A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Thursday, May 31, 2012

Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures (June 3)

Worship – June 3 “Music Sunday

Isaiah 6:1-7
-          The year is 742 B.C. and Assyria is expanding its territory. Israel is trying to get Judah to join in an alliance against Assyria.
-         A scene of God’s presence and holiness.  V. 2 – “feet” is a euphemism for genitals meaning purity.  Holy is repeated three times to emphasize distinctness and no sin.  This picture reminds Israel that God will protect and provide during challenging times.
-         Isaiah feels inadequate in comparison but is made holy to be a spokesperson for God to the people.  The Lord warns that only a few people will listen to what Isaiah and the Lord say.  Within 9 years, Assyria will take over Judah.

Revelation 21:1-4
-         This is one of my favorite passages of scripture, the future scene of when heaven will descend upon earth and all of God’s creation will be made new again.  No more tears, sadness, or death!
-         Verse 1 – The sea was seen as scary to the Jewish people.  This fear will be overcome when the Lord returns. 
-         Alpha and Omega are first and last letters of Hebrew alphabet referring to God’s all encompassing reign over all of creation.

Luke 21:25-28
-         This scripture is not pointing to the end of the present age but to 70 AD when the Romans will take over Jerusalem and destroy the Temple.  That was a terrible time for the people of Israel and Jesus predicted this would happen.
-         “Coming of the Son of Man” is not a second coming reference but a reference to the Daniel passage to show that Jesus truly was the Son of Man whose words had proven true.  The fall of Jerusalem is the last judgment on Israel since Jesus is the last prophet to be sent to God’s people to warn them. 
-         This passage warns us to obey God, to seek peace, and to celebrate Jesus’ victory as the Son of Man.

1 comment:

Shelly Ruffner said...

I really enjoyed these sciptures thanks for shaing them