7.11.10 – The GPS has moved!

Church of The Resurrection — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:08:36 +0000

The GPS has moved to the following address: http://community.icontact.com/p/cornews/newsletters/gpsguide/rss.xml?r=1036787797&l=17289&s=7IXL&m=4353492&c=17289.

Please join us there!

Thank you,

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection

7.10.10 – Noah: righteous in his time

vnaas — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 05:01:29 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 5:25-32; 6:9-10
Genesis 5
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died. 32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Genesis 6
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
The genealogy of Seth’s righteous line was given in orderly, carefully chosen 10-generation steps. The New Bible Dictionary notes that “The main object of the genealogies in Gn. 5 and 11 is apparently not so much to provide a full chronology as to supply a link from earliest man to the great crisis of the Flood.” Genesis pictured Noah, another great archetypal figure, as a righteous man who, like Enoch, “walked with God.”

Lamech (same name as the vengeful poet in 4:23-24, but from Seth’s righteous line), was said to have given his son Noah a name that, in Hebrew, meant “rest” or “comfort.” The name, Genesis said, expressed the father’s hope for what his son would bring to the world. What hopes or dreams did your parents have for you? How have those affected your life? If you are a parent, what are the hopes you are resting in your child(ren)?

Family Activity:
The biblical stories of the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Ark all teach us about God, families and beginnings. What do you know about the beginnings of your family? Do you know the story of how you were born or adopted? Do you know those stories about your parents and grandparents? What is your genealogy, and from which countries did your ancestors originally come? Do some research on your family history. Share stories with each other about yourself and other family members. Write down some of your family relationships and experiences so future generations will have a record of family history. Give thanks to God for the biblical stories and for the stories of your own family.

Read Chuck Russell’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

We have changed our GPS delivery provider as of July 11, 2010. To view current GPS entries, click here.

7.9.10 – From Adam to the mysterious Enoch

vnaas — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:01:59 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 5:1-24
1 This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “human beings.” 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. 6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. 9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died. 12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died. 15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died. 18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
A long genealogy list—perhaps the least favorite part of the Bible for most modern readers. This list seems, as Dr. Stuart Briscoe noted, “interesting only to historians and theologians. But there is a recurring theme which is of profound interest to every human being. The theme is: ‘he lived…then he died.’”

Enoch (verses 21-24) is a startling exception to the “he lived…he died” pattern. He “walked with God,” and “God took him away.” Hebrews 11:5 shows how New Testament Christians read this text. What steps do you take each day to “walk with God?” How could you more intentionally deepen your friendship with God?
Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Our culture tries to ignore our mortality. What is your inner response to a list of names, with every entry except one ending with “he died”? How can coming to grips with the truth that you do not have an unlimited supply of days change the way you live?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
God of creation, I use lots of technology, and count on many safety systems and firewalls—yet all too often I feel lost and incomplete. When I am slow to hear your “still small voice,” I thank you for your persistence, for following me all the days of my life (Psalm 23). Thank you for the ways that Genesis tells me you care about even your erring and rebellious children. Draw me closer to your heart; make me part of the line of Seth. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.8.10 – Seth—renewed hope

vnaas — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:01:41 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 4:25-26
25 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
With Cain and Abel, the story of human families got off to a bleak start. Genesis said Seth was born as a new gift from God (“Seth” is a play on the Hebrew words for “appointed” or “given.”) In Luke 3:38 , we see that the gospel writer traced Jesus’ line of descent all the way back to Adam—through Seth, the third son, the renewed hope.

Picture a group of Hebrews around a fire, listening as a wise elder shared the “where we came from” story. Abel died; Cain proved disloyal. Seth’s birth was the crucial link that let Adam’s family line reach to Noah. When have you feared that you were at a dead end, and sensed that God had opened a new path into the future?
Verse 26 often leads readers to ask: Didn’t Adam and Eve worship God? The change here was in using God’s Hebrew name (Yahweh) in praise and prayer. Have you moved from praising a vague, good “force” to worshipping a divine “person” who loves and cares for you? If so, what helped you see God asYahweh, the personal God of the Bible?

Read Rev. Penny Ellwood’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

7.7.10 – Cain’s violence multiplied

vnaas — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:01:06 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 4:17-24
17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. 24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
The ancient story didn’t stop with Cain’s killing of Abel. Cain’s offspring included Lamech, a poet/killer credited with v. 23-24. “It is a savage song of vengeance, a ‘boasting song.’ Having murdered…a youth for striking him, Lamech boasts to his wives, who presumably are to honor his cruel and barbaric valor.” (La Sor, Hubbard and Bush, Old Testament Survey)

The Genesis story described a downward spiral. Revenge begot more revenge. Cain settled a score with Abel; Lamech bragged about wildly unequal revenge. (Verse 23 could be translated “I will even kill a child if he bruises me.”) Have you ever sought revenge, or had someone seek it against you? What were the end results?
Genesis showed Cain’s world filled with more than just his parents (verses 14, 17). Where did he find a wife? Where did people come from for his “city”? This is one more sign that these tales are archetypal, not literal history. What have you seen in yourself, your family, or on the news that echoes the qualities of Cain and his descendants?

Read Rev. Russell Brown’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

7.6.10 – Cain defied God

vnaas — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:01:33 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 4:9-16
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 But the LORD said to him, “Not so ; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
When God asked “Where is your brother Abel?” readers were meant to realize God already knew. Cain was defiant. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” was like saying “What’s it to you?” Yet even here, the story pointed to God’s grace. Cain did not receive “eye for an eye” justice, but was banished to the archetypal “Land of Nod” (which in Hebrew meant “wandering”).

“Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground,” God told Cain. God cared a lot about murder. But God’s ultimate answer was not more force, but the “sprinkled blood” of Jesus (Hebrews 12:24), bringing pardon and hope. What wrongs done to you “cry out” in your life? How can God’s love move you into a process of healing?
Centuries later Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) How does the sad tale of Cain’s deadly action point to how we can “miss the mark” on those traits? How can you stay open to the Spirit’s work to produce God’s “fruit” in you?

Read Rev. Scott Chrostek’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

7.5.10 – Cain murdered Abel

vnaas — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:01:08 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 4:1-8
1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
Once sin came into the world, the primeval story says, things went downhill rapidly. Eve had two sons, but before long, one of them lay dead, while the other had his brother’s blood on his hands. We sometimes get caught up wondering “why” God preferred Abel’s sacrifice. The author(s) of Genesis did not say. Their focus was on Cain’s rebellion against the Creator.

The Genesis story showed God warning Cain of spiritual danger before he let his anger run wild and killed Abel. In what ways does this part of the story ring true to your life? Have you felt the Holy Spirit tug at your heart, calling you to stay on the right path?
The musical Children of Eden captures Cain’s attitude. When “Father” says “I’m here to keep you safe,” Cain shoots back, “I don’t need you to keep me safe.” Then he sings, “You can keep your bribes and temptation. I’m gonna find my own destination.” In what parts of life is it hardest for you to trust that God has your best interests at heart? What helps you to maintain that trust, even when it’s difficult?

Read Rev. Steven Blair’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

7.4.10 – Cain and Abel

vnaas — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:01:12 +0000

Prayer Tip:
Watchman Nee was a famous Chinese Christian who was severely persecuted under Chinese communism. He had a wonderful perspective on praying in line with God’s will. He believed that God would not do God’s Will until we prayed and asked God to do it – that God would not want to interfere with the free will of humanity unless we invited God into action. What we often do, however, is invite God to do our will without getting to know God’s perspective. This is no different than how we can often be in all relationships – often thinking that we are right before we even hear out others. Part of our prayer lives should be asking God for God’s perspective on whatever we are praying for, and then spending time listening through meditation and scripture. As we gain insight from God about God’s perspective, it is then that we can invite God into action in our lives and the lives of those around us. –Pastor Michael Maroon, Resurrection Prayer Ministries

Join us for worship today–click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at live.cor.org.

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7.3.10 – Paradise lost

vnaas — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:01:47 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis 3:14-24
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove them out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
“The story of the Fall (Gen 3) is built around the archetypes of temptation, crime and punishment, fall from innocence and initiation.” (The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery) This sad ending points to the consequences that follow when we stop trusting God and miss the mark. But as Paul would later write, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). 3:15 promised a hard-won victory over evil in humanity’s future, and in 3:21 God began giving his children what they needed in their no longer innocent nakedness.

The “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” is a picture of God’s commitment to human freedom, of the truth that we can worship and praise our Creator or reject God’s love and wisdom. What risks does freedom create? Could a truly loving relationship with God ever develop unless we had a truly free choice in the matter? What choices are you making, or could you make, to give God a primary place in your life?

Family Activity:
One day this week, enjoy a family walk through a park, botanical garden, or arboretum. View the incredible diversity present in nature including plants and flowers, bugs, landscapes and people. Another day, stroll through a Farmer’s Market. Taste a variety of fruits and vegetables. Notice the range of colors, textures and smells of the produce. Consider a trip to the zoo or farmstead. Enjoy the sounds and shapes of the different animals. One night, when the stars come out, lie under the sky, celebrate and give thanks for our magnificent and creative God who made the entire world and each of you!

Read Clifton Guy’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

7.2.10 – The urge to be God

vnaas — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:01:19 +0000

Daily Scripture: Genesis Genesis 3:1-13

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

The inspired imagery of this story asks each of us the basic moral question: whose wisdom and purposes will guide me? Will I be my own God, doing whatever pleases and intrigues me? Or will I honor and be guided by the God who created me? In the story, Eve and Adam listened to the serpent instead of to God. When “their eyes were opened,” they found a world where innocence was gone, and their shame created fear, guilt and finger-pointing.

A simple act: “she took…and ate.” What a vivid picture of how easily innocence is lost! Derek Kidner’s Commentary on Genesis notes that Jesus faced poverty and death before “take and eat” became words of salvation. In what parts of life do you long for a fresh start? How does God’s grace offer hope of restoring what you’ve lost?
Now the man and woman were scared of God, rather than loving God. They blamed others for their own choices. In what ways do you recognize yourself in this picture? What did it take (or what will it take) to help you face yourself and God honestly?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
Dear God, “in the beginning,” Genesis says, you were there. You are here in all my beginnings, as well. Thank you for being the God of new beginnings and fresh starts. Thank you for seeking me out, for clothing my spiritual nakedness, for walking beside me each step of my journey. Thank you for weaving the threads of my story into yours and of your story into mine – creating a seamless whole. Amen.