WEATHER ALERT:

Wednesday, February 5, Childcare at Leawood, West, Overland Park will not be open during morning due to local public school systems announcing late arrival schedules.  All church buildings will operate on regular schedule. However, at Leawood, West and Overland Park, programs requiring childcare will not be held prior to noon Wednesday.

IMPORTANT:

On Sunday, February 9, we’re moving our regular 5 pm worship service to 4 pm so everyone can get home in time to watch the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl.

Raising children as a model of spiritual nurture

July 27, 2024
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Daily Scripture

1 Thessalonians 2:6-12

6 We didn’t ask for special treatment from people—not from you or from others— 7 although we could have thrown our weight around as Christ’s apostles. Instead, we were gentle with you like a nursing mother caring for her own children. 8 We were glad to share not only God’s good news with you but also our very lives because we cared for you so much. 9 You remember, brothers and sisters, our efforts and hard work. We preached God’s good news to you, while we worked night and day so we wouldn’t be a burden on any of you. 10 You and God are witnesses of how holy, just, and blameless we were toward you believers. 11 Likewise, you know how we treated each of you like a father treats his own children. 12 We appealed to you, encouraged you, and pleaded with you to live lives worthy of the God who is calling you into his own kingdom and glory.

Daily Reflection & Prayer

“Practice what you preach.” The apostle Paul and his Thessalonian readers knew the importance of this principle just as much as you do. Leaders, teachers, and preachers have the greatest influence when their words match their actions. In Thessalonica, Paul was launching a new kind of church with no previous Christian presence. His example would be central in shaping the new congregation’s view of what it meant to live as a follower of Jesus. Like a father to a young child, Paul and his fellow apostles shared their “very lives” (verse 8) as examples of living “lives worthy of the God who is calling you” (verse 12). It’s worth noting that he chose gentle family images: a “nursing mother” (verse 7) and a loving father with children (verse 9). “We appealed to you, encouraged you, and pleaded with you to live lives worthy of the God who is calling you into his own kingdom.”

  • A person you imitate is an “influence.” Paul aimed for his way of life, not just his words, to be an influence. He “preached the good news” AND “worked night and day” to avoid being a burden to anyone. Like a good father (or any good parent/caregiver) sets an example for their children, Paul aimed to set a worthy, inspiring example for the Thessalonian believers. He knew God didn’t seek a few minor changes but asked for their whole life. Paul “lost no opportunity to explain to them that the living God wanted living human beings to reflect his glory, and that he had… summoned them, bidden them to this utterly demanding, but utterly rewarding, way of life.” * Who do you imitate, either consciously or subconsciously? Who might be imitating you based on your influence? How does pondering your effect on others shape your life today? Wright asked, “If we were to describe ourselves [as Paul did in verses 9-12], would anyone recognize who we were talking about?” **

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I know myself too well to think I’m worthy of your great kingdom. Then you say you’ve already made me worthy if I just walk life’s path with you. Humbled and grateful, I accept. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Hyemi Lee Jones

Hyemi Lee Jones

Hyemi Lee Jones serves as Director of Connection & Care at Resurrection Leawood.

Before I came to Resurrection, I preached in the pulpit every Sunday for six years. I would wrestle with the given Scriptures, and even be stressed about making the best sermon possible according to my standard. After finishing my final draft of the sermon script, I asked my husband to proofread for any grammatical mistakes or English expressions that could be awkward to the American audience, since Korean is my first language. I spent too many hours on the weekly sermons.

After several years of my endeavor/stress to make it “perfect” every week, my husband gently encouraged me to relax and be okay with a “good enough sermon,” because people will not remember it. Ouch! That’s true. We do not remember all the details of the sermon we loved hearing in worship. If the folks can have one takeaway from the sermon, that will be a great success for the preacher! What we remember is the experience of our hearts being warmed and inspired.

To me, today’s Scripture speaks strongly of the importance of the experience of Christian life. I am a follower of Jesus not because I learned Christology. I experienced forgiveness, kindness, and non-judgmental love tangibly from someone real. And in that experience, I could relate the Jesus I read about in the Bible to my own life. The experience inspired me to be the risen Jesus for others. We as Easter people wake up each morning, grateful and excited to live each day as the hands and feet of Jesus offering ourselves to God, praying, “God, use me. May the risen Christ show up in the lives of others through me and this church.” 

I hope you don’t spend too much time thinking about what to write as I did but spend as much as time possible living out the love of God in every moment of life! The risen Christ continues to show up in our lives through you!

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References

* Wright, N.T. Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (The New Testament for Everyone). Westminster John Knox Press, p.100. Kindle Edition.
** Ibid., p. 97.