4:32-25 If you plan to preach using this passage you may want to read
Acts 2 for context.
4:32 What is the size of this group? Have you ever known of
any group, or a Church, of one heart and soul? Why did common ownership go by
the wayside?
4:33 What does great power look and sound like? Are there gradations
of grace?
4:34 Are there needy persons in your church?
4:35 Who determined the need?
PSALM 133
133:1 Is this Psalm about kin or kirk? Do you know of any family or
church that lives together in unity?
133:2 I love this sensual imagery but think it means more when we
anoint with oil at the time of Baptism and when praying for healing and
wholeness. If we never anoint with oil, the imagery seems to lose some of its
power.
133:3 What and where is Hermon and what is so special about its dew?
1
JOHN 1:1-2:2
1:1 Who are “we?” What beginning is cited? I think three of the
five senses – hearing, sight, and touch – are mentioned. What about the other
two – taste and smell? How can we offer worship and other spiritual and
religious experiences that address all the senses? I think many of our
churches need a more fully embodied, sensual worship that will help us get out
of always being in our head.
1:2 What is the meaning of “revealed?” What is the difference
between eternal life and everlasting life?
1:3 What is the nature of this fellowship?
1:4 How can writing a letter complete one’s joy?
1:5 Who is the “him” from whom they heard this message, Jesus, John
the evangelist, or someone else? How can we be sensitive to and deal with
issues of racism when contrasting images of light and darkness?
1:6 Why would someone say they have fellowship with God when they
really don’t?
1:7 Why is walking in light connected with being cleansed with or
by the blood of Jesus?
1:8-9 These verses are often used as part of a Call to Confession,
such as found in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Common
Worship page 52.
1:10 What if someone knows they have sinned but do not care that
they have sinned?
2:1 Why the “little children” address? Is it possible not to sin?
“Advocate” is usually associated with the Holy Spirit, not Jesus.
2:2 What is an “atoning sacrifice?” How many theories of the
atonement are you familiar with and which one or ones best address this passage?
John
20:19-31
20:19 Why did the disciples fear the Jews? What Jews did they
fear? They themselves were Jews! What is the meaning and significance of “Peace
be with you.?”
20:20 Did the disciples not rejoice when they heard the Lord?
Why is seeing more weighty than hearing?
20:21 Why does Jesus repeat his greeting?
20:22 What is the symbolism and meaning of Jesus’ breathing on
the disciples? Is “Receive the Holy Spirit” an invitation or a declarative command?
20:23 I thought only God had the power to forgive sin(s). Why do
we and the Scriptures sometimes speak of sins (plural) and other times speak of
sin (singular)? What is the difference and does it matter?
20:24 Why was Thomas called the Twin? I wonder why Thomas was
not there and where he was.
20:25 Notice the eleven say nothing about hearing the Lord. I
think we should call him Skeptical Thomas rather than Doubting Thomas. The
other disciples and Jesus were living in the resurrection but Thomas was not.
20:26 Is there anything special about this house? Note that we
are told that the doors were shut, not locked. (See 20:19). This is the third
time we hear this greeting.
20:27 Jesus invites Thomas to do so but the text does not say
that Thomas did as invited. Was seeing and hearing Jesus, and the invitation,
enough for Thomas?
20:28 Is this an early Christian confession of faith?
20:29 Was “seeing” enough? (Reconsider my question for 20:27.) Was
Jesus referring to post-resurrection sightings? We are not Thomas. We are not
the first disciples. We did not witness this or the other signs Jesus did. We
cannot put our finger in Christ’s wounds and see his hands. All we have are the
stories passed on to us down through the centuries. Yet we ought to come to
worship expecting to see Jesus. Can “Magic Eye” 3D images and optical illusions
teach us anything about seeing Jesus in the present day?
20:30 What other signs?
20:31 I wonder what the criteria was for including these signs
but not others.
ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church, Wheeling, WV. Sunday Worship at Bethlehem begins at 10:45 AM. Here is Bethlehem United's Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/Bethlehem-United-Presbyterian-Church-102482088303980
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