judge. The charges are read against a person, only to have Jesus stand up and plead that his blood has covered those sins. God then pronounced that the person was set free, not guilty. So it is with those who have accepted Christ in their hearts and lives. 

What images come to your mind when you think of God as judge?

How are freedom and judgment connected through the cross? 

Prayer: Lord, we can become uncomfortable with the idea of you as judge. We may talk about you judging other people or judging the world, but we don’t take time to reflect on you judging each of us. Let us remember that along with your judgment, comes your freedom. And let us live into that freedom in order to spread the message of your love and your Kingdom. Amen. 

Thursday: “Separate” - Romans 8: 35-39

I once shared with a Bible Study group that I think we do a deep dis-service to new folks coming to the faith when we say that everything will be easy once you come to Jesus. I think what we mean is that Jesus will help carry our burdens for us as we walk through life, but sometimes it can come across as we will have no troubles once we become a Christian, which is not Biblical. 

The apostles understood that life is hard. But Paul, in the face of all of that, declares that the everlasting love of God is stronger than anything we may face. For nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. That is the good news that we should be sharing with new converts! That no matter what hardship we may face, it does not have more power than the cross. In the words of Pastor Adam Hamilton, “the worst thing, is not the last thing” because of the cross and the resurrection. 

How do the words of Paul bring hope in the midst of difficult circumstances?

Prayer: Lord, we admit that life is. not always easy. There are days, O Lord, that are just hard and we do not know what to do. On those days in particular, may we turn to you, O Lord. And may we remember the truth, that nothing we may face in this life, can ever separate us from your deep and abiding love for us. Amen. 

Friday: “Faith” - Matthew 15: 21-28

How would you feel as the woman of Canaan if Jesus spoke to you this way? Would you do as the disciples said and go away? Would you keep pleading your case? Would you react in a harsh way?

The woman from Canaan showed us what it looks like when faith and hope hit the road. Often equate hope with making wishes - wishing that something would change, wishing we would have better circumstances. But its more than that. Hope is grounded in the belief that our God is able. Even when what’s going on around us tries to distract us from that fact. For the woman in Canaan, she was declaring that Jesus was able even when he tried to dismiss her. She said that God had the power through Jesus to change her daughter’s life and that was the hope that she clung to, until Jesus made it a reality. Hope isn’t a fantasy, it is an expression of faith. 

How are hope and faith related in your life?

Prayer: God, may we have the faith and hope of the Canaanite woman. A faith that will not give up and a hope that digs in, no matter what. May the roots of faith and hope run deep in our life, so we can praise you and say that you are able, no matter what we may face. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “God’s Vision - Covenant” - Genesis 15-17 (we will be reading select verses in worship on Sunday).

Family Time:

Have you ever had a hard time putting your prayers into words? Try praying in color as a family. Directions and examples can be found at: https://prayingincolor.com. Talk about what you like about praying in color and what was different for you. 

Sabbath, Study, Serve - Taking the Sermon Into Our Week

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matt 15: 21-28 and Romans 8: 26-39

From the Sermon:

The love that would not _____  and would not ____________.

What will separate us from the love of God? ______________.

This love of God that _________ us.

If you have been transformed by the love of God, then you want to _____________.

Reflection Questions:

How do we sometimes like some people are beyond the reach of the Gospel message? 

How can we remember the relentless love of God, even when life is hard?

Prayer:

Hound of Heaven, Loving God who will not let us go, we know that your love changes us. It makes us into your children. It calls us to a different way of living - one where we are humble, obedient servants. May we listen to the call of your love in our lives, the call to go and share that love with others. Amen. 

“The Gospel in Peanuts: Good Grief”

      Part of what Paul is asking when he puts forth the image of a slave in Romans 6: 12-23 is what are we seeking? Who are we serving? We live in a day and age when people think that every decision they make is of their own way and own will - but is it really? Does sin have such a deep hold in our life, that we no longer even recognize it for what it is?
      When the grace of God enters our life, and we experience that transition from having sin stringing our life to being freed, the transition from being lost to being found, the way we see God in our lives changes. God isn't a cosmic being off in the distance, but instead the God of love in the center of our lives. A God who shows up, discloses himself, and is in our hearts.
     How have you experienced that change in your heart and where is God calling you to share that change in your life?

“The Gospel in Peanuts: Good Grief” - Romans 6: 12-23 Devo

July 22nd, 2018

Devotional

“The Gospel in Peanuts: Good Grief” - Romans 6: 12-23

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Sin” - Romans 6: 12

I have heard people say a lot of interesting things about sin over the years. That people want to be able to do what they want. That they will accept Christ at the last possible moment so they can have fun in this life. What always strikes me about statements like this is that they fail to grasp that sin is something that has power over us. 

Notice what Paul is cautioning about today - that if we are not careful, sin so takes over our very selves that we do what it wants. Not what we want. What sin is directing us to do. We don’t talk about that as often. 

The truth is if we give sin even the tiniest of footholds in our lives, that often it will grow like a wild weed in our heart, choking our very souls. And it does all of this silently, without us giving it much notice until it has overrun our lives. Paul wants us to be vigilant against sin and give our hearts over to God - the only one who can set us free from the power of sin. 

How would you describe sin?

What images can you think of to describe the freedom that God offers us from the power of sin?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the power you have offered us to both cancel sin and set us free to choose you and your grace. Keep us safe, O Lord, from the temptation to give into sin, even a little bit. Keep us vigilant and Kingdom focused. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Brought Back to Life” - Romans 6: 13-14

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase ‘brought back to life?’ For me, its Biblical images such as Lazarus walking out of the tomb or Jesus raising children who had died. When I worked as a chaplain in the hospital, it was often people who stopped breathing or had their heart stop beating, who received medical intervention. But in this passage, Paul points out another way we can be brought back to life - being rescued from sin. 

At one of my churches, I had a gentleman who had a near death experience. After that time, which took place well before I met him, he changed - and now he sees God’s grace and the bounty of life in every single day. Should we not have that same appreciation for life when we are rescued from the muck and death of sin? Should it not result in passion, zeal, and praise for God?

According to Paul, yes. If we are brought back to life, then we should present our lives as an offering to God. We have been set free to serve God. Grace has rescued us so we go forth to proclaim that grace with our lives so that others may be brought back to life as well. 

What images do you think of when you hear ‘brought back to life’?

How has Christ changed your life? How do you share things change with others? 

Prayer: Lord, out of gratitude for what you have done in our lives, we offer our very selves to you. Covered by your healing mercy and grace, we ask that you use our lives to proclaim what is right and true. In Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Wednesday: “The One Whom You Obey” - Romans 6: 15-16

We live under the delusion that we are our own masters. That no one can tell us what to do. That no choice is made outside of our own will. While that may be true at some point in our lives, when sin creeps into our hearts, we can quickly becomes under the direction and influence of that sin, as we discussed on Monday. 

The truth is we all follow someone or something in our lives. What do you think of first thing when you get up in the morning? How about the last thing at night? What are you working for with the way you spend your days? Are you pursing wealth? Or fame? Or working for your own pride? 

Or is the focus of your life God? Paul puts it this way - we can either be salves to those things that lead to death or a slave of righteousness. The things that we think of and are working for, may not be in and of themselves sinful. The reals test is if we obey them more than God. If we put our hope and trust and life in them more than God. Who is the one whom you obey?

How do you know if you are obedient to someone or something?

What are those things or who are the people who we sometimes obey more than God? Why do we do this?

Prayer: Lord, we put our very lives into your hands. We ask, precious Lord, that we seek after your heart and listen to your voice in our lives alone. Strengthen us to obey you, wherever you may lead. Amen. 

Thursday: “Set Free” - Romans 6: 17-19

Sometimes we can get a little confused about freedom. We think freedom means that we can do whatever we want, but that is not what Paul means when he speaks of being set free from sin. 

Instead, for Paul we have been set free from sin in order to be free to serve Christ. When we are chained in sin, it is very hard to choose to follow Christ, for often we can be drawn back to who we once where. But when we invite Christ to break those chains in our lives, we turn around and flee from what once was - and instead walk the path of righteousness. 

In the church, we call this sanctifying grace - that we choose to continue to grow in holiness - which is described as love of God and love of neighbor, Jesus’s two greatest commands - of heart and life. Sanctification isn’t a destination to reach, so much as a life long journey deeper into grace. We are set free to follow God all the days of our life. 

What does it look like for you to grow deeper in love with God and your neighbor?

Prayer: Lord, we sing with the saints throughout the ages that our chains are gone! We praise you and you alone, Lord, from breaking the power of sin in our lives. We ask, O Lord, that your Spirit guide us all the days of our lives as we grow in grace and serve you. Amen. 

Friday: “Holy Life” - Romans 6: 20-23

One of the disheartening things that I hear from time to time as a pastor is that once people have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior they can act however they want because they have a place in heaven. Every time I hear this or something similar it breaks my heart, for it totally misses the point of what Paul is trying to say. But now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves to God, you have the consequence of a holy life, and the outcome is eternal life. We accept Christ not just for what is to come in the future, but also our lives now.

People think about a holy life and thing about all the do’s and don’ts that they see accompanying it. But I think of a holy life and see the abundant freedom in Christ. The freedom to serve him. The freedom to love him. The freedom to worship him. 

May we be people filled with the joy of holy lives. And may we be people who share that joy with others. 

What does a holy life mean to you?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the gift your salvation that transforms us here and now. We thank you for your saving grace that is an invitation to holy living. May our lives be used for your Kingdom and glory, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel in Peanuts: The Hound of Heaven” - 1 Thes. 5: 1-3, John 13: 8-9, Romans 8: 38-39. 

Family Activity: Obey is a hard word for us sometime. Talk about what it means to obey. Why do we obey people? What does it mean to obey God? 

Sabbath, Study, Serve - Taking the Sermon Into Our Week

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Romans 6: 12-23

From the Sermon:

Good grief, in terms of our sin, is that which leas us to ________ and a change ___________.

Paul in his letter to the Romans is essentially asking if our hearts are __________ enough by ______  to want to change, to want the new life that Christ offers.

When our hearts our changed we should see a __________  - not just talking the talk, but truly walking the walk. 

Sanctification is _____________________. 

Reflection Questions:

What is the grief being discussed in Romans 6 over?

How as grief over sin lead to a change in your life?

In what ways are repentance and transformation connected?

Prayer:

Lord, we deeply desire a change this day. A change in our own hearts, where we turn away from the sin that keeps wanting to drag us back to where we have come from. But also a change for this world, a change that is marked by the freedom of grace. Change us, Precious Lord, then use us to change the world. Amen. 

"The Gospel in Peanuts - “The Wages of Sin are “Agggh!” " - Romans 6: 1-11

    Often we don't recognize the idols in our own lives. In the comic strip Peanuts, Linus has made an idol out of his blanket - the blue piece of fabric that he takes with him everywhere. In one particular comic strip he lost it when the blanket needed to be washed, until Lucy was able to retrieve it for him. It was his source of comfort and protection.
     While Linus placed his hope and faith in a blanket - I have to ask, what do we truly put our hope and faith in today? While we may be quick to reply "Christ", and I deeply hope that is true, I also know that we often do not live as if Christ is the center of our lives. Instead we put our work, our finances, our hobbies, before the Lord.
     Let us take time this week to pray that God reveals to us any idols that may in our lives - any stumbling block that may be preventing us from truly growing with Christ. May the eyes of our hearts be opened.

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Wages of Sin are “Agggh!”” Devo

July 15th, 2018  

Devotional

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Wages of Sin are “Agggh!”” - Romans 6: 1-11

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Died to Sin” -Romans 6: 1-2

Paul has a problem. There is some poor theology going around the church of Rome connected to sin and grace. Sin and grace became so connected in their minds, that Paul asked a question that everyone should have already known the answer to - do you need to sin more in order to have more grace? Absolutely not! This would be akin to saying that you need to spill things more often in order to have an excuse to clean.

What Paul is really asking is what do we believe about Grace? On the surface what we believe is that grace is God’s free gift to us that isn’t based on us earning it - instead it is the gift of salvation given lavishly to those who believe. But sometimes we skew too far to one side- thinking that we need to earn grace, working hard in order to prove to God how good we are. Other times, we skew too far to the other side - thinking we can do whatever we want, even after we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior, because grace will cover it. It would seem that Paul is addressing the later false-notion in this particular passage. 

Instead, once we have accepted Christ we have died to sin. In other words, it is now Christ that rules our life, not our sinful self. Will we still stumble from time to time? Yes. However, grace does not give us permission to freely sin in order to live into the gift of grace. 

What are some of the false-notions that you have heard about sin and grace? How do you respond?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the lavish gift that we can never deserve, the gift of grace. We know sometimes, O Lord, that it can be so hard for us to wrap our minds around your live, that our human-selves get in the way and distort what you intended grace to be. Forgive us, Lord, and set us on the right path again. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Baptized” - Romans 6: 3-4

Baptism has always been a hot button issue for the Church. How do you administer baptism? Who can baptize folks? How much water do you need? Who can be baptized? Do you need to be a certain age? But Paul doesn’t address any of these hot button issues - instead he gets right to the heart of what baptism truly means - being dead to our sins, so we can be raised to new life in Christ. 

I was reading a book this week that argued that sometimes we miss the beauty of baptism as the local church. We miss out on its power. Baptism proclaims that we find have a new identity - not as our own, but as Christ’s. Therefore, we become new creations, marked by the life-changing grace of Jesus Christ. 

What does baptism mean in your faith walk?

How do you support the people who are baptized into the body of Christ?

Prayer: Lord, we admit that sometimes we have made baptism into a ritual instead of a sacrament. We have argued away its meaning to the point where we forget that it is the offering of your very life and love. Forgive us, O Lord. Wash us anew. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Resurrection” - Romans 6: 5

Why do we have the promise of a resurrection like Christ’s, according to Paul? Because we are united in his death. And how are we united in his death? By becoming dead to our sins through baptism. 

Many find Romans to be one of the most theologically dense letters that Paul has written. We can get so lost in the wording and concepts, that we can miss the heart of what Paul is trying to point out - that the fullness of redemption isn’t realized… yet. 

Another book I was reading this week pointed out the phrases people sometimes use when they are not yet mature in the faith. One was about baptism and essentially said, I was baptized today, why am I still arguing with my spouse. Isn’t baptism supposed to change everything and make everything easier. 

The truth is that baptism does change us, but we are not fully there yet. Sometimes our humanness still gets in the way. Faith is a journey and a process on which we are meant to mature. We may not know the full glory of Christ until the Resurrection, but each day we proclaim our identity as one who is untied with Christ and keep growing more deeply in love with him. 

How has your faith in Christ changed your life?

What does being dead in sin mean to you personally?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the glorious promise of the resurrection. As we look forward to that day, Precious Lord, may we continue to seek your face and your will in all that we do with our lives in you. Amen. 

Thursday: “Slaves to Sin” - Romans 6: 6-7

Somewhere along the way, we have bought into the lie that we have control over our own lives. While God has given us free will, it seems that far too often we use that free will to choose sin - to the point where it becomes something that controls us. 

Then sometimes we try to escape one sin only to find that we are throwing ourselves into another sin - and the cycle continues. 

The only thing that can break the cycle is death to sin itself. Christ alone has the power to free us from our sin - we will never be strong enough to do this on our own. 

How has sin lied to you?

How has Christ freed you from the power of sin?

Prayer: Lord, today we praise you and the freedom you have offered us from sin. May we accept this gift in our lives. We know that too often, Lord, we want to hand control of our lives over to you, only to snatch it back. Forgive us Lord. May our lives be fully yours. Amen. 

Friday: “Alive for God” - Romans 6: 8-11

We don’t just die to sin for our own sake - we die to sin so we can be unleashed into the world to proclaim Christ’s name. Interestingly enough, the early church put equal emphasis on individual salvation and the health of the Body of Christ. 

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are part of the much larger body of Jesus Christ - the Church. And the Church, with each of its members, is sent out into the world to proclaim the Good News - in the words of Paul to be alive for God. We are given not just a new life, a new identity, but a new purpose as well. 

How are you “alive for God” in your daily life? 

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the privilege to be alive for you in the world every single day. Renew our passion for your Kingdom and open us up to opportunities to proclaim you name. Amen. 

Family Activity: Why do we do things that we know that we shouldn’t do sometimes? What makes us do what we are supposed to do other times? 

Sabbath, Study, Serve - Taking the Sermon Into Our Week

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Romans 6: 1-11

From the Sermon:

Paul in the sixth chapter of Romans is writing to a group of people who are struggling with the connection between _______ and _______.

Grace is _______________________.

Through baptism, we as Christians are ______ with Christ, both in his ________ life and in his defeat of ______.

In baptism we proclaim with all we have and all we are that 1.) _____________________ 2.) ______________________.

Reflection Questions:

What are we healed from in Christ?

How do we claim the power of baptism in in our lives?

In what ways was your life transformed because of Jesus Christ?

Wha may be blocking you from maturing in your relationship with Jesus?

Prayer:

 Lord, we thank you this week for the power in Christ through the Holy Spirit that doesn’t just change us one time, but continually changes us as we mature in our faith walk. May we take time this week to re-examine what that journey looks like for each of us. May you reveal any blind spots to us and open our hearts to your transforming love. Amen. 

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Whole Trouble”: Original Sin” Romans 7:15-25 Mark 7: 1-8,14-15, 21-23

    Original sin is something that has befuddled the church for ages. We seemed to understand as humans that we have a bent towards sinning, yet, we keep trying to prove that this isn't the case. We try to will our way out of sin, instead of coming at the foot of the cross and confessing that we are all sinners in need of grace.
     What makes us so hesitant to confess our sin? I think we fear that we will be rejected. We fear that if we tell others about our struggle with sin they will ask what's wrong with us - and if we tell God our sin, then God may turn away from us.
    But this simply isn't true. Jesus uplifts in scripture the image of child as one who can come to find the Kingdom of God? Why? Perhaps it is because children have an attitude that asks for help. An acknowledgement that they can't do it all on their own. An acceptance of the gift of grace that is offered.
   May we come before our Lord this week, acknowledging our need for a Savior and thanking God that we don't need to overcome sin on our own. That we can't overcome sin on our own. May we have a childlike heart that seeks for God's forgiveness and love and thanks God for the gift we have been given.

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Whole Trouble”: Original Sin” Devo

July 8th, 2018

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Whole Trouble”: Original Sin” - Romans 7:15-25 and Mark 7: 1-8,14-15, 21-23

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Unclean Hands” - Mark 7: 1-5

There is an old saying that goes something to the effect of “cleanliness is next to godliness”, and as can be the case from time to time, some folks think that this saying is scriptural, even though it is not. What Jesus reminds us in today’s scripture lesson is that it isn’t always about being clean, but it is about living in a way that honors God.

Today, we find Jesus in a conversation between his disciples and the religious leaders of the day. The topic before them - cleanliness. In ancient times, religious leaders had two things that they held in balance. The first was the written word of Scripture. In order to be a religious leader, you had to go through years of studying the Scriptures. But they also had the oral tradition. Remember for quite a length of time, the Scripture wasn’t written down like it is today, and certainly folks didn’t have Scripture lying around their homes, like we do today. It was how faith was taught - not by reading but by hearing. 

Something that emerged through holding oral tradition and written Scripture together was a tradition - practical applications of what had been taught. We see a great example of this in today’s scripture lesson  - as the religious leaders were talking about throughly washing hands before eating, washing food items from the market before you eat them, and washing the things you eat from and with. Hence the topic before the disciples. 

Why do you think the religious leaders were so concerned with hand washing?

How do we learn scripture today - by hearing or by reading? 

Prayer: God of the Word, we thank you for the gift of what has been handed down to us about the faith. We thank you for the Saints who have taught us about your Word before we could even read it for ourselves. We thank you for your People who lived into your word and guided us in the faith. May we soak up your Word this day so we can continue to share it with others. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Rules” - Mark 8: 6-8

Jesus’s problem today is not with tradition itself. The problem emerges when we forget a.) where our traditions come from and b.) try to make traditions as important as scripture. In the words of Jesus “you abandon the commandments of God and hold to human tradition.” Ouch. 

Often the religious leaders get a bad rap for forming traditions, but let’s be honest, as the Church we created traditions as well. Traditions often are reflections of what we value as congregations. The problem emerges when we make tradition the guiding rule for who we are and how we act. 

Jesus wants the religious leaders to think through why they have so many traditions around washing and cleanliness. But he also wants to point out a much deeper heart issue in their life - they have made the tradition as important as the Scripture. They focused so much on the rules around how to do something, they had forgotten the why.

How can we balance tradition and scripture in our lives?

What makes tradition become rules in our faith?

Prayer:  Precious Lord, sometimes we miss the point of “why”. We forget why we do what we do, and sometimes even forget how what we do informs who we are. Forgive us, Lord. Let us freely examine again our traditions and lives, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Contaminate” - Mark 7: 14-15 

Let’s be honest, most traditions grow out of good intentions. It’s a human expression of an important value. But we cannot let our human traditions become more important to us then God. Sometimes our social customs become barriers to God’s intentions and then we have a real problem. In the Church world I call this the issue of “we’ve always done it that way.” Powerful words that we sometimes use as a barrier when God is calling us to do something new or we don’t particularly want to live into the Word of God. It becomes a lot easier to fall back on tradition then to ask the hard questions about why we have the tradition in the first place and if our tradition still honors God the best way we know how. 

  Jesus is taking this idea of clean and unclean and uses to it to teach those around him that it isn’t what’s outside that can make us unclean so much as what is inside - our heart and our intentions. He is essentially asking is your heart more focused on keeping the status quo or honoring God, because sometimes you can’t do both. 

What is Jesus trying to teach people about their hearts and lives?

How does Jesus’s message reflect in our modern times?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your powerful words this day. Words that invite us to repent. Words that invite us to change our ways. Forgive us for the times that we have made it more about whats on the outside then what is on the inside. Renew us, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Inside and Out” - Mark 7: 21-23

Are we more focused on not changing and keeping our traditions or honoring God? In other words are we more focused on whats on the inside or on the outside? Sometimes there are wonderful moments when we can do both, but sometimes God is calling us to set our traditions aside in order to live into the mission of the Kingdom of God in our current context. Is the intention of our heart to truly follow God wherever God is leading? Or are we so caught up in the way that we do things, that we are missing the very presence of God?

  Hear me out - traditions can be good things. But when we pour more time and energy into keeping our traditions then spreading the Word of God we are missing the point. When more of our resources go into maintaining the way we like things then listening to to the voice of God, we miss the point. When it is more about the way we’ve always done things then honoring God, right here and now, we are missing the point. Let us be known, above, all as people who honor God.

How do you honor God each day?

Prayer: Lord, mold us into a people who seek to honor you. A people who seek not just to look good on the others, but a people who have clean hearts on the inside. Break open our hard hearts and outer shells so the light of your grace can flood into our souls. Amen. 

Friday: “Sin” - Romans 7: 15-25

The Apostle Paul, even after his powerful conversion experience on the road to Damascus still recognizes the sin in his life. He describes it as not doing what he ought do, and doing what he ought not do. But he also sees sin in looking for freedom in the wrong places. 

How often do we, too, look for anyone and anything other than Christ to be our salvation? It leaves us miserable. Instead, Paul invites us to see the sin in our own lives and then to hand it over to our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. The only one who can break the chains of sin and death. 

How do you describe sin?

How has Jesus rescued you from sin?

Prayer: God, we thank you that through your death and resurrection you have made a way for us. We thank you for your powerful love the made such a way, even before we knew you. Let us accept the gift of your grace and share that gift with others, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel in Peanuts: The Wage of Sin” - Romans 6:23, Deut 4: 23-24, and Psalm 118: 8-9

Family Activity: Talk about what Jesus offered us through his death on the cross. Parents, why is Jesus important to you? How can you share the love of Jesus with your family?