Luke 9.46-62
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Aware of their deepest thoughts, Jesus took a little child and had the child stand beside him. Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever is least among you all is the greatest.”
John replied, “Master, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he isn’t in our group of followers.”
But Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.”
As the time approached when Jesus was to be taken up into heaven, he determined to go to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead of him. Along the way, they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival, but the Samaritan villagers refused to welcome him because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to consume them?” But Jesus turned and spoke sternly to them, and they went on to another village.
Just before this, the disciples have been given a measure of power and authority, and the assurance that they can do the things Jesus does. They’ve also seen how great that feels. But almost immediately, that power and authority starts to cause problems.

• They argue over which one is the absolute greatest
• They start putting up fences for who gets to have that sort of power
• They start offering to use their power to destroy people who are mean to them

So--they act a lot like Jesus' followers today might act.

Then Jesus introduces a child to their circle and tells them--unless you become as powerless as this child, you won't understand the ways of my world.
Will you welcome into your life and value giving up authority, power, celebrity, legacy, security, standing, all of it?
Because--Whoever is least among you all is the greatest
Jesus' work is all about—welcome, teach, heal
And the disciples try to use their power to exclude, stop, destroy
What do we need to learn from this?

• Whoever is least among you all is the greatest—means there is no greatest
• God decides who’s in and out
• We all have power somewhere. Do we bring welcome, teaching, and healing to those places were we have it?

Anyone want to recap so far?
Big ideas we’ve covered in Romans 12:
1. The kingdom of God is to be a welcoming community

2. Our sacrifice of worship is turning our minds and hearts over to God, out of gratitude for God’s mercy, and saying “Your will be done.”

3. Renewed minds give us an “other” orientation instead of a “me” one.

4. We can’t live in unity with our Christian siblings unless we’re willing to live in honesty.

Moving on in Chapter 12

Romans 12.4-13
4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Delight in it! Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. 

• What stands out to you?
• Do you see recurring ideas or words?
• What are Paul’s main ideas here?
• What are some ingredients of his recipe for solving this division?

 

1. How are gifts to be viewed in God’s kingdom?
2. What even is a spiritual gift?
3. If we are gifted to do certain things well, how do we keep from “thinking too highly of ourselves” when using them?
4. “Be the best at showing honor to each other. Delight in it!” How does this attitude combat thinking too highly of oneself?
5. What effect does it have on the whole body of Christ when we show others honor and encourage their gifts?
6. How do you feel when someone sees and calls out your gifts and goodness?
7. How does that change the dynamic in a body that might tend toward self promotion and putting ones own wishes first?
8. What do you make of all of Paul’s language of joy and happiness—he seems to use it a lot here.
9. How do we cultivate an attitude of joy and delight in our service to one another?
10. What is God saying to you in this? What will you do about it?

Extra credit for both: Why don't we have unicorns?
Most creative answer wins

Text answers to: 630-439-6290
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Points accumulated at the end of June. Winner will receive a gift card.

1. What would grasping the concept of "You are God and I'm not" do for us?
2. Nuach vs. Sabbath: settling into the place where you've stopped to rest vs. taking time to rest. How do we see the difference?
3. God settled into God's kingdom. And he wants us to as well. How can we "settle in" to God's kingdom?
4. How do we set boundaries to rest?