Readings for June 24, 2012

Hello Everyone,

First, a prayer request. Jean DeZeeuw, a friend of Grey Eagle UMC, recently had a reoccurrence of breast cancer 17 years after her first occurrence. She had surgery to remove the lump last week and was home the following day. The doctors said that the lymph nodes seemed unaffected. Jean is home and feeling well. Jean and John will get the final pathology report on Thursday. Please pray for a positive report and give thanks for the doctors, nurses, and therapists who cared for her.

Secondly, after more than 16 years of living with us, our cat, Ellie, was euthanized last night by a veterinarian friend of ours. (Is there a better way to say this? “Put to sleep” seems lame, “put down” makes her into a horse, and “killed” seems homicidal.) Ellie had been suffering from hyperthyroidism for many months and had lost nearly all of her weight and muscle mass in the last three weeks. We will miss her dearly. Why do we allow pets to become so attached to our lives? I did a quick check in my concordance and dogs seem to have a negative image in the Bible (Proverbs 26:11 and Exodus 22:31 to name 2 of 15 references). Cats are not mentioned.

Our readings this week:

1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 – OK, just read the entire chapter 17. This is the familiar story of David and Goliath. Who was at war? Where were the opposing sides camped? How tall was Goliath (there may be two different answers so check the notes)? What is the bargain Goliath wants to make with the Israelite army? Why is David sent to the Israelite camp? How does David come to volunteer to fight Goliath? Why does David take off Saul’s armor? What weapon does he take to face Goliath? (Dogs are mentioned by Goliath in verse 43.) David claimed that the war belonged to the Lord and yet he took 5 stones with him, not just one. Is this “lack of faith” or “prudence”?

Psalm 9:9-20 – This is an acrostic poem using 1/2 of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 10 may be the second part of the psalm. In Hebrew, the first letter of the following verses are the next letter in the alphabet: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 18. Why does the Psalmist praise God? What does the Lord do to the wicked and what does the Lord do for the poor and oppressed?

Job 38:1-11 – After Job questions God about the reason for his ordeals God answers. Our verses are not God’s entire speech to Job. The entire speech is 38:2 through 40:2. In our verses, what is God’s basic question to Job?

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 – After the opening stanza (verses 1-3) this psalm tells 4 stories of God saving people: lost in the desert (4-9), prisoners (10-16); the foolishly hungry (17-22); and our story of ocean going fishermen. What did they observe while on the ocean? What event put them in danger? What did the sailors do? How did God save them?

2 Corinthians 6:1-13 – Paul asks the church in Corinth to listen to his message and work with him in following God and Christ. When was the “day of salvation” (verses 2, 3)? What has Paul and his group gone through to deliver the message of the Gospel? How did they serve? How were they treated wherever they went? How were they seen by others? How much love can Paul give to the Corinthians?

Mark 4:35-41 – In chapter 3, Jesus and his disciples enter a house that is presumed to be in Capernaum, which lies on the northwest side of the Lake of Galilee. In our reading, where does Jesus want to go and how does he want to get there? What does Jesus do at the beginning of the trip? What event made the disciples extremely nervous? What do they accuse Jesus of? What does Jesus do and then what does he ask the disciples?

Have a great week reading God’s Word and serving God in all you do.