- Acts 2: 42-47
- Psalms 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24
- 1 Peter 1: 3-9
- John 20: 19-31
- Courage to hope
- We could wish to see a diary from one of those early Christian converts. Get a good look at "a day in the life" and see how it differed from what we have today.
- Do you ever wish that that your life with God was a little more full of awe rather than awful?
- What could God do that would fill you with awe?
- What role would you have in that event?
- What's stopping you?
- Learning mercy
- Not all of us are in positions of power and authority, or not at least the way that we see it. But all of us have opportunities to show mercy towards others, opportunities to grow to be more like our heavenly father, the father of mercy.
- How would you define mercy?
- Where have you received or seen mercy given to another?
- Why do you think that mercy is such an important attribute of God?
- Why do you think that He looks to find mercy in us?
- Finding joy
- If you asked the average person "would you like more joy in your life?" you would get the predictable answer. But no one seems to know much about attaining joy.
- How would you define the joy of the Lord?
- How does that joy differ from the usual sort of joy that we normally encounter?
- How do we become more joyful?
- Can we have joy in the midst of hardships?
- How would you share such joy with others?
- Second-hand faith
- Thomas was practical. He knew that following Jesus when He was alive on the earth was radical. Following Him after he had died was just nuts. My theory is that Thomas was looking for a personal invitation from Jesus Himself. Can you blame him?
- How much of your faith is inherited from others in one way or another?
- How was faith passed along to you?
- How are you passing it along to others?
- How has that passing your faith along been a blessing to you?
- Preparation for Reconciliation
- What has God given to me that I should be awed by?
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What is God inviting me forward into greater mercy?
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Where might God be calling me/us to greater courage?
- Where in my life is God calling me to deeper intimacy?
Touching Mercy
We had grown together, learned each other's faults and strengths,
Dreams, aspirations, hopes and fears.
I could not imagine somehow living apart from these followers of Jesus.
And I could not imagine living with them either.
We had watched in awe as He stood up for the weak and downtrodden,
We saw Him stand up for reform of the Sabbath,
We saw Him touch the untouchable and save them from despair.
Looking back, I don't think I ever thought it would last.
His reckless generosity, His unbounded love
His tenderness and forgiveness
Seemed so out of place in this world.
And yet, just what we all needed.
When they hauled Him away like a common criminal
Hung Him high for all to see, and jeer, and spit upon
I died too. Hope flickered and fell silent. Darkness triumphed in my heart.
Better to never feel at all than to feel that pain, that disappointment again.
Yet my brothers called me back, telling me that He is alive!
But, but my heart feared yet more loss, worse than the first.
How can this be, I asked myself.
Won't they just round Him up and kill Him again?
I joined my brothers and sisters from the sidelines
Holding my misery like a shield around my aching spirit.
Until He looked me in the eyes, told me to probe His wounds, and know forgiveness.
And then I knew. He had never really left, never would leave me bereft.
The warmth of His touch, His voice, His eyes
They told me that He understood my sorrow, disappointment, and fear.
Then he invited me to move beyond all of that, to hope.
Hope that I, we, any and all of us can and will make a difference.
This world is forever changed, ever charged with His Presence.
And I, I especially am an apostle to the weak, the damaged, the stricken.
Showing His strength ever in my abject weakness.
Shalom!
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