Bible Study for March 3, 2024

Hi everyone,

This 3rd Sunday in Lent, we see Jesus' anger and receive God's 10 commandments.  The Risen Jesus, commemorated in 1 month, is our temple today where we meet God in the power of the Spirit.  What happens in our community gathering, is that God gives to us so that we may turn and give to others...this is our Faith In Action Together!

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Pastor Tim

Bible Study for March 3, 2024    

Opening Prayer:

Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 2:13-22 What does this passage tell us about “righteous anger”?

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we see Jesus struggling with a very human emotion: anger.  Corruption and greed have crept into God’s house.  Using a whip, Jesus drives from the temple everyone who has made it into a marketplace.  This is a different Jesus than the one that heals people, so this story is an opportunity to grow in our understanding of who Jesus was, to understand more deeply that Jesus was truly human and that, although he did not sin, he understands our weaknesses, like anger, and how they can lead us into temptation!

Exodus 20:1-17 How well do the Ten Commandments provide guidance for living today?

For many, the Ten Commandments provide a reliable shorthand definition for what it means to be a good or moral person. God did set these rules apart from the rest by speaking them to the people directly rather than through Moses. Some Christians may question the normative value of these laws that Jesus came “not to abolish, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). The benchmark set by Jesus and the apostles for the church was much higher and deeper than these commands (see Matthew 5:21-48). Moreover, Paul explicitly placed Christians under the norm of the Spirit rather than the Torah. The results, in terms of guidelines and behavior, often overlap, but that is because one God stands behind both.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 What values from American culture do you also attribute to your understanding of being Christian?

Paul drew sharp contrasts between what is wise according to the world and what is wise according to God. There is no comparison between these perspectives, for God is vastly greater than the world. The Corinthians challenge was to leave behind the values and conventional wisdom of the dominant culture and to embrace God’s values in their own choices and behaviors.

Closing Prayer

Holy One, creator of the stars and seas, your steadfast love is shown to every living thing: your word calls forth countless worlds and souls; your law revives and refreshes.

Forgive our misuse of your gifts, that we may be transformed by your wisdom to manifest for others the mercy of our crucified and risen Lord. Amen.