Loading more...
Shabbat Shalom!
I have a friend who is a rabbi in the Houston area. When I used to Read More
CHRIS FOLMSBEE | Read Romans 8:26-30
Paul eagerly desires that Christians in the church in Rome understand the role of the Spirit in overcoming weakness. Paul, no stranger to weakness himself, declares that the Spirit works as an advocate for us, praying what we do not know to pray ourselves. Paul helps us realize that often...
God, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit help us see our weaknesses. Strengthen us and use us as examples of what it means to live the way you intended. Amen.
In the Genesis text, Jacob the trickster is tricked. Yet through a combination of patience and perseverance he ultimately wins Rachel, which sets the stage for all that follows in the story of Abraham’s family. Psalm 105 addresses a forgetful community that has lost touch with the God of the Exodus. Remembering becomes a powerful experience when it focuses on both God’s actions and God’s judgments. Romans 8 also serves as a reminder of God’s way, of God’s movements from knowledge to action, from saving grace to promised glory. The scribe of Matthew’s short parable brings out of the store- house both what is new and what is old. There is no true future without a remembrance of the past.
• Read Genesis 29:15-28. When have you experienced a setback due to poor treatment at the hands of someone you trusted? What did you learn?
• Read Psalm 105:1-11, 45b. How do you “seek God’s face”? How do you offer thanks to God?
• Read Romans 8:26-39. Consider Paul’s three questions and formulate a one- or two-sentence answer of your own.
• Read Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. How do the parables about what the kingdom of God is like surprise you? How do they shock you?
Respond by posting a prayer.
