May Devotional

INTRODUCTION:
As children, we don't think about our long-term future much.  We don't wonder what the world would be like if we weren't here.  As we age, however, we begin to ask ourselves the question, "What is my legacy?"


SCRIPTURE READING:

John 14:1-14

The Message (MSG)

The Road

 ^1-4 "Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I'm taking."  ⁵Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"
 ^6-7Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"
 ⁸Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."
 ^9-10"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
 ^11-14"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.

FURTHER DISCUSSION:

•  What do you think Jesus had in mind when he told the disciples that they would do "even greater things?"
• Who do you think has had the biggest impact on your life (positive or negative)?  Why? 
• What do you think other people think you stand for?
• Ultimately, what do you want your legacy to be?

April Devotional

INTRODUCTION:
Being an adult is very different from being a child.  What were you like as a kid?  What are you like now as an adult?  Where are the similarities and differences?


SCRIPTURE READING:

Matthew 18:1-5

The Message (MSG)

Whoever Becomes Simple Again

 ¹ At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?"  ^2-5For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. 

FURTHER DISCUSSION:

• What do you think of when you hear the phrase "childlike faith?"  
• When have you (or have you?) experienced a childlike faith?
• What are your earliest memories of:
• Church?
• Conversations about God?
• Worship?
• Offering/Giving to others?