Scripture Nugget 11.1.2015

“But to all who receive him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ….. grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:12-14, 17b

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather that light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” John 3:16-21

Scripture Nugget 10.31.2015

“But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’” Luke 23:5

“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’” Luke 24:45-49

Scripture Nugget 10.30.2015

“He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’” Luke 21:1-4

“But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” Luke 22:26-30

Scripture Nugget 10.29.2015

“When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:5-10

Wesleyan Lie AppilcationTopic - God's Faithfulness

God’s Faithfulness

The story Jesus tells about the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) encourages his disciples to pray with confidence that God will grant justice. (What if justice is not what we want? Would we prefer favoritism?) After assuring the disciples of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer, Jesus asks a question that puts the shoe on the other foot: God is faithful, but what about you (v8)? God’s grace comes first, but God awaits our response. God’s faithfulness calls forth our faith. -Wesley Study Bible pg 1271

Scripture Nugget 10.28.2015

“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’” Luke 1-8

Scripture Nugget 10.27.2015

“‘Rejoice with me, for I found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:6b-7

“‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin I lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:9b-10

“‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” Luke 15:32 (‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my son – your brother, who was lost’)

Scripture Nugget w/Life Application Topic 10.23.2015

“After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this,” and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.” Luke 7:1-10

                                                                      Wesleyan

Life Application Topic

                                                                                          Faith

The church can spend a lot of energy trying to figure out who is in the kingdom and who is out. Interestingly, the boundary lines seem to form around those who believe the same way we do! Jesus offers us some surprises about faith. The centurion is not even of the household of Israel, yet Jesus celebrates his faith (7:9). Is it possible that faith can be in unexpected persons? Jesus sees faith not as matter of accepting certain doctrinal teachings, but as trust that God can bring transformation (7:6). In the Wesleyan tradition, the journey of faith includes an expectation of transformation, change, and holy living. -Wesley Study Bible pg 1250