4.30.09

Daily Scripture: Matthew 10:32-39

32 “Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven.

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
” ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

36 your enemies will be the members of your own household.’

37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

God values family life. Yet Jesus also warned about making family ties more central than our loyalty to God. At times, family members may seek to pull us away from God’s purposes. Jesus’ bluntness on the subject may make us squirm. He quotes Micah 7:6, saying that family members can become our “enemies.”

• When have you felt the tension Jesus describes in these verses? What are some ways, besides just denying God, that family pressures and demands can conflict with your ability to let God lead in your life? How have your family ties built up your relationship with God?
• At the end of this passage, Jesus speaks about taking up our cross to follow him. How can dealing with opposition to faith from a father or a child feel as painful as carrying a cross? How are you able to love your family fully, without making idols of them by making them more central in your life than God?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Jeff Clinger at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, the word “father” can trigger such a wide range of feelings! For some, no word says more about safety, warmth and security; for others, sadly, it’s a scary word. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Teach me how to trust your steadfast love more completely. And teach me, in my relationships, how to better mirror that love to others in my life. 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.

4.29.09

Daily Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-12, 20-25

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Fathers are teachers by word and example. We often hear during baptisms at Resurrection that a child will learn what a Christian man looks like by observing the father. These passages show that God wanted (and wants) parents to actively teach their children what God has done for them.

• What specific actions does this passage list to help parents teach God’s unfailing love and saving power to their children? How can you live into the spirit of these verses through specific actions that fit 21st-century America? If you don’t have children, whose life can you help shape through these actions?
• Verses 10-14 remind us that we are often most prone to forget about God when things are going well in our lives. To what extent has the economic downturn changed life for you and your family? In what ways is your trust in God’s faithfulness being challenged by these difficult times? In what ways is it growing?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Russell Brown at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, the word “father” can trigger such a wide range of feelings! For some, no word says more about safety, warmth and security; for others, sadly, it’s a scary word. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Teach me how to trust your steadfast love more completely. And teach me, in my relationships, how to better mirror that love to others in my life. 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.

4.28.09

Daily Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12, Luke 11:9-13

Matthew 7
⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Luke 11
⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Because of the crucial role parents play in most lives, we tend to imagine that God as father means God is like earthly fathers we’ve known. As adults, we do better to form our image of what it means to be a father from seeing how God relates to us. Jesus stressed that God is far more generous to us than even the best earthly fathers are.

• When we read Jesus’ words, we quickly realize that we sometimes define “good” differently than God does. Have you ever seen a child who strongly wants something (e.g. a fourth ice cream cone) that the child’s father knows would not be good for the child? How does this shape your understanding of Jesus’ promise?
• Luke gives a more specific version of Jesus’ promise. God, he says, will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. How important is the Holy Spirit’s presence in helping fathers (as well as extended-family “fathers”) be all they can be in children’s lives? How do you open your life to the Spirit’s presence?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Penny Ellwood at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, the word “father” can trigger such a wide range of feelings! For some, no word says more about safety, warmth and security; for others, sadly, it’s a scary word. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Teach me how to trust your steadfast love more completely. And teach me, in myrelationships, how to better mirror that love to others in my life. 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.

4.27.09

Daily Scripture: Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

The Bible often applies the term “Father” to God—but in a different way than we might sometimes expect. Paul says the Holy Spirit teaches us to address God as abba. Abba was the Aramaic word that little children used to address their fathers. It’s a close equivalent to English words like “daddy” or “papa.”

• Paul, trained as a rabbi, drew heavily on the Old Testament. Psalm 68 describes God as a father to the fatherless. Did you have a warm, close bond with your father, or was your experience of a human father more distant, even hurtful? How does the invitation to relate to God as abba speak to your heart?
• Paul contrasts a fearful spirit of slavery with the privilege we have of being adopted as God’s own children. What role has fear played in your spiritual life? Have you sought to please God by “trying harder”? Pray to your heavenly abba, and ask for the fearless, trusting life of the Spirit this passage describes.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Andrew Conard at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, the word “father” can trigger such a wide range of feelings! For some, no word says more about safety, warmth and security; for others, sadly, it’s a scary word. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Teach me how to trust your steadfast love more completely. And teach me, in my relationships, how to better mirror that love to others in my life. 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.

4.26.09

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, the word “father” can trigger such a wide range of feelings! For some, no word says more about safety, warmth and security; for others, sadly, it’s a scary word. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Teach me how to trust your steadfast love more completely. And teach me, in my relationships, how to better mirror that love to others in my life. Amen.

Prayer Tip:

As we begin a new sermon series, maybe it’s time to try some new ways of praying during your daily prayer time.  If you don’t look forward with anticipation to your daily time with God, now might be the time to make some changes!  For example, if you haven’t had the holy habit of starting your day with the Wesley Covenant Prayer, now might be the time to try that.  (You can access the prayer here.)  If you haven’t incorporated the Lord’s Prayer into your daily prayers, this might be a good time to try that.  You could end your day saying the Lord’s Prayer, or perhaps pray it regularly before you fasten your seatbelt in the car.  If you are used to praying while sitting, try kneeling or even standing for your prayer time.  All three prayer postures are mentioned in scripture.  Is this the time to start journaling your prayers each day?
With new life all around us as spring blossoms, this is a great time to start fresh in your prayer life!  You’ll be glad you did!
–Rev. Laurie Barnes, 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.

4.25.09

Personal Application:

Forgiveness is not easy or glib. Jesus forgave and restored Peter, but it took an intentional process to renew trust and restore the relationship. Peter had to respond to Jesus’ opening for the new level of trust to work. Is there someone you need to forgive? How can you take the first steps to rebuild trust? What responses do you need to move ahead? Keep the process always in prayer—God is the forgiveness expert.

Family Activity:

You will need a backpack, six or seven large rocks, and a marker. Before the activity, write the name of a sin on each rock (e.g. greed, pride, envy, hatred, selfishness, cheating, lying, or gossiping). Place the labeled rocks in the backpack and close it. Gather your family, and ask each person in turn to carry the backpack on his or her back. Discuss how it feels to carry that weight. Next, unpack each rock and talk about each sin. Acknowledge that each of us sins and needs God’s forgiveness. Pray to God, confessing your sins and thanking God for Jesus who gave His life that we might have God’s forgiveness. Finally, have each person carry the empty backpack and describe how it feels now.

Prayer:

Lord, this week as we read about Peter and Thomas, we’re reminded of your grace and forgiveness. I praise you today, and each day, for your amazing grace, not just to them but to a doubter and a denier like me. Keep changing me into a 21st-century disciple, charged with the responsibility to tell my story in the context of your story of grace and forgiveness. Amen.

4.24.09

Daily Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-11

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your fellow believers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Redeemed and called himself, Peter wrote a stirring call for all of God’s people. He had learned the hard way how vital it is to bring all our anxieties to God in trusting prayer. He had seen the risen Lord. He knew now that all earthly struggles are only “for a little while,” and that God’s restoration is an eternal reality.

• What steps did Peter go through to learn to cast all his anxiety on God? What does it mean for you to cast all your anxiety on God? In what ways have you learned to trust that God cares for you? In what parts of life, if any, is it still hard for you to trust that?
• Reflect on the reasons, in his own life, that Peter could say with such confidence that God will restore you, and make you steadfast, strong and firm. Are there failures from which you want God to restore you? Are there areas in which you wish to be stronger or more steadfast? Take those concerns to God in prayer.

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Dagney Pullin at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for the stories of men like Peter and Thomas. I struggle, I question and, like Peter, I fail you. Thank you for not giving up on them—and thank you for not giving up on me, either. Help me to keep growing in my love for you and my boldness in living out my faith each day. 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.

4.23.09

Daily Scripture: Acts 4:1-31

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is
” ‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.”

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵ So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹ After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
” ‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.’

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Peter kept on preaching—and performing signs in Jesus’ name, too. Now the very same people who condemned Jesus brought Peter and John in, threatened them, ordered them to stop preaching. But Peter was a wholly different man. Jesus’ resurrection and grace replaced Peter’s fear with an earth-shaking boldness.

• The religious leaders wouldn’t have meant verse 13 as a compliment. But it still inspires and challenges us. What was it about Peter and John’s actions and attitude that reminded Annas and Caiaphas of Jesus? In what ways can you be “with Jesus,” so that you can experience the power Peter and John drew on?
• Read again the prayer in verses 24-30. What did it mean to the disciples, under these circumstances, that God is the Creator and sustainer of life (verse 24)? What things did Jesus’ followers ask for? What do you learn from this prayer that can deepen your conversation with God and your reliance on divine power?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Jeff Clinger at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for the stories of men like Peter and Thomas. I struggle, I question and, like Peter, I fail you. Thank you for not giving up on them—and thank you for not giving up on me, either. Help me to keep growing in my love for you and my boldness in living out my faith each day. 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.

4.22.09

Daily Scripture: Acts 2:14-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

” ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

“People of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
” ‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.

You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

“Brothers and sisters, we all know that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
” ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” ‘

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

For the rest of this week, we’ll see just how much Jesus’ grace changed Peter. When Peter preached this sermon at Pentecost it was 40 days after Passover, when he had denied knowing Jesus. Just 40 days later, the same man, in the same city, boldly declared his faith. His spirited witness led 3000 to accept Jesus in one day!

• What changed Peter from a cowering denier to a courageous proclaimer of Jesus? How do verses 32 and 36 reveal the source of Peter’s boldness? How does knowing that God has raised Jesus from the dead change your approach to your day-to-day life? What considerations rise or fall in importance based on that fact?
• “What shall we do?” The question is not limited to people 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. In fact, Peter said the promise was for them and their children “and all who are far off”—which probably includes all of us. How do Peter’s words in verse 38 speak to you at whatever stage of your spiritual journey you find yourself?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Nicole Conard at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for the stories of men like Peter and Thomas. I struggle, I question and, like Peter, I fail you. Thank you for not giving up on them—and thank you for not giving up on me, either. Help me to keep growing in my love for you and my boldness in living out my faith each day. 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.

4.21.09

Daily Scripture: John 21:4-19

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.  ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

¹¹ Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Peter denied Jesus three times. Now Jesus gave Peter the chance to affirm his love three times, perhaps as a way to move beyond that sad time forever. It’s hard for English translations to show this, but Peter used a less sweeping word for love than Jesus did. But Jesus accepted Peter’s love, and focused on the future rather than the past.

• Nothing in John’s gospel is aimless or trifling. The disciples went fishing at night. Near dawn Jesus (“the light of the world”—John 8:12, 1:4-9) came and did for them what they could not do for themselves. In what ways has Jesus been like light in darkness for you? How can you “see” more clearly spiritually now?
• Peter said he loved Jesus. Of course, he had done that, loudly, just hours before denying Jesus (John 13:37, 38). Jesus’ reply was an assignment: “Feed my sheep.” What does it tell you about Jesus that he trusted Peter with this vital work even after Peter’s denial? How had “hitting bottom” equipped Peter to be a better “shepherd”?

Read insights and reflections from today’s passage by Pastor Molly Simpson at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for the stories of men like Peter and Thomas. I struggle, I question and, like Peter, I fail you. Thank you for not giving up on them—and thank you for not giving up on me, either. Help me to keep growing in my love for you and my boldness in living out my faith each day. 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.