The Third Week in June
We Read…
According to a quick Google search, sight is usually listed as the most important sense. We perceive so much through our eyes! We protect ourselves, watching out for what might get in our way. We evaluate the world around us, looking for cues to see if something is strange or familiar. We experience beauty and color and so much more. So isn’t it interesting that a common theme for today is not using our eyes? God explicitly tells Samuel not to look at the appearance of the person he’s selecting. 2 Corinthians tells us that we walk by faith and not by sight. Even Jesus’s comparison of the Kingdom of God to the mustard seed involves putting the seed not in front of everyone to see but out of sight.
How often do we try to figure everything out on our own? How often do we look to the world around us to give us answers about what’s in and what’s out, what’s acceptable and what’s not? God isn’t telling us to ignore what we see or to walk around with blindfolds on, but we’re challenged to consider something deeper than what’s right in front of us. David was chosen to be king because of his heart. Are we willing to look at someone’s heart instead of what the world tells us matters more? We walk by faith, not by sight. Are we willing to take the chance to let God lead us, even when we can’t see what comes next? The mustard seed grew into something great, even though it took time and patience. Are we able to wait for God to work in our lives?
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. 35 Samuel never saw Saul again before he died, but he grieved over Saul. However, the LORD regretted making Saul king over Israel.
16 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.”
2 “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.”
4 Samuel did what the LORD instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked.
5 “Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well.
6 When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, that must be the LORD’s anointed right in front.
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.”
8 Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.” 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t picked any of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?”
“There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.”
“Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.”
12 So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The LORD said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward.
Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.
Psalm 20
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
1 I pray that the LORD answers you
whenever you are in trouble.
Let the name of Jacob’s God protect you.
2 Let God send help to you
from the sanctuary
and support you from Zion.
3 Let God recall your many grain offerings;
let him savor your
entirely burned offerings.
Selah
4 Let God grant what is in your heart
and fulfill all your plans.
5 Then we will rejoice
that you’ve been helped.
We will fly our flags
in the name of our God.
Let the LORD fulfill all your requests!
6 Now I know that the LORD saves
his anointed one;
God answers his anointed one
from his heavenly sanctuary,
answering with mighty acts of salvation
achieved by his strong hand.
7 Some people trust in chariots,
others in horses;
but we praise the LORD’s name.
8 They will collapse and fall,
but we will stand up straight and strong.
9 LORD, save the king!
Let him answer us when we cry out!
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
6 So we are always confident, because we know that while we are living in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord. 7 We live by faith and not by sight. 8 We are confident, and we would prefer to leave the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 So our goal is to be acceptable to him, whether we are at home or away from home. 10 We all must appear before Christ in court so that each person can be paid back for the things that were done while in the body, whether they were good or bad.
14 The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: one died for the sake of all; therefore, all died. 15 He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.
16 So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
18 All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.
Mark 4:26-34
Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, 27 then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. 28 The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. 29 Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvest time.”
30 He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? 31 Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; 32 but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he continued to give them the word, as much as they were able to hear. 34 He spoke to them only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.
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 in the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
Why did Jesus tell parables (stories) to teach lessons?
What does it mean to be a new creation?
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 the story of David make you feel? How would it have made his older brothers feel in that moment?
We Believe…
In 2 Corinthians 5:15, we read: “He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.” Jesus came and lived among us, died, and rose from the grave, and he did all of this not just so that we could have a fun place to go on Sunday mornings or a cool group to be a part of. Knowing Jesus should totally transform our lives and cause us to live a new life for and with God. Saying yes to this relationship is more than checking a box or getting a ticket and putting it away for later. Jesus wants us to be all in right now. We no longer live in selfish ways but instead live as reflections of Jesus in the world!
We Practice…
Have you ever planted a seed before? It is amazing to watch something so small grow into something greater! If you’re feeling up for it, try planting a seed this week. Think about how this connects to our faith. When you feel like you don’t have enough to offer, remember that God only asks for a mustard seed. When you feel like life is going to slow, remember that plants take weeks and sometimes years to be their fullest. When you wonder what God’s Kingdom is like, remember Jesus’s comparison to the mustard seed.
You could go to the store and get flower seeds, or you could grab an apple and save some of the seeds from inside of the core. Here is a simple explanation of how to do this project: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-grow-apple-trees-from-seed/.
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