Bible Study for April 14, 2024

Hi everyone,

I am sorry to miss Bible Study this week, however I will be at a Theological Retreat for New Pastors.  It is difficult to understand the Scriptures, so I admire your individual efforts to study the upcoming Sunday Readings.

In this Easter season, the risen Christ in the power of the Spirit opens our minds to understand the Scriptures.  Every Sunday, we are given the opportunity to understand the Scriptures. And every Sunday, when we are able to gather, Christ gives us life in his meal.

Pastor Tim

"God has led you to the desert, and spoken to your Heart."

Mount of Olives Lutheran Church

3546 E. Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

602-956-1620 office

Bible Study for April 14, 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.

Luke 24:36b-48  Is your faith in the resurrection based solely on reports you have heard from others? Do you think it makes a difference to our faith if we have had our own Resurrection experience?

Last week, we heard the post-resurrection appearance story from John, this Sunday we hear from Luke with some differences.  In Luke, besides showing his hands and feet to show he is not a ghost, Jesus also eats something as a ghost has no need of nourishment.  Then, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to understand the Scriptures. Jesus said to the disciples “these are my words that I spoke to you…that everything written about me…must be fulfilled.” In Greek, to “fulfill” means to make complete, to bring to fullness.  So when Luke says that the Scriptures are fulfilled, he means that Scripture is made complete in Jesus. 

The disciples experienced the presence of the risen Lord, leading them to believe that he had been raised, and our individual experience of the risen Lord is the foundation of our faith. Where the Lord’s physical hands and feet are no longer present, the ministry of the hands of countless saints in simple and sincere ministries continues to bear witness to the Lord’s living presence. Although he may not appear in our midst to eat broiled fish, his presence is tangible in soup kitchens, around the kitchen table, and around the altar table. We see him “in the breaking of bread” at Holy Communion.

1 John 3:1-7  In what ways do you live differently because you are a child of God?

Who we are makes a difference in the way we live. The author of 1 John is saying that because we belong to Christ, there are certain things we choose not to do and certain ways in which we choose to live. We are God’s children, and like all children, we develop the characteristics of the family. As God’s children, we are called to walk in the way of Christ. It is important to understand, however, that acting in ways that are just and pure is not a condition for earning God’s love. Rather, they are a response to what God has already done for us and in us. In Jewish apocalyptic thought, lawlessness is a cosmic power, something greater than the sum of its parts, a power which hates God. Righteousness, on the other hand, is the form in which God’s rule over creation is revealed. One can choose to be either for God or for evil, for lawlessness or for righteousness. 

Closing Prayer

Holy and righteous God, you raised Christ from the dead and glorified him at your right hand.

Let the words of scripture, fulfilled in Jesus your Son, burn within our hearts and open our minds to recognize him in the breaking of bread. Amen.