11.22.09

Weekly Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this Thanksgiving week I remember that you left your heavenly family to be born into the human family—to become the one of a kind “God-human.” You lived and died revealing the loving character of God. Teach me how to love you and others enough to offer my time, my talents, my treasures, and myself for God’s glory. Amen.

Prayer Tip:
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As you gather with family and friends, I hope that you take some time together to collectively offer up your thanksgivings to God. Below is a prayer of thanksgiving that you may choose to reflect on and pray in your personal life, or perhaps this might be a wonderful prayer to print off and pray around the Thanksgiving dinner table as you all reflect on the blessings God has placed in your life over this past year.

O Lord our God, the author and giver of all good things, we thank you for all your mercies, and for your loving care over all your creatures. We bless you for the gift of life, for your protection around us, for your guiding hand upon us, and for the tokens of your love within us. We thank you for friendship and duty, for good hopes and precious memories, for the joys that cheer us, and the trials that teach us to trust in you. Most of all we thank you for the saving knowledge of your Son our Savior and all the means of grace that you offer us. In all these things, O heavenly God, make us wise for a right use of your benefits, that we may render an acceptable thanksgiving unto you all the days of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Taken and modified from The Book of Common Order, Scotland, 20th Century., Alt.)

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.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

11.21.09 – A sustainable life beyond addiction

Personal Application:
“We who are haunted by an addiction to things,…to money have that tiger of addiction on our laps every time we watch television. When we pay our bills. When we go to a restaurant. When we sign a mortgage. When we figure how much to tip….When we think about our retirement plan. When the church asks for a commitment.” (Loren Mead) Addictions are unsustainable. Begin planning, with God’s help, a sustainable life beyond any addiction you may have to money, or what it can buy.

Family Activity:
In Luke 12:15, Jesus says our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions. Begin your family time by asking God to open your eyes and hearts as you share in this activity. Take a family tour of your home. As you walk through each room, examine its size and contents. Talk about what you could share with someone in need. Choose one or two items from each room to give away as a blessing. Consider placing several items in boxes to give to missions. If you have more space than you use or need, discuss how that space can be used to bless others. If you are someone in need right now, can you open yourself to being on the receiving end of a blessing?

Prayer:
God, you may be calling me towards change but change is not easy for me and my family. Even though we have gotten used to our comforts and they are hard to let go of, help me realize that these so-called comforts are what contribute to my financial stress and dis-ease. Give me the strength to sacrifice and simplify so I can better focus on being your disciple instead of the unimportant stuff that I sometimes fill my life with.

11.20.09 – Fear not

Daily Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
When we’re locked into this world’s values, times of financial uncertainty can leave us feeling deprived and scared. Jesus tells us, “Don’t worry.” (For an enriching Bible study project, see how many places you can find where Scripture tells God’s people, “Don’t be afraid.” Luke 12:32 and John 14:37 are good starting points.)

• Jesus takes two different approaches to worry in this passage. His main point is that worry puts our attention on the wrong things (verse 33). What does your life look like when you focus on God’s kingdom and righteousness? How does worry make it harder for you to sustain that kind of life?
• Jesus also makes the practical point that worry usually doesn’t do any good (verse 27). Can you think of things you spent a lot of time and energy worrying about that never happened? How does worry differ from wise foresight and precautions? What are some more fruitful, sustainable approaches to life’s challenges than worry?

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

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” 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.

11.19.09 – Don’t forget God

Daily Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:10-18
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
Deuteronomy reminded ancient Israel that all they had came from God. They would be most prone to forget this when they were settled and prosperous. Our thinking about money and goods gets out of balance if we lose a clear sense of the source of our life and all that goes with it. We’re tempted to say, “I earned it; I made it happen; it’s mine.”

• These verses looked to a time when Israel would feel affluent and satisfied with the results of their work. Do the values taught in this passage also speak to us at times of economic losses? At times of uncertainty about what the future may hold? What wisdom can this passage give you for your current circumstances?
• Thanksgiving Day is one week from today. Here’s a way to get an early start on your Thanksgiving celebration. List all of the things in your life for which you can thank and praise God. Focus particularly on blessings that are untouched and untouchable by recent or future economic events.

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

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” 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.

11.18.09 – God’s plans above ours

Daily Scripture: James 4:13 – 5:9
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don’t do it, you sin.

Chapter 5
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
We could misread this passage, but it has a crucial message about sustainable lifestyles. James does not condemn wealth per se, but rather wealth gained or used selfishly, in ways that damage the well-being of others. Don’t arrogantly assume that you control your own life, he says. In wealth or poverty, live in a spirit of patient
trust in God.

• James 5:1-6 spoke frankly to the deceit and abuse of power common in the Roman Empire of his day. In what ways do his words also speak to the ethical and social issues the great recession has exposed in our Western world of 2009? Is there any sense in which these verses personally challenge you?
• What kind of planning and thinking ahead is James talking about in 4:13-16? How does trusting God’s eternal wisdom and love create a more sustainable life than demanding that your own plans must always come to pass? How can trusting God’s eternal love help you face the future with peace, whatever it may bring?

Read Rev. Nicole Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” 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.

11.17.09 – God has the last word

Daily Scripture: Luke 12:16-21
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
In this parable, Jesus posed the question of how far the horizons of your life extend. For the rich man reaping a large crop, the sad answer was, “Not nearly far enough.” He was caught in the alluring idea that this life was all there was, and that it (and the fiscal wealth he enjoyed in it) would last forever. Jesus reminded us that it never works that way.

• How do you define “success”? In what way(s) does this passage confirm your measures of what constitutes “winning” in life? Does it challenge you to rethink your goals or your measurements in any way?
• Imagine that the well-to-do farmer in this parable had come to you, and said, “My life seems kind of hollow and empty, in spite of all of the wealth I’ve accumulated. Why am I not more fulfilled? What do you think I should do?” How might this farmer have become “rich toward God”? Are you seeking that kind of eternal wealth?

Read Rev. Molly Simpson’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” 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.

11.16.09 – A sustaining miracle

Daily Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’ ” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
In today’s story, we meet a widow who, by human standards, was at the brink of complete disaster, with a wholly unsustainable life. She took a leap of faith to honor God and bless one of God’s servants. Her humble gift honored God, and God miraculously multiplied what she gave in ways that sustained life for Elijah, her son and herself.

• This widow’s “leap of faith” moved her from being resigned to dying of starvation (verse 12) to renewed life and service. Have you ever been scared to follow God’s call, but as you look back, you say “I’m so glad I did”? If so, share that story with someone else today.
• In what ways, if any, are you “stretching” or taking a risk to follow God? If so, what kinds of spiritual growth are you finding as a result of the choice(s) you’ve made? If not, what small steps can you take to begin moving beyond “playing it safe” in serving God? Talk honestly with God in prayer about the concerns that are holding you back.

Read Rev. Andrew Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” 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.

11.15.09 – Is Your Lifestyle Sustainable?

Weekly Prayer:
O God, I’m thankful for the restful rhythm of a life filled with your grace. Teach me how to cling to that when the news or my 401K statement pushes me toward an obsessive, fear-filled lifestyle I can’t sustain. Please guide me as I sort out my “needs” from my “wants.” Amen.

Prayer Tip:
In The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis prayerfully writes to God, “…I offer to You also all the good I have, small and imperfect though it be, that You may make it more pure and more holy, that You may be pleased with it, render it acceptable to Yourself, and perfect it more and more…” What we offer to God in prayer is usually our confessions and shortcomings or the ailments of ourselves or our friends and loved ones. Seldom do we go before the Lord and offer the best of ourselves through prayer. Thomas à Kempis humbly offers not only the worst of himself to God for God to transform, but he also offers the very best of himself over to God through prayer hoping that God will continue to sharpen his gifts and talents for the sake of using them for God’s kingdom. What are your gifts and talents? It is OK to name them before God – God was the very one that placed them within you hoping that you would use them in your discipleship. Throughout your daily prayers, I invite you to offer up the goodness that is within you and ask God to sharpen and perfect it for the sake of God’s kingdom and glory. As you pray for this, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear from you that your gifts and talents are being used more often as you seek to more fully love God and your neighbors as you love yourself.
–Michael Maroon, Pastor of 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.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

11.14.09 – Finding freedom after the fire

Personal Application:
“The god of money seeks to dominate and destroy our lives. Many of us live in bondage to money, even as we think we are enjoying the good life….as we understand God’s truth about money and possessions, we are set free from this devastating force.” (Bobby Eland and Terry Austin) Has the “bad news” of the past two years given you more freedom? Ask God for greater liberty from finding your worth in material things.

Family Activity:
Create a family gratitude journal. Fill a binder with colored paper. At your family meal, invite each person to name one event, person or thing he or she is thankful for that day. Encourage each person to name something different from the others. After each person shares, everyone can respond by saying, “Thank you, God” or another meaningful phrase your family chooses. Record the date and each response in your journal. Repeat this each time your family eats together during November. If you wish, set it out so guests or family members can add to it throughout the month. At the end of the month, review the many blessings God has given you. Give praise and thanks to God!

Prayer:
Dear God, because of who you are, I am always perfectly safe in your universe. I can’t completely grasp this amazing truth, and you know I don’t always live into it. But I ask you to continue to shape my life, to show me how to trust you and how to find the contentment, joy and generosity for which you made me. Amen.

11.13.09 – The greatest gain

Daily Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:
The news (particularly the financial news) is filled with words like “worry,” “uncertainty,” “fear” and “trouble.” This passage was written by a traveling preacher and tent-maker (Acts 18:1-4) who had little money and no retirement plan (in a human sense, at least)—yet he talks (again) about “contentment”!

• Does the principle Paul states in verse 7 strike you, at first glance, more as being good news or bad news? What underlying attitudes and values feed into your response? How can that principle become a source of greater contentment and peace in your life?
• Have you at times in your life felt trapped in “the rat race”? Do you now? What is godly contentment worth to you (or, if you don’t have it, what would it be worth to you)? Open your heart to God in prayer, and ask for divine help in incorporating contentment and true joy into all of your life.

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

Weekly Prayer:
Dear God, my television, my newspaper and most of the stuff in my mailbox and inbox tug me toward measuring my value solely in terms of material things. When they do, I’m thankful that the Bible speaks very differently, and points me to your very different values. Teach me how to better listen to, and follow, your still, small voice. 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.