Daily Devotion for August 26

SCRIPTURE: I Corinthians 9:19 - 23

19a Though I am FREE and belong to no man,

FREE

Paul was a roman citizen.

19b I make myself a SLAVE to everyone,

Yet, he is willing to leave being free and become a servant (doulos)

Why?

19c TO WIN AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.

NOTE: Paul knows his purpose: “to win as many as possible.”

NOTE: How in the next verses he reveals his strategy.

20a To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.

20b To those under the LAW I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law),

LAW

The end/goal of the law is Jesus.

Paul conformed to being a person under the law.

QUESTION: Does the ends justify the means?

Have you ever practiced the ends justify the means?

QUESTION TO PONDER

When do you find it necessary to practice the ends justify the means?

Daily Devotion for August 25

LAST WEEK -

the question during the Passing of the Peace was: Is perception, reality?

This was complicated by the puppet message: Duck! Rabbit!

To further confuse the issue, the episode from Voyager, where Captain Janeway responded to the “non-real” Leonardo DavVinci as if he were real.

THIS WEEK -

We continue with the question of perception from the Non-Christian perspective.

Let us inquire to their perception of those who attend church?

How do non-Christians, in our country, perceive Christians? What do they see when they look at us? Do they see us as holy? Do they see us following in the steps of Jesus? Do they see us as practicing what we preach? Do they see us as judgmental?

These unfair questions are brought to us from this Sunday’s episode from The Next Generation, the Dauphin. In that episode there is a “person” who’s name is Salia. She is a 16 year old young ruler from Daled Four whose secret power could destroy the Enterprise. she has the power to change into other life forms.

Have you ever known someone who could “change into other life forms”? Probably not, but do you know anyone who could change and act like another life form? or somebody else? Or do you know anyone who acts like the other life form and keeps the real person, hidden?

SCRIPTURE TO PONDER (I Corinthians 9:20)

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.

Daily Devotion for August 20

NEED POP CULTURE THINK TANK.

Anyone who would like to help with pop/present culture, please e-mail me at Stan@Northridgeumc.org. I am lost with pop/present culture and need to know. some of the examples would be: What is popular? TV Shows? Movies? Words? expressions?

This Sunday the scripture is I Corinthians 13:12

Intro I Cor 13

Chapter 13 is the love chapter. Love is the “more excellent way.” (12:31) “The greatest of these is love” (13:13).

fill in the blank

love may make the world go round; but....

But in the church...

love is the greatest and second greatest commandment

the church is called by God to be love driven (“they will know christians by their love”).

so, the theme of chapter 13 is love.

Intro to vs 12

But verse 12 (second the last verse) refers to our perception, and how it is flawed or lacking.

Paul is offering a glimpse into the future.

In the future we will be complete. Our knowledge will be complete. Our knowledge will lack nothing. We will all be know-it -alls (just kidding).

Implication: we DON’T KNOW all the answers now. We know some, but not all. We should not act like we do know all. If we act like we know it all and don’t, where is the integrity in that? the reality is that some of the things we think we know, we don’t (bummer). When we don’t know it and we know it; it is more authentic to be honest and say, “i don’t know.” But there will be a time we will know completely (but, I am not trying to hurry it up either).

QUESTION: How do we know when we do know and how do we know when we don’t but we think we do?

Socrates was declared the wisest person in the world be the Delphi Oracle, because he knew he didn’t know. Whereas those who thought they knew (the wise ones), didn’t. But they didn’t know they didn’t know.

THOUGHT TO PONDER

Right now, we only know dimly. Do you know it?

Daily Devotion for August 19

This Sunday, continue the sermon series on Star Trek. The focus is on Voyager (the 4th series in the Star Trek series of 5). The Episode: "Concerning Flight" (Season 4).

Voyager comes under attack and their equipment of value is beamed off the ship. Voyager locates the stolen equipment on a world that is very active in commerce. One of the items stolen from Voyager is the computer and it's programs, including the holodeck's programs (for entertainment purpose). One of the programs is CPT Janeway's holodeck program of Leonardo DaVinci. Along with the computer is the Doc's mobile emitter, which now has Leonardo DaVinci. Thus, CPT Janeway sees her Leonardo on this planet living out his dreams of inventing.

Leonardo informs CPT Janeway that he has a "patron", The Prince. The Prince is the one who has stolen their equipment, as well as equipment from other ships; and then sells it to others. Thus the Prince is now selling the ship's computer.

Along the way, there is a moment in the episode (near the end) that Leonardo is shot by a phaser and is not phased. His perception leads him to the conclusion that he may not exist at all. CPT Janeway makes a comment about a bird not being understand so much. He agrees that even if he was a bird, no matter how much effort Aristotle attempted to convey truth, he would still be a bird lacking understanding.

QUESTION: Do we have a moral obligation to convey "truth" to those who do not know the light?

Daily Devotion for August 12

This Sunday, Deep Space Nine, "Accession"

Synopsis:

A ship comes through the worm hole near Deep Space Nine. On the ship is a well respected poet named Akorem, who lived 300 years ago. Apparently for the last 300 years, suspended in time (or time-warp), he spent with the prophets of the Bajorans.

At first Sisko is very happy to relinquish his role as emisory ("religious leader) to Akorem. But he is troubled by Akorem's attempt to put "old wine into new wineskins." The return to the ways of the past (seems like a step backward). There is tension between principles of the day and the principles of the religious life of the past.

QUESTION: If religion is contradiction to principles, which wins out?

SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 22:2

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the regioni of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."

QUESTION: Which one wins out? Principles or religion?

THOUGHT TO PONDER

Abraham's faith is legendary

PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS

Blair: in a comma after a second stroke

Daily Devotion for August 10

THIS SUNDAY: Deep Space Nine, Accession (episode #89)

INTRO TO SCRIPTURE

Perhaps one of the most disturbing passages in the Old Testament is the "Test of Abraham" found in Genesis 22. For Jew, Christian and Muslim; this passage is important to their spiritual history. For us individually, we may approach it with mix feelings.

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 22: 1 - 10 (Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham)

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

QUESTIONS

1. Do you follow God (religion) with al your heart, or do yo follow your principles when there is a conflict (i.e. "Sacrifice your only son")?
2. What do you do when your religion and your principles collide?
3. Do most moral codes depend entirely on the divine will, or do they somehow exist independly of it?
4. Do you follow your faith/religion with all your heart, soul or mind; or do you follow your principles?
5. Is it righteous/pious because God declared it so, or did God declare it so because it is righteous/pious? (chicken or the egg?)

SCRIPTURE TO PONDER

"Choose this day whom you shall serve." Joshua 24:15

PLEASE PRAY FOR: BLAIR

a coworker of Darlene
Second stroke.
Medically induced coma and on assisted breathing.
Young father with two children.

DON'T FORGET:

BIBLE DIALOGUE: Star Trek (Tuesday @ 6 p.m. in Kendal Building)

BREAKFAST FELLOWSHIP: Saturday 8 am