Judges 17: 1-13

   One of the first things I remember leaning in seminary was a very simple phrase that has been vital to my ministry, "don't judge - wonder."

   What in the world does that mean?

   To me, it is an invitation when I want to jump to an immediate judgment of someone or something to pause and start to ask some questions. Questions about what people's intentions may be. Questions about how best to address the situation.

   Take for example, this week's text about Micah and the Levite. It is so easy to simply say - that's the wrong type of worship. But what questions can this text also lead us to ask? Things like - how did Micah get to this point? What was the intention of his heart? How can we, right here today, slip into similar thoughts and practices without realizing it?

  When we begin to wonder, we are invited to see our own flaws and fullness and have our lives changed as well. What do you wonder about today and how may God be speaking to you through your questions?

Judges 17: 1-13 Devo

November 24th, 2019

Devotional

“Judges: Micah” -

      Judges 17: 1-13

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: “Eleven Hundred Pieces of Silver” - Judges 17: 1-2

  A lot of speculation has went into who exactly Micah’s mother is. She seems to be this unnamed woman, but even without a title to call her by, we know that her son Micah, seemed to take her silver, but now is returning it to her. Not just any amount of silver, but an astronomical amount for Biblical times.

However, what I find striking is that instead of holding Micah accountable for his act - she blesses him. 

And so the chaos begins in Judges 17.

Because the unnamed mother didn’t act as we may expect in the first few verses, it really isn’t inconceivable what she says and does from this point forward.

We don’t know what led to this point. What led up to Micah’s actions or the reaction of Micah’s mother, but what it looks like from the perspective of the reader/ hearer is a world in chaos. But is our world really any different today? We, too, have chaos. It may look different. But it’s still there. And until someone steps in and breaks the cycle, chaos begets more chaos. 

What would you consider chaotic in the story told in Judges 17?

What is chaotic in our world today?

Prayer: God, we confess that sometimes we are so steeped in the chaos of the world that it no longer seems odd to us. No longer seems out of place. This is not a cycle that we can break on our own, O Lord. We need you. Rescue us, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “An Idol” - Judges 17: 3-6

Micah’s mother took a sizable portion of the silver that had been returned to her and made it into an idol for her son’s home. Why? Because that’s what she thought that you did. She consecrated the silver returned to her unto the Lord and then did exactly what Scripture told her not to do. 

Now, maybe she hadn’t heard all of the ins and outs of the rules contained in Scripture. We are told that during this time there was no King in Israel so everyone just did what everyone wanted. We can assume that there wasn’t the same attention and reverence paid to Scripture as before, nor was it being passed down from germination to generation. But surely. Surely she would have heard the story of the Golden Calf, told around the camp fire.

Micah’s mother, instead of passing down the stories and scriptures of the faith, passed down idolatry. In other words, Micah learned idolatry from his mother.

As I read this part of the story, I found myself wondering what we are passing down to the next generation here and now. I hear folks talk about how there aren’t as many kids who are in Church, but what are we teaching the ones who are present here and in our Sunday Schools? What are we teaching the kids who aren’t inside of our building but who our hearts break for? 

What are we passing down to the next generation today?

Prayer: Lord, raise us up to be instructors of the Fatih, both by what we say and what we do. Let us not take the call upon our lives to pass on the faith lightly. Instead, may we treasure it as a sacred responsibility. Amen. 

Wednesday: “A Levite” - Judges 17: 7-10

Chaos isn’t just learned and passed down from individuals - sometimes it’s deeply embedded into the society. Micah’s mother made a poor choice, teaching him idolatry. But the Levite, a priest, a man of God, surely he would know better than to agree to be Micah’s personal priest! Surely when he saw the idol that was the center of this home’s personal shrine he would run away. But he didn’t. He agreed. He stayed. 

This serves as a reminder that Israel’s idolatry existed for many generations. So many generations that there seemed to be communal forgetting about what was right and what was wrong. 

Often the behavior of individuals can point us to a much larger cultural concern. Here the cultural concern was distancing one’s very self from God. For the people had forgotten both who they were as the people of God and who they were to worship and follow - God alone. 

What are some of the things that God may be calling us to remember today?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are a stubborn people. Your word isn’t written on our hearts nor does it cross our lips. Forgive us, O Lord. Help us to remember who you created us to be. Send us forth into our days and weeks to worship you alone. Amen. 

Thursday: “Prosper” - Judges 17: 11-13

  In the final verse of today’s scripture, Micah’s motivations seems to come to light. He has this idol, this shrine, this priest, because he thinks to means that God will have to prosper him, as if he could force the hand of God.

But before we start scoffing at Micah, look around. How many people do you know that believe similar things today? There is even a term for it “the prosperity gospel.” The “good news” that God will have to bless us if we do certain things. 

I don’t know about you, but that isn’t what I see when I read Scripture. 

We cannot make or manipulate God into doing anything. God is God and we are not. We cannot control God, and when we try to do so, it shows that we are far from understanding the nature of the God we are called to be in relationship with. 

What are some of the ways we believe similar things about God’s blessing as Micah?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times we have shoved aside our relationship with you in order to favor manipulating you. Forgive us for the times we have not acted with a pure heart, but instead sought only what we wanted. Forgive us, O Lord, we pray and set us anew on the right path. Amen. 

Friday: “Christ the King” - Judges 17: 1-13

  This past Sunday was a special day in the life of the Church. Every year, the Sunday prior to Advent, is known as Christ the King Sunday. On this day we remember that we are subject to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. We are reminded that he is the King and we are the subjects, and that he holds the power alone. 

Micah, Micah’s mom, the Levite, the people of Israel, they needed to be reminded exactly who was King. 

The refrain throughout Judges reminds us that there wasn’t a King and point to that as the reason folks were going astray. But really they had a King - God was their Sovereign King. The first step into chaos wasn’t a lack of an earthly ruler, it was thinking that an earthly ruler could replace God. 

We, too, can forget who our true King is. Christ the King Sunday is a day set aside to help us regain that focus, especially as we prepare to enter into Advent - where Jesus reminds us that he comes in unexpected ways. 

What reminds you that Christ the King of your life?

Prayer: Lord, we give our lives anew to you this day. We confess that you are the true Lord of our lives, no matter what the world may try to convince us. Let us serve you and you alone, we pray. Amen. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Judges 17: 1-13

From the Sermon:

In this story, there is a lack of knowledge about what ______________________.

This story is built on the principles of what we do not want our own _________ to be.

So often we read the Scriptures and we leave __________ out.

Nothing will ever be ________ when we worship God, but it’s about our ________.

Reflection Questions:

How does the story of Micah and the Levite relate to the world today?

What makes worshiping God true worship?

What heart do we bring to worship?

Prayer:

Lord, sometimes when we read scriptures like this one it is so easy to say what is good and what is bad, but in doing so we do not take time to examine our own hearts. Point out the places in our lives where we have confused what it means to worship you and have forgotten why we worship in the first place, we pray. Amen. 

Judges: Deborah

    The story of Deborah is always one that has fascinated me. She has a firm calling on her life that she lived into boldly.
     But you cannot tell the story of Deborah apart from that of the people she was called to lead. Her story starts out with words that are familiar in the book of Judges, "the Israelites again did what was offensive to the Lord." We are explicitly told what they had done, but we can guess that they strayed in ways far from the Lord, falling back into their same pattern time and time again. It is the Israelites that the Lord put in the hands of the Canaanites and they are the same people God choose Barak to save through a prophecy from Deborah.
    So you also cannot tell the story of Deborah apart from Barak. In may ways we would assume that Barak should have been the hero of the story - the one that God chose to use to free the Israelites. Only he said no. Through his words and actions he tried to shove the job off on someone else. Instead of becoming the hero, he was the antagonist, attempting to go against the word of God.
    In many ways Deborah and Barak acted as opposites of one another, thus posing the question who we identify with. Truly identify with.
    It is so easy to say that we are the Deborah's in the world, listening to the call of God and responding, but is that always true? What prevented Barak from responding in obedience and do we see those same things in our life as well? What is God calling us to do and how will we respond?

Judges 4 Devo

November 17th, 2019

Devotional

“Judges: Deborah” -

      Judges 4:1-9

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: “Again” - Judges 4: 1-2

  Often some of the most important ones in scripture are the shortest, so we quickly overlook them. Take for example Judges 4:1, “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”. A word that should draw our attention is so easy to gloss over - again. The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

By chapter 4 of Judges, the Israelites are so deeply enmeshed in the cycle of straying from God, being punished and a judge appointed by God needing to come to their rescue that the word again is used. 

It makes me wonder what are the things in our lives that have become so routine that we simply see them as something happening “again” when really they are deeply important? What are the sins that we keep returning to time after time without giving it a second thought? What are the chains around us that have become normative that God is just waiting to break on our behalf?

What is something that happens again and again in your life that you pray that God will change?

Prayer: God, we sometimes can be so caught up in our cycles of sin and harm that we do not even recognize their destruction any more. Give us eyes to see and hearts to perceive, O Lord, what you want to do on our behalf.. Free us we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Cried Out” - Judges 4: 3

Different things will bring each of us to the point where we confess that we can no longer simply go about life on our own way with our own terms. For the Israelites it was being handed over to the King of Canaan who had this impressively large army for the time - 900 hundred chariots of iron. 

We don’t know when within the twenty years of oppression the Israelites cried out to God, but we know that it is both something that took place when they recognized their own weakness and that God heard. 

Father Richard Rohr has written a book entitled Breathing Underwater which seeks to draw a connection between our spiritual journeys and twelve-step programs. Step one - admit that we are powerless. In other words - admit that we need help.

We often focus in Judges on the fact that the Israelites strayed from God, which is true, but they also knew who to turn to in their hour of need. 

How are admitting we need God and salvation connected?

Prayer: Lord, we like to pretend that we can get thorough life on our own, but it is simply not true. When we are most honest with ourselves we can admit that we are powerless and are in need of your mercy and grace. Save us, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Sit” - Judges 4: 4-5

When the people of Israel would cry out to God, God would raise up a leader for them (often a military leader) who was called a judge. Enter Deborah. Deborah was different. She wasn’t a military leader. She was a spiritual leader who would accompany the military leader God would raise up. She was a source of wisdom for the people. Every day she would sit in the same place and the people knew that they could come to her. 

Deborah was known as many things. A spirited or fiery woman. A source of wise counsel.  A leader. 

Do people know where to seek us out as the people of God? How would people describe us? As a follower of Christ? As a source of wise counsel? As one who would pray for them?

Part of Deborah’s leadership was being the prophetic voice that people didn’t even know how much they needed at the time. She was appointed at just the right time and positioned herself to be available in a way that they people knew they could come to and receive a word from the Lord. 

How can we make ourselves available to people in the world today?

Prayer: Lord, it often seems like the world is in a whirlwind. We have stuffed calendars and are juggling so many things. Remind us to keep space in the margins of our lives to encounter people and be available to them as sources of your truth and your life, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “The Lord Your God Commands You” - Judges 4: 6-7

  If Deborah was the spiritual leader, who was God raising us to be the military leader? Barak. Son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. Deborah summoned him to come and hear the word of the Lord for his life. That God was commanding him to go and through him God would defeat the Canaanites.

But Barak wasn’t sure. 

He knew how big the Canaanite army was. Knew of their strength. We don’t know how old Barak was or how long he had been under occupation either. We just knew that he wasn’t keen on the idea.

He didn’t come straight out and say no. He said he would only go if Deborah went with him - expecting him to say no.

We encounter time and again in scripture examples of people who were faithful to the call of God. But we also see countless examples of people who struggled with the call or said no. Barak had no wiggle room in the call God was placing on him so he tried to back out of it, using other people as an excuse. But you cannot run from the call of God. 

  How do you respond to the call of God on your life?

Prayer: Lord, help us to boldly respond to your call on our lives with a resounding yes. Give us a spirit of courage to go where you are sending us. Use us we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “I Will Surely Go” - Judges 4: 8-9

  Deborah saw right through what Barak was doing. Instead of trying to find a work around the call as he had, she instead said yes, I will surely go. But there was a catch. Since Barak did not respond the first time with obedience to the call of God and because he had tried to place stipulations upon his response, the Canaanites would be delivered into the hands of a woman (Jael).

Notice that Barak still had to go.

Only now he would be remembered differently in scripture and in history.

Some day we are all going to reach the end of our lives and we will have to be accountable to God for both what we have done and what we have not done. Barak is an example of what happens when we do not do what God has called us to do. 

How will you be remembered someday?

Prayer: Lord, we want to be people who follow you with obedience the first time you call us. Set aside in us anything that may prevent us from following you. Amen. 

Study. Sabbath. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Judges 4: 1-9

From the Sermon:

Deborah was a ____________________________________________.

The real question is where we are drawing our _________ from.

It is only because Deborah knew who ______ was and what her purpose from ______ was that she was able to both summon Barak with the prophecy and respond to him with authority.

Deborah’s words from God would have landed a true blow of _____ to Barak.

There Deborah was described as “_____________________________”.

Being the most blessed in Biblical times did not mean that you were the most _________.

Barak tried to use Deborah as an ______ and a shield.

Reflection Questions:

What did you already know about Barak and Deborah prior to today’s sermon?

How did Barak respond to the call of God?

Who are you called to be? And are you living into it today?

Prayer:

Lord, give us the courage to live into our calling from you with the same fiery spirit as Deborah. Raise us up to be people who speak the truth and seek your face every single day. Let us be people of courage. Amen. 

Judges: The Rise and Fall of Judges

  The Book of Judges has always fascinated me. Maybe its because we don't talk about it all that much in church. Maybe its because it is so heartbreaking  - from the beginning where the people of Israel are fighting those around them to the end where they are fighting one another.

  The Book of Judges is just hard.

  But maybe we need to read some hard things as we grow in faith. Scripture that doesn't have easy answers. Scripture that we need to wrestle with.

   The Book of Judges seems to be a giant warning sign crying out "Don't do this!" and yet, all too often we can identify with the world of Judges when we look at the world around us.

   It has always bothered me that we have shied away from Judges and other hard Scriptures, because in reality, they have so much to teach us. So much to help us examine in our own hearts and lives.

Judges: The Rise and Fall of Judges Devo

November 10th, 2019

Devotional

“Judges: The Rise and Fall of Judges” -

      Judges 2: 6-23

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: “People Worshipped the Lord” - Judges 2: 6-8

  Joshua was the leader God selected to follow in the footsteps of Moses. His story begins though well before the death of Moses, when he was a solider sent to spy on the lands that Israel was to be moving into. He had faith that the Israelites, with the help of God, could defeat those before him. Everyone else, save Caleb, saw giants and said it wasn’t a good idea. 

Joshua’s faith in God carried forth after he was named as the one to follow Moses. The one to take the people across the threshold into the Promise Land. He wasn’t sure he was adequate, but God told him to have courage. Courage that didn’t flow from his own strength and ability by from the power of God.

Joshua’s leadership exemplified trusting God. And because of the leadership that Joshua exemplified, the people trusted God as well - worshipping the Lord alone. 

How are you teaching others to trust in God? 

Prayer: God, we want to know you. We want to trust you. We want to follow you wherever you may lead, no matter what. Give us the strength and courage of Joshua. Give us his conviction to trust in you and you alone. And use us to carry this example out into the world. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Generation” -Joshua 2: 9-10

But the day came when Joshua was called to be the Lord. He died and his leadership of the people was finished. But then something odd happened - another leader was not named. Instead, over time, Joshua’s entire generation was called home. And without a leader, the next generation grew up not knowing the Lord.

It is hard to fathom how quickly such a transition can happen. From those who know the Lord, to those who don’t. From those who trust the Lord, to those who go seeking other gods. Yet, in one sentence the entire vision of the people shifted. 

We need people who will teach new generations about God. Teach them in ways that impact them to carry on the message to the next generation and the next. 

Who taught you about Jesus? How did they help raise up a new generation in the faith?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we forget that we have the responsibility to raise up the next generation. To teach them about you. To disciple them along the faith journey. O Lord, keep us from going down the path where we reach a point where generations do not know you. Use us, we pray. Amen.

Wednesday: “Did What Was Evil” - Joshua 2: 11-13

Without the grounding of knowing God, the people went every which way trying to find meaning and ended up doing the unthinkable, worshipping other gods. Specifically Baals. We have seen the Israelites stumble when it came to worship before (most notably around the golden calf) but here, they have abandoned God. There hearts are so divorced from the way of God that they turn to the gods of the lands for fulfillment. 

When our hearts aren’t anchored in the knowledge and love of the Lord it is easy for us to go astray as well. We may not live in a society where there are multiple deities that are worshipped, like that seen in Judges, but we do live in a world where people worship at the alters of money, success, and fame. We live in a world that, too, tries to pull our hearts away from being focused on God. 

What are some other gods that people worship in today’s world?

Prayer: Lord, protect our hearts. Put a hedge of protection around us so that we stay focused on you. Keep our eyes every focused on the cross alone. Keep us from going astray, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Angered” - Judges 2: 14-15

  Just as the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy come together to tell a story, Joshua and Judges are to be read as a continuation of the same story. With that in mind, if we turn back to the beginning of the book of Joshua we find this well known verse, “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. (Joshua 1: 9). God was telling Joshua this after Moses’s death and as the Israelites are preparing to move into the Promised Land. We also find the words, “No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 1:5). 

Now that the people have abandoned God, what God said to Moses is no longer true for them. In fact, when they marched out, the hand of the Lord wasn’t just absent from them, it was against them. And as a result they failed. Time and time again.

  What changed between Joshua and Judges?

Prayer: Lord, help us to stand firm in our obedience to you. Strengthen and uphold us, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Raised Up Judges” - Judges 2: 16-23

  It wasn’t until the people failed that they became distressed and returned to God, crying out. It wasn’t until the people failed, that God raised up judges, or leaders to deliver them. But even having a human leader, just like Joshua, did not help the Israelites at this point, for their hearts were so turned astray. 

It quickly became a cycle.

Going astray. The Lord’s anger. The people crying out. Judges bringing forth deliverance. Only to have the people go astray again.

So it can be in our hearts and lives as well, when we struggle with sin. When we rely on our own might, or the might of another person instead of God, sin can choke out our good intentions to live faithful lives.

What does the cycle of sin look like in our lives or our world?

Prayer: Lord, only you can break the power of sin and death. Only you can remove the chains that choke the life out of us. So, Lord, we come before you today asking you to do just that. Set us free, Precious Lord! Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Judges: Deborah” - Judges 4 and 5

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Judges 2: 6-23

From the Sermon:

Joshua was known as a man of _______.

Two things took place upon Joshua’s death. 1.

          2.

Judges as a title refers tot he people that God raised up to __________________ when they found themselves facing an enemy.

Why were the people of Israel going astray? 1.

2.

Someone else can’t have your ___________ with God for you.

Reflection Questions:

What happened in between the book of Joshua and the book of Judges? 

What is the cycle that takes place in the book of Judges? 

Prayer:

Lord, we want to be in prayer this week and beyond, for our world. We want folks to come to know you. And not just know you with their heads, but know you deep within their hearts. Use us to be channels of wisdom and grace for your Kingdom, we pray. Amen. 

The Christian Wallet: The Joy of Simplicity - Matthew 6: 19-21

     Whenever I think of this particular scripture a scene from the TV Show Gilmore Girls comes to mind. This is a scene following the death of Luke's uncle. When he went to purchase the casket to bury him in however, the lid could not close, because the uncle had such a long list of his material possessions that he wanted to be buried with. He was going to take everything with him in the grave so that no one else could take them.

We spend most of our lives accumulating things, perhaps giving away a bag to charity here and there, instead of examining the very heart of the matter around material things, asking ourselves why we really want something. When we pause and answer that deeper question, we find that we want things because we have the false belief that that the thing itself will make us happy, instead of seeking to be content with what we have - which is exactly what Jesus warns against in today’s Gospel passage.

We also have a damaged relationship with the concepts of joy and simplicity. We all too often can find ourselves being content, or satisfied with our relationships, how much we love others and love God, and satisfied with our faith journey, how much time we put into serving God and other’s or praying or reading the scripture, but not content with the material things we have. It’s like we get it backwards, being content with the areas of our life we should be seeking to grow in while striving to accumulate more things than we could ever use.

     How are contentment and simplicity related? 

The Christian Wallet: The Joy of Simplicity Devo

November 3rd, 2019

Devotional

“The Christian Wallet: The Joy of Simplicity” -

    Matthew 6: 19-21 

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: “Treasure” - Matthew 6: 19-21

What is your treasure? The truth is, what we treasure the most in this world may not be money or things or busyness. It may be something else entirely. But it still could be holding us back from following Jesus. If we examine our hearts, asking God to reveal to us what our treasure truly is, we may be just as surprised.

  What would you say that you treasure the most?

Prayer: God, you are the source of all love and truth. Yet, we confess that sometimes we keep areas of our lives from you - secret treasures that we cling to. This day, O Lord, we firmly proclaim that we no longer want to do that. Break the power that material things have over our lives. Break the power of the things that we hold so tight to, Lord, that we don’t present them to you. Instead, we present our whole selves and what we treasure to you for examination. Trusting that you will lead us in the way of truth and grace. Amen. 

Tuesday: “For Us” - Mark 2:27

The Sabbath was a gift from God for us, human beings, yet all too often we forsake this gift, seeing it as a burden instead of a blessing. The Sabbath should a time of thanksgiving. A time to tell us who we are and whose we are.

In some Jewish traditions, one way to remember that the Sabbath is a gift is to have beautiful special things - candles, tablecloths, plates, etc. - that are only used on the Sabbath. Sabbath is also a time to feed our very souls, not simply to step away from work and stressors but to do things differently in a way that gives us renewed meaning and hope. 

How do you live into Sabbath in your life?

Prayer: Lord, we are slow to change our ways. We say we want rest and restoration, but we don’t change any of our circumstances to make it so. We say that we want to celebrate the Sabbath, but all too often act as if it is a burden. Let us live into what you have for us, on the Sabbath and always, and embrace it as a blessing. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Rested” - Genesis 2:2

  Sometimes it is hard imaging that God needed to rest. That God created the entire world and then needed a break. The notion of God resting seems to go against our notion of God being all powerful, but we need to remember that God was modeling for humanity, the need to stop. 

All too often we try to live our lives like we are all powerful, like we can be on the go all the time and that it won’t effect us, but in truth this is not how we were made. We were made to rest. We need not only a day off, but a day to cease trying to live up to mounting expectations placed on us by ourselves and others. 

How are Sabbath and rest related for you?

Prayer: God, we confess that we try to keep ourselves busy so that we do not need to rest - stop and think. We confess that somewhere deep inside of us, we think if we can just keep going we are more powerful or more important. Forgive us, O Lord, and free us to find rest in you. Amen. 

Thursday: “Sabbath” -Exodus 20: 8-10

  The command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy is number four of the ten commandments. In many ways it speaks both to our worship of God and the way we interact with other people. This particular commandment has deep roots, tracing back to the creation story when God ceased or abstained from activity on the seventh day.

  When we stop working we are following the loving example of our creator God, who made the very act of rest holy. Remember that the Israelites are receiving this commandment because they are God’s chosen people, they are the beloved of God and therefore they incorporated both God’s commands and example in their way of living. 

  What do you value the most about the celebration of Sabbath?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that we have become a workaholic people. We focus more on what we can get done, then the meaning what do has in our lives. Set us free from the chains of addiction that bind us to work and free us to live more fully in your presence. Amen. 

Friday: “Heart” - Matthew 6: 19-21

  There are a lot of studies that have been conducted around material things and happiness. But most have found the same results - that things cannot make us happy. Even though we live in a world with more goods to consume, our overall satisfaction and self-reported happiness have decreased? Why?

Because we put our treasure in the wrong place. 

There is a string that connects our treasure and our heart. Sometimes we know what that is, other times we do not. Something that we forget is truly God’s in the first place. May we take time today to be in silent prayer, asking for God to examine our hearts anew.

What is the connection between our treasure and our heart?

Prayer: Lord, free our hearts to serve you. Free our whole selves to worship you. Remind us anew of the path of righteousness that leads to your life. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Rise and Fall of Judges” - Judges 2: 6-3:31. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 6: 19-21

From the Sermon:

In Genesis 2:2 God _______.

The world tells us that we are successful by how much ________ we have and how _______ we are.

God is the God of ______________.

We need to realize that we are ___________ not _________ of that which we have.

We need to look around our lives and ask ourselves what we are most _________ for in our lives.

Reflection Questions:

How does celebrating the Sabbath help us focus on God throughout the week?

Are we really invested in relationships as God is invested in relationships, or do we give it lip services but not any of the work?

How do we live into what we treasure most?

Prayer:

Lord, we confess that we have bought into the lie that the world is selling us around material things and busyness. We need you to free us from the bind this has on our hearts, Precious Lord. Teach us anew what our true treasure is. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.