Daily Bread 2010 - Mark 3
Daily Bread 2010
Mark 3
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
As we look at church attendance today (a much studied topic), we find that it is generally agreed that there are between 30-40% of the population at worship on a given Sunday. Pastors do all kinds of things to try and get people to become more regular attendees. None that I have seen tend to be very successful.
What I have seen attract people to church is when they come to church they experience God’s presence and the power of Christian community in a meaningful and transforming way. Just using guilt or shame to get someone to come to church may work for a while, but won’t produce lasting results.
Jesus encountered many misconceptions about the Sabbath (the day of worship for Jews – Saturday), and encountered hostile reactions when he healed people on the Sabbath. The Pharisees rebuked Jesus because he “worked” on the Sabbath. What they misunderstood was the difference between “our work” and “God’s work”. Jesus summarized their error by saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath.”
Do you honor the Sabbath day? About half of those who would say they are Christians (across the board mainline denominations, Catholic, and evangelical) are not worshipping in a faith community on any given Sunday morning. Maybe the issue is people don’t realize the Sabbath was made for them. As you encounter God’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s power in a faith community on Sunday, and as you meet with other faithful Christ followers each week, you will be able to do everything else in your life with more focus and vitality. Remember the Sabbath was made for you, not visa versa!
Prayer: God thank you for giving us a day each week to worship you and experience Your power and presence in the Christian community. Change our attitudes toward worship to help us to realize we are only cheating ourselves when we put other priorities in front of weekly worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mark 3
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
As we look at church attendance today (a much studied topic), we find that it is generally agreed that there are between 30-40% of the population at worship on a given Sunday. Pastors do all kinds of things to try and get people to become more regular attendees. None that I have seen tend to be very successful.
What I have seen attract people to church is when they come to church they experience God’s presence and the power of Christian community in a meaningful and transforming way. Just using guilt or shame to get someone to come to church may work for a while, but won’t produce lasting results.
Jesus encountered many misconceptions about the Sabbath (the day of worship for Jews – Saturday), and encountered hostile reactions when he healed people on the Sabbath. The Pharisees rebuked Jesus because he “worked” on the Sabbath. What they misunderstood was the difference between “our work” and “God’s work”. Jesus summarized their error by saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath.”
Do you honor the Sabbath day? About half of those who would say they are Christians (across the board mainline denominations, Catholic, and evangelical) are not worshipping in a faith community on any given Sunday morning. Maybe the issue is people don’t realize the Sabbath was made for them. As you encounter God’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s power in a faith community on Sunday, and as you meet with other faithful Christ followers each week, you will be able to do everything else in your life with more focus and vitality. Remember the Sabbath was made for you, not visa versa!
Prayer: God thank you for giving us a day each week to worship you and experience Your power and presence in the Christian community. Change our attitudes toward worship to help us to realize we are only cheating ourselves when we put other priorities in front of weekly worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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