SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 18 april

Luke 24:13-35

Let the Scriptures lead us into close communion with Jesus

• READ

  Forty days between Christ’s resurrection and ascension, our resurrected Lord appears exclusively to his disciples to “open their minds to understand the scriptures” (v. 45), so that they begin to see how the Old Testament Law, Prophets and Writings all point to Him.

  Our Gospel passage today is far more than a simple recounting of the journey of grieving followers of a seemingly “failed Messiah” who is not only unsuccessful in getting rid of their Roman overlord and establish God’s kingdom rule over the Jews, and who ends up cruelly executed by the Romans, having been betrayed by temple authorities.

  The passage brings together in one place, two crucial realities of the Christian faith and spiritual practices – firstly, Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament Scripture, and secondly, Jesus’ personal presence as the symbol and substance of the communal practice of Holy Communion.

  Firstly, in encountering his disciples who were going in the wrong direction (towards the village of Emmaus and away from Jerusalem, instead of remaining in Jerusalem as He had intended for all his disciples, see Luke 24:49), the risen Christ uses the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures to help them see and understand the true meaning and significance of his death and resurrection. The suffering and death of Jesus was to be seen not as an ultimate defeat of God’s purpose, but as the necessary pathway to new life. The risen Jesus reveals God’s greater purpose for his disciples by appealing to the teaching of “Moses and all the prophets,” and in fact, by drawing on the lesson of “all the scriptures” (v. 27). We don’t know the specific passages Jesus might have used but we do know that embedded in the Scriptures is who God is and what He is like, who Israel (as a nation) are and how they fit-in with God’s redeeming purposes, who Jesus is and how his life, death and resurrection bring Israel’s national story to a climax and what this all now means for the rest of the world that God’s King is alive and God’s kingdom has been established and continues to unfold. In other words, just as he used the Old Testament Scriptures to bring this light to His first disciples, today, the Old Testament Scriptures still provide the backstory and context to understanding the person and work of Jesus and how we can participate with Him in His unfolding purposes as his living Body – His Church.

  Secondly, Jesus is always present with us, and especially reveals and manifests his Presence among us whenever we gather to remember Him, through the practice of Holy Communion. This passage captures for us the meeting of Jesus with His beloved “in the breaking of the bread.”(v.35) The hospitality of the traveling companions becomes the doorway to grace. The willingness of this stranger to enter their space suggests trust and hope—and Jesus not only walks and talks with them, their eventual welcome of him, turns into His welcome of them at His table. Jesus, their unexpected guest becomes their unexpected host. The substance of their communing with the Lord along the way as they walk and talk with Him, is cemented at the dinner table later that evening when Jesus breaks bread with them and uses the meal to represent and remind them of who He is and that He is with them in Person. Today, every time we gather and practice Holy Communion, let us also be reminded of His eternal Presence among us, even as we commune and journey with one another through life’s highs and lows, ups and downs.

• REFLECT

  How does reading and meditating on the Scriptures with the ultimate goal and desire to know Jesus and hear His voice, change or shape what you actually get out of reading your Bible?

reading for: Wednesday Night, 19 april

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Let the Holy Spirit empower us with Christ’s resurrected Presence

• READ

  This passage Acts starts on the day of Pentecost, after a diverse crowd of amazed spectators has gathered around the apostles. The apostles themselves have experienced something phenomenal – something like a violent rush of wind, which Luke describes as “divided tongues” (2:3), or tongues of fire, that appeared and rested on them. This Holy Spirit of God then suddenly and urgently grants the apostles the ability to speak and be understood in languages other than their own. It is this final phenomenon that gathers a huge crowd. Luke gives no sense that people in the crowd even feel the rushing wind or see the flaming tongues, but they do hear the apostles speaking to them in their own native languages, and this impresses them deeply. They hear these Galilean Christians testifying to God’s power in words they can understand, and they are astounded.

  Acts 2:14a, 36–41 focuses on Peter’s response to the curious crowd but we advise reading the whole chapter (if you can) to get the full context and the force of Peter’s speech. Here are three important points that you will miss out if you don’t read the whole chapter:

  (1)   Peter draws on the Old Testament prophet Joel to explain the pouring out of the Spirit upon sons, daughters, and slaves as one of the signs of God’s final redemption (Acts 2:16–21);

  (2)   Peter charges the Israelites with the death of Jesus “killed by the hands of lawless men” (2:22–23);

  (3)   Peter draws on the psalms of David, through whom the Spirit speaks to highlight God’s resurrection of Jesus, a descendant of David (2:24–35).

  All these define the kind of Christ (Messiah) Jesus is.

  which leads to his final words here where he proclaims the divinity of Jesus, followed by his concluding assertion that Jesus’ execution occurred at the hands of Peter’s listeners: “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (v. 36). In this abridged version of the story, Luke goes on to tell us that his hearers are stricken when they hear this, and that some three thousand persons “received his word (and) were baptized” (v. 41).  

  The concept of “repentance” is a key theme in the book of Acts. It is central to Peter’s message to Israelites (2:38; 3:19; 8:22) and Paul’s message to Gentiles (17:30; 26:20). The term is associated with seeking forgiveness for thinking incorrectly (2:38; 3:19) and acting inappropriately (8:22). In our present lectionary passage, the idea of repentance is directly associated with the “gift of the Holy Spirit” for the Israelites (2:38). Later, in Acts, there is a another similar scene for Gentiles, in which “speaking in tongues” occurs again (10:44–48; cf. 11:15–18).

• REFLECT

  Contrary to common popular perception, ‘repentance’ has more to do with the turning away from wrong thoughts, desires and behaviours than having a ‘feeling of guilt’. It has more to do with what the Holy Spirit is renewing and resurrecting in you that is God-like and also truly human-like (as in a person being a faithful reflection/image of God). Share with your Life Group members one area you sense the Holy Spirit is convicting or renewing in your life. Pray for one another.

reading for: Thursday Night, 20 april

1 Peter 1:17-23

Let perseverance and faithfulness in the midst of difficult circumstances be our banner

• READ

  In our passage we focus on two important priorities that the Apostle Peter gives to the churches, for godly Christian living. Because of God’s impartial justice and the deliverance brought about by Christ’s death, believers are to live in reverent fear (v. 17–21). Because of their consecration and new birth, believers are to love one another deeply (v. 22–23).

  In the first portion (v.17-21), Peter instructs believers to live in ‘reverent fear’ of God as a response to God’s loving deliverance and provision. He does this through the imagery of Israel’s Exodus Event and the celebration of the Passover. The word “ransomed” (v.18) reminds readers of God’s mighty deliverance of the Israelites from slavery and bondage in Egypt (e.g., Exod. 6:6;15:13; Deut. 7:8; Isa. 43:1). Next, the image of the “lamb” (v.19), which borrows from the Passover sacrifice in Exod. 12, helps memorialized for every generation God’s great election and great act of deliverance. The combination of “blood” and “a lamb without blemish or spot,” recalls Israel’s system of sacrifice. In Leviticus 17:11–14, the shedding of blood—regarded as the substance of life and therefore sacred to God—signifies the offering of the lives of those for whom the sacrifice is made. Here, the life of an unblemished animal substitutes for blemished human life, thus restoring right relations with God.

  In summary, the Exodus Event, Passover festival and sacrificial system are all a ‘shadow’ in the Old Testament of what is to be accomplished in the New Testament through Christ’s death and resurrection. And therefore, because Christ, has died and been raised to live and has ascended, believers can now confidently put their faith and hope in God.

  In the second portion (v.22-23), Peter encourages believers to have authentic, heartfelt love for one another, because as believers in Christ, they are a new creation, born of the Spirit. The life of faith enables us to love from the heart.  This is Love that would be imperishable.  

• REFLECT

  The Apostle Peter, is speaking to his readers as exiles (see 1:1–2; 2:11). They are ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’. They face the daily temptation to adopt worldly, fleshly values and behaviours and risk looking no different from non-believers. As a remedy, 1 Peter counsels “reverent fear” (v. 17) and heartfelt love (v. 22). What challenges do you face in living faithful to the Lord? How might you strengthen or arm yourself against the onslaught of the world and its way of life that doesn’t belong to followers of Christ?

reading for: Friday Night, 21 april

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

The Risen Jesus is the Answer to This Prayer

• READ

  How might we sustain a sense of resurrection while keeping a grip on this-worldly existence? This Psalm invites us to imagine and recognise concrete moments of God’s goodness.

  The Psalmist declares his love for the Lord that comes from a deep personal experience and encounter with Him – “he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” (v.1) God is one who has heard him and who continues to hear him as he recalls specific experiences of pain and abandonment (v.2-3). And this leads him to cry out aloud in the opening line, placing all his hope on the faithfulness of God.

  The Psalmist recognises that for all the love and blessing of God he has received, there is nothing he can do to repay him. “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?” (v.12). He has come to the profound realisation that his very life, and every breath he uses to speak of that life are all gifts from God, all the time. This deep gratitude to God works itself out in faithful action (v.14, 16-18) and resting in the Presence and loving gaze and attention of the Lord in the midst of his worshipping people (v.15,19).

• REFLECT

  Take an hour to reflect on God’s goodness to you, recalling specific concrete moments and events (your journal will be very helpful for this). Let gratitude lift you into His Presence. Then rest from worry and anxiety as you feel the loving gaze of the Lord upon you, your work, and your relationships.