Letting Go

Read It: 2 Kings 2:2-3 (NRSV)

2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” 

Learn It:

Elijah had been a prophet for quite a while in the land of Israel and it was time for him to be taken up into heaven.  He had been training Elisha to take his place and it was time for Elijah to be taken up into heaven.  Elisha, knowing this, follows him everywhere to try to keep him in his sight so that God won't take him up into heaven just yet.  Elisha does this 3 times in fact...see verses 2 (above), 4, and 6.  Even a prophet as wonderful as Elisha had doubts and reservations about his calling and about letting someone who had been his mentor go.

Share It:

What kind of reservations do you have about things going on in your life right now?  Are you holding onto something from the past that you need to let go?  Talk with your family about something that you might be holding on to that you know you need to let go of but can't seem to do it.  Is there anything holding you back that prevents you from fully being yourself or keeps you from doing the things that you really want to be doing?  What are they and how can you help each other work with them?  Share these thoughts and others with your family as they come up during your time together.

Live It:

Take some time this week thinking about those things that you need to let go.  Maybe it's a grudge or maybe it's something you've been mad about or sad about.  Give a prayer up to God to ask for God to take those things from you and help you to move one and let go of the thing you need to let go.  I hope as you move forward in the week that that 'thing' no longer dwells on your heart or mind.

What's with all the Commotion?

Read It: John 1:43-46 (NRSV)

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  

Learn It:

Nathanael may seem like a skeptic when his friend Philip tells him about this man named Jesus from Nazareth but it's helpful to understand that LOTS of people would have almost no idea where or what Nazareth was and those people who had heard of it knew that it was a TINY town that didn't really have much of anything going for it.  So to be fair to Nathanael his question is a legitimate one...little did he know that the messiah is the one who came from Nazareth.  My favorite part of this text is Philip's invitation to "come and see".  What a wonderful invitation.  He doesn't try to convince or persuade his friend he simply invites him to come and find out for himself what he is so excited about.  

Share It:

What are the things in your life that get you excited?  Why do those particular things get you excited or happy?  You can use this time as a show and tell if you want (bring something to the table to share with everyone else).  Now...what are the things that get you excited about Jesus and about your faith?  If you can't think of something then what things might you be able to do to help you get excited about the things that God promises you (love, support, forgiveness, everlasting life, community)?  Talk about these and other things that come up during your share it time together.

Live It:

This week I encourage you to find a way to find excitement in your faith.  Find something about your faith that really brings you joy and then invite someone to share in that joy.  Be like Philip and invite someone to 'come and see' the goodness and wonder of God.  

╬

Please post comments with your experience with the share it or live it part of this weeks post.  Let others know if you and your family found this useful.  

Survey Says...

Read It: Matthew 22:37-40 (NRSV)

37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Learn It:

At the time of this question about what is the greatest commandment Jesus has already entered into Jerusalem for the final part of his ministry leading up to his death.  The Pharisees and Sadducees are doing whatever they can to try to stop Jesus and have his followers deny him.  They ask a series of questions trying to trick him into answering their questions in such a way that will prove that he is not a prophet but simply a phony who isn't worth following at all.  The reason why this question was meant to be tricky is that there were 613 mitzvot (commands) in the Old Testament.  As Christians we only focus on the 10 Commandments but every time God declared the people to do something it became a mitzvot, a commandment.  So you can see the whole idea of picking which one is greater than the rest is not quite so easy.  

Share It:

Think about your favorite items.  What are they (color, ice cream, sport, instrument, musical group, movie, TV show, subject in school, etc)?  Is it always easy to come up with your single most favorite thing for everything?  If your parents (whether you are an adult or child right now) gave you 613 rules to follow (I know it may seem like they do or did) do you think you could remember all of them well enough to make sure that you didn't break a single one of them?  What if they broke it down to something simple like love your parents and love your siblings?  Would that be easier?  Why or why not?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your time together.

Live It:

Spend this next week living by rules of love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  It's just two rules you have to follow this week.  See how well you do and see how loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself might change the way that you interact with people this week.  

╬

Please post comments with your experience with the share it or live it part of this weeks post.  Let others know if you and your family found this useful.

Forgiveness

Read It: Matthew 18:21-35 ( NRSV)

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

Learn It:

Today, as you may know, is September 11 and it has been 10 years since the attacks on the Twin Towers.  I think it is very profound and wonderful that today's Gospel reading is the text that Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness.  One of the helpful things to know is that 7 is a special number.  6 is the number of days that God created the world and on the seventh day he rested.  We also see the number 7 appear again and again in the Old Testament.  Seven has become the number for perfection, so when Peter asks how many times should I forgive he is picking the perfect number...he thinks anything more than that would be superfluous.  Jesus corrects him by telling him not 7 times but 77 times (or 70x7 which = 490!).  Either way to forgive someone that many times is great and meant to show that there is really no end to the amount of times we should forgive someone.

I know that many people still hurt from the attacks, but the power to forgive and heal from our past and from the injuries of others is something that is hard but very powerful.  The more we forgive the more we are able to move our lives forward and move forward God's Kingdom.  

Share It:

What does it mean to you to forgive someone?  What all needs to take place/happen so that you might feel you have forgiven someone?  What does it take for you to feel like someone truly forgives you for something you have done?  Why does it seem so hard to forgive at times?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your conversation.  

Live It:

Spend this week focusing on forgiveness.  Try to forgive someone without holding a grudge or holding it over them for very long.  At the same time make a genuine form of forgiveness.  Don't just tell them you forgive them for what they did but really reconcile your differences so that you both can return back to the relationship you had before whatever happened.  It may be harder and take more time but I think it'll be better in the long run.

╬

Please post comments with your experience with the share it or live it part of this weeks post.  Let others know if you and your family found this useful.