Discussion for 2 February 2014

MATTHEW 5:1-12

¹When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

For Consideration

-Is it possible to be pure in heart, merciful, meek peacemakers as Jesus instructs in these Beatitudes?

-If we could do all these why would we need grace?

-What keeps us from practicing mercy, humility and righteousness?

Discussion for 26 January 2014

 MATTHEW 4:12-23

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 
¹⁵  “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, 
          on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 
¹⁶  the people who sat in darkness 
          have seen a great light, 
     and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death 
          light has dawned.” 
¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

For Consideration
-In Verse 20 Peter  & Andrew "immediately" left their nets and followed Jesus. How could they do that? Were they anticipating to hear a call from God or was it God's power working through Jesus that compelled them to drop everything and follow?
-Are we anticipating God to call us or are we waiting for His presence to appear before we follow?
-What do we do to hone our ears fro hearing and our eyes for seeing God in our lives?

• Print This Page
• Share

Discussion for 19 January 2014

JOHN 1:29-42

²⁹The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³²And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).⁴²He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

For Consideration
-In Verse 42 Jesus gives Simon a new name. Peter (Rock). Why do you suppose after a short time Jesus has changed this disciple's name?

Discussion for 12 January 2014

MATTHEW 3:13-17

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

For Consideration:
-Why was Jesus baptized?
-God speaks familiar words in Vs 17. here else do we hear similar words from God?
-Does Jesus' baptism cause us to reflect on our own baptism? What is expected from each of us following our baptism and confirmation?

Two Groups of Wise Men by Bill Williamson

Don Crichton sent this PDF of Bill Williamson's sermon from Matthew 2:1-12. Bill gives a good reason for us to make a difficult decision.

Click HERE to open the PDF.

New Years Day January 1, 2014

This column was recently in The Tennessean. The Message of the Week by Rev. Clay Stauffer makes a few suggestions on how to "Live life to the fullest with few regrets."

Click HERE to read the article.

Today is the first blank page in a 365 page book. May you write a good one. Happy New Year!