The Story That Is Ours To Tell

Read Luke 22:14-30 (NRSV)
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ 17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ 19Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ 20And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ 23Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.


The Dispute about Greatness
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Read 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NRSV)
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley
N.T. Wright suggested that the Bible’s story is like a five act drama. The chapters could be entitled: Creation; The Fall of Adam, The Story of Israel; The Jesus Story; and The Church’s Story. 

• In which act do we live? 
• Divide your own life story up into five acts and summarize the content of each act. Is your story the same story? Is there a progressive development from one act to another? 
• Did the story take off in another direction at any point that could not have been predicted? 
• If you could write the final act of your life story would it be a fulfillment of the whole story or a disappointing loss of all for which you have dreamed and worked?
• How do you think the big story of the Bible ends?

N.T. Wright wrote,“We who call ourselves Christians must be totally committed to telling the story of Jesus both as the climax of Israel’s story and as the foundation of our own.” Can you make a list of the central facts of the Jesus story?


Has the church’s story replaced Israel’s story? In what sense might 1 Peter 2:9-10 suggest this replacement theory? Compare this with Romans 11.


Peter argues that the Gentile believers were “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people or peculiar people”. See Exodus 19:1-6. How does the church that you know live out these elements of spiritual identity?


Consider the sermon’s quote of James Bryan Smith’s, The Good and Beautiful Community. He argues that the church is a peculiar community because our God is peculiar. How is our God peculiar?


On the basis of the 1 Peter 2:9-10, what is God’s mission through the church in our world?


How does the light of God shine through the life and work of our congregation? In addition to what the sermon suggested, what would you add to our allowing the light of Jesus to illumine the spiritual darkness of the human condition?


Prayer
Healing Grace
by Chisum/Sadler 1994
Merciful God and Father, loving us like no other,
Hear our prayer, the cry of our hearts, as we come to you;
We acknowledge our transgressions,
We confess to you our sins, show us mercy and compassion,
Touch our lives with your healing grace again.

Chip Off The Old Block

Read 1 Peter 2:4-8 (NRSV)

4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

6 For it stands in scripture:
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ 7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, 8 and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Steve Sweet

Think about how you might answer these questions:
Who am I?
Where do I get my worth?
What am I here for?
Why do I matter?

When you are going through the “thick and thin of life” who or what do you rely upon to get you through, and give you strength?

Peter tells us that we are living stones, part of God’s spiritual house, with Christ as our cornerstone. What difference has that made in your life? How does that bring you encouragement today?

How is Christ precious to you? Why?

Trinity Prayer by Richard Rohr

God for us, we call You Father,
God alongside us, we call You Jesus,
God within us, we call You Holy Spirit.

You are the Eternal Mystery
that enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things,
even us,
 and even me.

Every name falls short of your
Goodness and Greatness.

We can only see who You are in what is.
We ask for such perfect seeing.

As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be.

Amen

Glimpses of Grace

Read Luke 24:44-49 (NRSV)

44Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

Read 1 Peter 1:10-12 (NRSV)

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

When you watch the evening news, which network do you choose? Is it because of the news content or the channels take on the news? 

Do you have a favorite author who writes with authority for you and whom you trust? Who might that be and what is there about the authority’s voice that draws you?

If you could get a glimpse into the future what would you like to see or to hear?

When you read the Bible do you feel spoken to by a voice of authority? Whose voice is it that speaks through scripture? Is there a central message that you hear from the voice?

Place yourself in the chariot with the Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-40. What did Philip say to him that influenced him to ask for baptism? What was it that opened his mind to the reality of God’s kingdom?

How would you describe the Holy Spirit in relation to the Father, and the Son?

Have you ever felt the presence of the Spirit in your life? Was it a positive feeling or frightening?

What impact did the Holy Spirit have upon God’s mission through the church?

Write your definition of grace.

Prayer of Confession

Holy Spirit of forgiveness, come to us again:

shake our hearts, set our souls on fire with your love.

We hold out to you all our particular burdens of guilt and sin,

and we ask for your help to live the way of your justice and love.

Fruit That Will Last

Read John 15:1-17 (NRSV)

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Read 1 Peter 1:22-25

22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. ²³You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For
‘All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls, 
²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’
That word is the good news that was announced to you.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

Have you every planted a garden for the purpose of growing vegetables or fruit?  How did it go?

We can learn a lot about life from observing the natural processes of nature.  Food gardens have predators.  Even the produce or fruit from a garden must be eaten in good time.  Is there a lesson about the transitory nature of all natural and human processes? 

Jesus said he had chosen his disciples to go and bear fruit, fruit that would last.  Is there some fruit, labor, investment of your time and energy, that you hope will last forever?

Peter quoted Isaiah 40:6-8, “the grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of the Lord endures forever. The people are grass.”  If we are impermanent, how can we get the living and enduring word of God into our lives?

What is the connection between the word of God and the love of God?  Can you name the fruits of the Spirit?  
Check out Galatians 5.

The sermon said God speaks, God transforms, God empowers mission.  Is the Word, Jesus Christ, calling you to be his living word to someone beyond your comfort level?  
Explore what that may mean for you today; how might that look?

Prayer, The Peace Prayer

St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, the truth;

Where there is doubt, the 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 in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.