Summary:

Eugene Peterson says “the leaders of the Jewish community were stewards in an environment of grace where God’s acts were celebrated, where God’s commandments were heeded, where God’s praises were sung. No leader—not Moses, not Samuel, not Isaiah, not Ezekiel—was ever responsible for either the formation or the survival of the community of faith. That took place in the groups of women and men that God instituted and by the mercy of God. Family.”

Because they understood that, leaders in the community were free from the anxiety that many of us feel today—the anxiety over survival, the worry over what is happening in our world, . . . They knew they had each other.

Scripture: Book of Esther, Leviticus 19:18, Luke 6:27-31,

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Scripture: Acts 9

Summary: The apostle James was the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church, and he writes this letter (James) from a pastor’s perspective, and it focuses more on ethics than any other NT book. It contains teachings based on the Jewish law as understood through the life and teachings of Jesus. James’s main concern is for his readers to keep an undivided faith and loyalty toward God. This letter helps us understand how Christians should live when they are a minority group in the midst of an oppressive, non-Christian society. It is alive with godly counsel for us today!

Prejudice against another believer is prejudice against Christ. And let’s take that one step further—as we are living in the midst of Kingdom Come, prejudice against ANYONE is prejudice against Christ.

Scripture: James 2:1–10; Mark 7:24-37; Psalm 125

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Summary: Masks are useful. We employ them in certain types of parties, at the end of October for a children’s celebration, during surgery . . . Why? To protect and to disguise. We use invisible masks, too, every day as we go about whatever it is we do. Masks that disguise our true feelings or identities and masks that protect us from what we think might be harmful conversations or situations.

Do the masks really change who we are?

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7, Psalm 139:14-16, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 7:20

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Summary: We people are part of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones—always needing God’s breath to give us life, just as the waiting disciples and apostles needed God’s breath on Pentecost to begin doing God’s work in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The most important thing we take away from today’s message is to listen.

Listen to God. Listen to the Holy Spirit.

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Acts 2:1-13

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