March Devotional

INTRODUCTION:
Think for a minute about what it is like to be alone.  How would you describe it?  On the other hand, what is it like to be with other people?  There were times that Jesus went away by himself to pray (think of the Garden of Gethsemane), but here he is telling the disciples that even mature believers can fall prey to the dangers of isolation. 


SCRIPTURE READING:

Matthew 18:15-20

The Message (MSG)

 ^15-17"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love.
 ^18-20"Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there."

FURTHER DISCUSSION:

• When have you have felt spiritually connected with others?  
• When have you have felt spiritually alone?
• Think of the "buddy system" in SCUBA diving... Do you have someone that you trust with your spiritual life?  
• What are your experiences allowing someone to accompany you on your journey?
• Was it difficult or easy?  Why?

February Devotional

INTRODUCTION:
We talk a lot about the "journey" of faith, and "walking with" one another.  As you read the following scripture reading, I invite you to think about the components to "walking with" others, or allowing others to "walk with" us.  What are the different components?


SCRIPTURE READING:

Luke 24:13-25 (The Message)

The Road to Emmaus

 ^13-16That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.  ^17-18He asked, "What's this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?"
   They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?"
 ^19-24He said, "What has happened?"
   They said, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn't find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus."
 ^25-27Then he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don't you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?" Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

FURTHER DISCUSSION:

• What are your experiences "walking with" someone else?  
• What are you experiences allowing someone to walk with you on your journey?
• Was it difficult or easy?  Why?

January Devotional

INTRODUCTION:
All four gospels have a story of a feeding of a multitude, but the story in John is a little different...  It includes a young boy central to the story.  If you place yourself in the story of the young boy, what do you see/hear/smell/taste?  What are your observations?  How do you feel?

SCRIPTURE READING:

John 6:1-15 The Message (MSG)

Bread and Fish for All

 ^1-4After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberias). A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miracles they had seen him do among the sick. When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews.  ^5-6When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread to feed these people?" He said this to stretch Philip's faith. He already knew what he was going to do.
 ⁷Philip answered, "Two hundred silver pieces wouldn't be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece."
 ^8-9One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, "There's a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that's a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this."
 ^10-11Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.
 ^12-13When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted." They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.
 ^14-15The people realized that God was at work among them in what Jesus had just done. They said, "This is the Prophet for sure, God's Prophet right here in Galilee!" Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.

 FURTHER DISCUSSION:

• What are your earliest memories of generosity or giving?  How did you feel?

Devotionals and Conversations

Hello Friends,

I am sorry for the infrequent postings the past few months.  As with many spiritual practices, there seem to be seasons of growth and vitality, and other fallow seasons.  I intentionally put blogging to the side for awhile to pick up other spiritual practices, but now am feeling drawn back to using this tool for communication once again.

I have become very interested in facilitating common conversations among the many committees, groups and ministry teams at Covenant UMC (and if it is of use for others on the 'outside' then GREAT!).  Specifically having conversations around generosity, for instance, will (I believe) have an impact on how relaxed we can feel when the subject of money comes up in the life of the church.  I am also looking for a consistent platform to emphasize the main purpose we exist as a Christian congregation - to encounter God's transforming power, and pass on the opportunity for others to also encounter God's presence and power!  Here is what I have in mind:

• Each month I will have a devotional scripture reading, followed by some suggested questions for conversation.
• You can use this as a resource for planning the time at the beginning of any of your meetings to help your gathered group to be "spiritually grounded"
• I would love to hear from group discussions, as long as permission is given and doesn't violate someone's sense of confidentiality.
• You can search for devotionals by using "tags" for the month name, and the word "devotional"

Let me know if this is helpful and what your experience of this resource is.  If it is helpful, I will keep doing it!
Peace to you all,
Gregg
Pastor Gregg