30 New Days - Day 26

The 2t6th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 26
30-day reading plan: Hebrews

Daily Verse: Hebrews 12: 1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

There is little scholars can agree on about the letter to the Hebrews. According to Roy Sanoviii, the location of the Hebrew community, the date of the letter, and the author are all uncertain. We do, however, know a little about the faith of the Hebrew Christians.

The Hebrews were Jewish converts to Christianity who held on to their Jewish roots believing that the Church was giving too much freedom to the Gentile Christians by not requiring them to maintain Jewish customs and follow the Mosaic Law. The Hebrew Christians also longed for the freedom of Palestine and a return to the Promised Land under the rule of a Jewish king.

Christians today who see the decline in the Church's influence and membership and giving can relate to the Hebrews longing for a new age in which Church participation and Christian prominence will rise again. We think that the Church has endured for 2,000 years and with that history must survive.

At the 2015 Festival of Homiletics, Will Willimon said that there has always been someone to proclaim the Gospel and there will always be someone to proclaim the Gospel. There will always be believers and new believers who will continue to be a part of the church. There will be people to carry on traditions yet transform the church to be what is needed in that day. Brothers and sisters, have hope for the church.

Question for reflection:
St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel always. When necessary use words.” How do you preach the Gospel?

30 New Days - Day 25

The 25th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 25
30-day reading plan: 1 Timothy – Philemon
Daily Verse: 1 Timothy 3: 4
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.

These are 3 pastoral letters sent to Timothy and Philemon. The author of 1 & 2 Timothy reminds Timothy of his authority and warns him to defend the Church against false teachers and deceiving knowledge as the works of the devil. Timothy may be young but he is a good servant who is faithful to the teachings of the apostles.

The author uses the metaphor of a household to convey his understanding of how the Church should relate to one another. The leaders of the Church should be judged on their worthiness for leadership based on how they manage their own household, because, if someone cannot manage their own household, they will not be able to manage God's household.

In the New Testament, there are a few leadership roles in the Church: Elders, Bishops, and Deacons. The requirements are similar for each of the roles: be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, hospitable, not a drunkard, gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy, children are believers, and not accused of debauchery. Churches today have their own standard of qualifications for those who would serve in the role of Elder or Deacon, such as: active in worship and service, knowledge of Scripture, good role model and the ability to humbly and reverently serve Christ's church.

In the Disciples' tradition, the Elders and Deacons provide spiritual leadership and serve the Lord's Supper. Elders and Deacons are expected to serve in leaderships roles such as serving on the Board and participating in mission. Fulfilling the calling of Elder or Deacon is not easy, nor should it be, but it is a calling which God equips leaders to serve.

Question for reflection:
Is the way in which you manage your household worthy of respect?

30 New Days - Day 24

The 24th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 24
30-day reading plan: Philippians-2 Thess.

Daily Verse: 1 Thessalonians 3: 7
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.

The first letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest Christian literature written about 50 AD. It was written some 20 years after Christ died and 20 years before the first Gospel was edited into its final form. Though this letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest letter, Paul didn’t found this church until his second missionary journey.
vi
The church was enduring fierce persecution and Paul was a great encourager. He refers to himself as their mother or father and repeatedly calls them brothers and sisters. He has a very close bond with this church. He calls them his glory and joy. He felt that if they had fallen away from the faith that his work would have been in vain.

It seems that Paul’s identity is closely tied to the success or failure of this church. Maybe he got too close. Which begs the question, “why was he closer to this church than the others he founded?” He didn’t spend any more time there than he had at other churches. For some reason, he’s tied up with this one.

We too can get too caught up with something, like a ministry or job. It becomes our identity and its success or failure becomes our success or failure. We should remember that we are more than what we do for a living and more than any one role.

Our identity comes from being a child of God. No amount of success or failure can blemish that character. When we try to define ourselves by anything outside of ourselves, we can easily find ourselves questioning our worth or work if things don’t go as we had hoped. Be encouraged by your brothers and sisters in faith to remember that above all you are a child of God.

Question for reflection:
By what do you define your worth and character?

30 New Days - Day 23

The 23rd day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 23
30-day reading plan: Galatians - Ephesians
Daily Verse: Ephesians 3: 16 - 21

I pray that out of [the Father’s] glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

When Paul wrote to a church, he often included words about how he was praying for them. He was often thankful for the faithful and prayed for their continued witness to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. With such beautiful words of prayer to the church in Ephesus, it was hard to choose just one verse for today’s devotion.

Paul prayed for their continued unity and that they may see the full revelation of Christ’s love. The letter to the Ephesians church is full of poetic words about the glorious, incomprehensible, incomparable grace of God through Christ Jesus. The language is most certainly appropriate for the worship setting it would have been read in.

Paul was most concerned with unity in all of the churches he wrote to or visited. He wanted all of the believers to remember that they are one in one locale and across the world united by our love of Christ and His love for us. To that end, the Spirit gives us spiritual gifts so that we may build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity, peace, maturity and the full knowledge of God.

Question for reflection:
When praying for your church, what do you pray for?

30 New Days - Day 22

the 22nd day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 22
30-day reading plan: 2 Corinthians

Daily Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:2
For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

When you see someone standing on the street corner with a sandwich board and a bull horn, you already know what he is saying before you even hear him. You’ve heard the message enough to know that he is yelling at the crowd of passers-by to repent of their sin or they will burn in Hell. Non-believers are rarely concerned about burning in Hell for eternity. Many non-believers think they are good people and will therefore be going to Heaven.

Before I became a believer, I prayed to God and believed in Heaven. I wasn’t concerned with Hell, because I knew a personal Hell of mental health illness. For me, salvation has not been about a ticket aboard the Heaven bound train. My salvation has been in this life as I have experienced healing through the love of God and mercy of Christ. Since coming to believe in the Lord, I have been properly diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. I have been released from the personal Hell of trying to cope with mental health illness without help. I still deal with mental health illness every day, but the yoke is lighter with appropriate treatments and counseling, coping skills, prayer, and self-awareness.

Non-believers are looking for this type of salvation, a release from their personal Hell and reconciliation to God through salvation that leads to wholeness and healing of our brokenness. I have personally experienced so much salvation in this life that I can’t imagine how Heaven will bring greater healing. That’s the salvation the world is looking for and can find in Christ. People don’t need the fear of Hell; they need the promise of healing.

Question for reflection:
How have you experienced salvation and reconciliation in this life?

30 New Days - Day 21

The 21st day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 21
30-day reading plan: 1 Corinthians 10 – 16

Daily Verse: 1 Corinthians 14: 26
What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

I read a book in seminary called Beyond the Worship Wars. I don’t remember it well enough to give you a brief synopsis. I think the title tells you enough. Churches battle over any number of things when it comes to worship. Music style seems to be the topic of discussions in many churches recently.

These conversations about worship need to be about more than music, because worship is more than just music. Behind all the music talk is really a conversation about the style of worship. Traditional worship is more formal and contemporary worship is more casual, but a worship service with hymns can be casual and a worship service with contemporary choruses can have formal elements.

Some think worship with contemporary music will draw more visitors. It is believed new visitors won’t feel like strangers if they don’t feel left out of rituals of the church that are unfamiliar to them. Although, the people currently in the church may not like the worship service if all of their familiar rituals are missing. As long as those in the church are experiencing God, the style or music doesn’t matter. People who have a meaningful experience of God in worship are more likely to invite people to church.

The important elements of worship for the Apostle Paul were music, preaching, and the Lord’s Supper. Paul wants us to sing praises to God, learn from God’s word, and share the Lord’s Supper. How we do that is really not important as long as we encounter the mystery of Christ in our experience.

Question for reflection:
What is most meaningful in worship to you?

30 New Days -Day 20

The 20th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 20
30-day reading plan: 1 Corinthians 1 – 9

Daily Verse: 1 Corinthians 3: 6
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

v Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, also wrote a short story called 2-Minute Alchemy . He tells the legend of a man carrying water to his village in 2 pitchers. One of the pitchers was old and had cracks in it. It lost half its water on the journey to the village. The new pitcher was proud of doing its work well and the other older one was ashamed of not being able to carry its fill of water.

One day, the older pitcher apologized to the man for not fulfilling its purpose. The man asked the pitcher to observe the side of the road on their way back to the village. The pitcher noticed that its side of the road was much more beautiful than the other. The man told the pitcher that he had sown the seeds of flowers and vegetables along that side of the road and took advantage of the pitcher’s cracks using it to water that side of the road on the journey back to the village.
Because of the pitcher’s cracks, the flowers and vegetables were watered; thus, it was fulfilling its purpose of providing water, not to the man’s household for drinking, but to the flowers and vegetables along the road which provided beauty and food for the man’s home. The man said, “We all, at some point, grow old and acquire other qualities, and these can always be turned to good advantage.”

Paul knew the Corinthian church was like the newer immature pitcher. As I imagine the newer immature pitcher questioned the work of the older cracked pitcher, the Corinthians questioned Paul’s work and authority. Because, they didn’t understand, they were jealous and quarrelsome. Paul and Apollos had the task of sowing and watering the seed of faith among the Corinthians. Unlike the cracked pitcher, Paul and Apollos knew their work and knew God was using their weakness to do this work.

Questions for reflection:
How is God using your weakness to fulfill your Divine purpose? As mature Christians, what are you sowing and watering?