Opening Prayer:
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(Psalm 73:23-26)
Read: Ephesians 2:11-22
Story/Illustration:
“According to the New Testament, God wills that the church be a people who show what God is like.” ~ Stanley Grenz
“Peace reigns where our Lord reigns.” ~ Julian of Norwich
One of the most important and challenging concepts that I have learned in my Christian journey is that of reconciliation. Christ’s work of reconciliation can remove all obstacles that alienate us from other people. I have to remind myself constantly that in Christ we can have peace with God and especially with others. I am called to be a minister of reconciliation; we are all called to restore broken relationships. The realization that Christ can give us the power to live at peace with others gives us new hope. All who believe in Christ are made sisters and brothers in Him! (Pastor Karen)
Questions For Reflection:
* Any response to Pastor Jeff’s sermon?
* What words stick out for you as you read the passage?
* “For he himself is our peace…” (Ephesians 2:14). We are called to vessels of God’s peace. How have you been a vessel of God’s peace? How is Christ your peace?
* Share a time when you witnessed God restore a broken relationship.
* We use the word “grace” all the time. What does grace mean?
* Stanley Grenz shares, “According to the New Testament, God wills that the church be a people who show what God is like.” How is Enon UMC living this out? How are you living this out?
* ‘You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19). The entire direction of history is toward building a household, an eternal dwelling place of God among his creation. Do your motives, your dreams, your relationships, your work – everything – point toward the direction of history? If not, why not? Is there anything you can do about it today?
* Paul says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Have you ever felt far away from God? What is your story?
Wrap up:
“Hope for wild, wonderful, and too-good-to-be-true results like actual signs of God’s kingdom sprouting up all over the world, in your community, and even in your life. And then let your life and your prayer reflect that hope this day and always. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. May it be so today!” Let this be your prayer over the next week. Journal any thoughts and ideas that God places on your heart this week.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, make me an of your peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
~ Saint Francis of Assisi
I am still thinking about two things as I read and meditate on Ephesians 2:11-22. First, wow! What would it have really meant to the Jews who considered Jesus Messiahship...? So much of what they took for granted as basic, food, cleanliness rules, commandments, etc., was challenged by Jesus and his Gentile followers. I blythely look at the passages about such things and don't really understand the earth shaking ways in which that impacted Jews. What would be a similar situation? What would I think? Is there any connection between the "hostility" we experience in America between groups and this?? I wonder. It was not an easy transition!
ReplyDeleteThe other is "For he himself is our peace." Is peace not something that we are able to create, when two people, etc., decide to come to some pact together? Is that what Paul is talking about? Do we believe that Matthew put aside all of his leanings and doings with the Romans, or completely forsook them... or that Simon the Zealot decided to that a peaceful solution was the answer, that the nationalist feelings that he and the Zealots felt were no longer the truth? Or... was it something more? That somehow, Jesus himself is our peace. In focusing on him, in letting him into our hearts, we see others, even those extremely different from us, as the precious human being that God created (I like to think about seeing people as God sees them...) It's not a total agreement as much as it is accepting others for who they are... and allowing them to think differently than we, yet knowing we are one in our humanness that Jesus himself hallows with his presence in our lives. I'm still thinking. What do you think?