The Fifth Week of September
We Read…
What does it mean to be a church community that encourages and lifts up one another to God? What does being a group that doesn’t do these things look like? We read in James that when we are suffering or sick, we should call on our church to help pray for us, and when we sin, we need to confess this to one another. God wants our communities to be united and to care for one another! But Jesus shows us another picture in Mark. He tells us that it’s better to be gone than to cause someone else to sin; it’s even better to take away your own body if it’s causing you to sin! What we do, how we act, and how we treat others matter a lot to God.
In the book of Esther, Haman tried everything he could to harm God’s people. But Esther and Mordecai followed God and did what was right. They stood up for their community, and Haman was eventually punished for all of his wrongdoings. We are called to care for one another and to uplift each other!
Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22
1 When the king and Haman came in for the banquet with Queen Esther, 2 the king said to her, “This is the second day we’ve met for wine. What is your wish, Queen Esther? I’ll give it to you. And what do you want? I’ll do anything—even give you half the kingdom.”
3 Queen Esther answered, “If I please the king, and if the king wishes, give me my life—that’s my wish—and the lives of my people too. That’s my desire. 4 We have been sold—I and my people—to be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If we simply had been sold as male and female slaves, I would have said nothing. But no enemy can compensate the king for this kind of damage.”
5 King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is this person, and where is he? Who would dare do such a thing?”
6 Esther replied, “A man who hates, an enemy—this wicked Haman!” Haman was overcome with terror in the presence of the king and queen. 7 Furious, the king got up and left the banquet for the palace garden. But Haman stood up to beg Queen Esther for his life. He saw clearly that the king’s mood meant a bad end for him.
8 The king returned from the palace garden to the banquet room just as Haman was kneeling on the couch where Esther was reclining. “Will you even molest the queen while I am in the house?” the king said. The words had barely left the king’s mouth before covering Haman’s face with dread.
9 Harbona, one of the eunuchs serving the king, said, “Sir, look! There’s the stake that Haman made for Mordecai, the man who spoke up and did something good for the king. It’s standing at Haman’s house—seventy-five feet high.”
“Impale him on it!” the king ordered. 10 So they impaled Haman on the very pole that he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger went away.
Esther 9:20-22
20 Mordecai wrote these things down and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces, both near and far, of King Ahasuerus. 21 He made it a rule that Jews keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as special days each and every year. 22 They are the days on which the Jews finally put to rest the troubles with their enemies. The month is the one when everything turned around for them from sadness to joy, and from sad, loud crying to a holiday. They are to make them days of feasts and joyous events, days to send food gifts to each other and money gifts to the poor.
Psalm 124
1 If the Lord hadn’t been for us—
let Israel now repeat!—
2 if the Lord hadn’t been for us,
when those people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed
us up whole
with their rage burning against us!
4 Then the waters would have drowned us;
the torrent
would have come over our necks;
5 then the raging waters
would have come over our necks!
6 Bless the Lord
because he didn’t hand us over
like food for our enemies’ teeth!
7 We escaped like a bird
from the hunters’ trap;
the trap was broken so we escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
James 5:13-20
13 If any of you are suffering, they should pray. If any of you are happy, they should sing. 14 If any of you are sick, they should call for the elders of the church, and the elders should pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Prayer that comes from faith will heal the sick, for the Lord will restore them to health. And if they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 For this reason, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve. 17 Elijah was a person just like us. When he earnestly prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell for three and a half years. 18 He prayed again, God sent rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander from the truth and someone turns back the wanderer, 20 recognize that whoever brings a sinner back from the wrong path will save them from death and will bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
Mark 9:38-50
38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
39 Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him. No one who does powerful acts in my name can quickly turn around and curse me. 40 Whoever isn’t against us is for us. 41 I assure you that whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will certainly be rewarded.
42 “As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and to be thrown into the lake. 43 If your hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter into life crippled than to go away with two hands into the fire of hell, which can’t be put out. 45 If your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter life lame than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out. It’s better for you to enter God’s kingdom with one eye than to be thrown into hell with two. 48 That’s a place where worms don’t die and the fire never goes out. 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? Maintain salt among yourselves and keep peace with each other.”
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
Why does James tell us to pray as a community?
Why does Jesus want us to keep our “saltiness”?
We Feel…
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, maybe a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
How does it feel to hear Jesus say chop off hands and tear out eyes? Why do you think he uses this language here?
We Believe…
We believe that God hears our prayers. Sometimes, we don’t get the answer we want, and sometimes, we go a long time without hearing a direct response, but we know that God hears us. We are invited to pray both by ourselves and in our church communities. There is power in inviting others to pray alongside us! Not only does prayer help us connect with God, but it also shapes us and our own hearts as we engage in it.
We Practice…
Grab a packet or shaker of salt. Take a small amount into your hands and taste it. Even this small amount can make a big difference in how something tastes. Think about how God has called you to enrich the lives of others, to bring out the flavors of the people around you. Pour a small amount into your hands and feel the salt as you reflect on these things.
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