Month: July 2023

Sunday, July 30th Readings

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father

Guide me and teach me

to know what it means to be a treasure

Open my eyes

to the treasures You have given to me each day

Lead me to seek

the treasures You have waiting for me in Your Word;

a heart of gold,

an attitude lined with silver

and infinite wealth.

AMEN!

Journal/Reflection Questions

1Kings 3:5,7-12

  • The word understanding in Hebrew means obedient. What are your definitions of the words understanding and obedient? How do they differ? How are they similar?
  • How does this scripture passage model prayer for us? Does Solomon do all of the talking? How does God respond? How is this similar or different to how you pray? 
  • King Solomon is noted as being a very wise person. How does his wisdom show through this scripture?

Romans 8:28-30

  • Have there been experiences in your life where able to relate to this adage of “all things work together for good?” Can you see where God was/is in the experience?
  • Does this scripture mean that when bad things happen, God is not there? How would you explain what this scripture means to some who has experienced darkness, abandonment, or loss in their life?

Matthew 13:44-52

  • What does the phrase “kingdom of God” mean to you?
  • How do you hear God speaking to you in your life? Is it a whisper? A shout? How do you respond?

General Questions for Journaling

  • Do you listen to your dreams? What do they tell you?
  • How do you feel about your enemies? Do you have enemies?
  • How do your instincts differ from what God wants?
  • What kind of “wisdom” comes from age?
  • Do you believe that “youth” is an age or a frame of mind? Explain.
  • What obstacles do you believe you have that keep you from being the best you can be?
  • What are the blessings you want from God?  Be specific.
  • Make a list of good things God has provided for you.
  • Make a list of bad things that have happed because your love God.
  • Is there a situation in your life right now which you need to let God shed some light on? Do you believe it will make a difference?
  • Do you sometimes feel like you are playing hide and seek with God? Who is hiding? Where do you hide?
  • How do see heaven? What do you believe it is?
  • Where do you find security? Is it real? How do you know?
  • What confirmation do you have that you are living the life God calls you to live?

Closing Prayer

Solomon’s Prayer

ALL:  Therefore give to Your servant

an understanding heart to judge Your people,

that I may discern between good and evil. 

Challenge for the Week:  Spend time this week breaking down each request in this prayer.  How can you put this prayer into practice, so it isn’t just a bunch of words you pray?  As you are discerning the actions you should take to bring this prayer to life, pray it each morning, each noontime and before you go to bed.  It is short enough that you might be able to memorize it quickly and add it to your daily prayers from now on.

GET CONNECTED DAILY!  Find more reflections and prayers at Making Scripture Relevant on Facebook and Instagram.  Join the Weekly Scripture Journal email list by contacting heather@makingscripturerelevant.com.

Discipleship 5K: A Physical and Spiritual Journey to the Cross by Heather Neds, author of the Weekly Scripture Journal is more than a book, it is a guide to becoming a stronger disciple.  Grab a copy and start the journey!

Sunday, July 23rd Readings

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

God of great patience!

May we learn from Your Word

          how to be more tolerant of our failings

                   and the faults of others!

Your Word tells us that when we seek You,

          the Holy Spirit fills us with what we lack

                   so we can be better examples of You!

Lord, make us whole in YOU!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19

  • Where do you see your sin in this scripture? Do you condemn others? Are you unjust? Do you seek power? Do you “lord” over others? Do you hold others prisoner with rules and regulations?
  • Is there someone you know who is need of justice or mercy? How does this scripture encourage you to act out to help them find it?

Romans 8:26-27

  • What does this scripture tell you about the nature of the Spirit?
  • Can you recall a time when the Holy Spirit came to your aid? What was the situation? How did you know it was the Holy Spirit who helped you?

Matthew 13:24-43

  • How does this scripture challenge or affirm your understanding of love?
  • Share an example of how removing weeds from a person’s life, it could cause more harm to them than good?

General Questions for Journaling

  • Share an example of God’s humility.
  • What do you have hope for right now?
  • Do you believe the world is basically good or basically bad? Why?
  • Do you identify yourself by your actions or by your emotions? What words would you use to identify yourself (not by your role or job but as a person)?
  • Where can you see kindness right now? Is it difficult or easy to find?
  • What does it mean to repent? How can you repent? Is there a limit?
  • Is there someone whom you need to seek forgiveness because you have been unkind or unjust to them? 
  • When did you first learn how to pray?
  • How has your prayer life developed over time? What has changed over the years? Create a timeline to show the progress of your prayer life.
  • When have you stood up for someone who couldn’t stand up for themselves? What was the situation and what inspired you to step in?
  • Are there people in your life or in the community who need you to stand up for / with them? What is a specific action step you can take to do so?
  • How are the mustard seed and yeast similar? How are they different?
  • A mustard seed and yeast are described as a metaphor for heaven. What other relatable image(s) would you use to describe heaven?

Closing Prayer

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for goodness and kindness.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for a sense of longing.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for acceptance and mercy.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for compassion for others.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for love and forgiveness.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  for the strength to endure.

Leader:  Father, search my heart…

ALL:  and find it full of you!

Challenge for the Week:  This scripture suggests you “try and try again.”  When you fail, you turn to God to repent and then continue to press on.  This is difficult to do when you are faced with adversity.  Good athletes practice for hours to perfect their skills to become better.  Take a lesson from them and choose a new practice to help you get rid of the weeds in your life and be diligent about it.  Make a decision to create a new/good habit.  Don’t focus on trying to get of a bad one, simply plant a good one and cultivate it.  Put all of your focus on the new habit.  Don’t feel guilty if you mess up or skip a day, repent and try again!  Keep putting forth the effort to grow and in time consistent attention will form the new habit so much that it will weed out the bad one!

GET CONNECTED DAILY!  Find more reflections and prayers at Making Scripture Relevant on Facebook and Instagram.  Join the Weekly Scripture Journal email list by contacting heather@makingscripturerelevant.com.

Discipleship 5K: A Physical and Spiritual Journey to the Cross by Heather Neds, author of the Weekly Scripture Journal is more than a book, it is a guide to becoming a stronger disciple.  Grab a copy and start the journey!

Sunday, July 16th Readings

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

God of all creation;

Make me good rich soil for planting

        so Your Word may settle in and grow!

May I find You in each experience

        even when I must face rocky ground or thorny bushes!

Help me reach and stretch each new day

        to put forth great fruit, worthy of the kingdom!

AMEN!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Isaiah 55:10-11

  • What is the purpose of fertile ground? What elements are needed in order to make the ground fertile?
  • Explain how this scripture can be a metaphor for God’s purpose for you.

Romans 8:18-23

  • Share an example of how good can come from suffering.
  • How do you live in expectation of God? What can you do to be more open to the present instead of the past or the future?

Matthew 13:1-23

  • Who are you in the parable? The flower? The sun? The rain? The one who tramples? The one who chokes? The one who scorches? The birds? The thorn? The rocks? The one who blocks the roots? The one who plants the seed? The fruit? (Consider reflecting on when you’ve been all of them)
  • Are there things in your life right now which choke or prick at you, causing you to not grow? Are there rocks on the path, which you are unable to navigate around? Where do you see weeds pop up in your life?

General Questions for Journaling

  • Have you ever contemplated the changing of the seasons? What never ceases to astonish you each time a new season passes into another?
  • Compare the cycle of rain to the cycle of life. How do they differ? How are they similar?
  • Share a time when you experienced the feeling of freedom in the beauty of nature.
  • Is it possible to avoid suffering and pain? What are the benefits of avoiding it? What are the benefits of living through it?
  • Where do you see growing pains in the world?
  • Is it possible to prepare for pain? Why or why not?
  • How do you cultivate the goals in your life? How do you fertilize them?
  • What is the significance of rain, sun, soil for the success of a seed? How does this compare to the success of your own life?
  • If your heart was a garden, what would it look like? What would be growing there? Consider the types of flowers, bushes, trees, fruit, vegetables that your heart would grow and why.
  • When was the last time you listened to your heart? What does it sound like? How do you know what your heart desires?
  • Do you think God is concerned about quality or quantity? Give a reason for your answer.

Closing Prayer

Leader:  God of heaven…

ALL:  conquer my fears.

Leader:  God of earth…

ALL:  make straight the path.

Leader:  Jesus, human…

ALL:  teach me to love.

Leader:  Jesus, divine…

ALL:  wash away my sins.

Leader:  Spirit of life…

ALL:  bring comfort and strength.

Leader:  Almighty Spirit…

ALL:  tend to my weary soul.

Leader:  Holy Trinity…

ALL:  be mine forevermore!

Challenge for the Week:  God put so much thought into the changing of the season and perfected the dying and rising of each element of nature.  Spend time this week meditating on Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring; they are very different but also very similar.  How do you relate to each of the seasons and why?  What emotions does each season evoke in you and why?  What significance do the seasons have in your life?  Do you identify with one season more than another?  Which one and why?  What do you think God intended for us to learn from the seasons?  What can they teach you about God?

GET CONNECTED DAILY!  Find more reflections and prayers at Making Scripture Relevant on Facebook and Instagram.  Join the Weekly Scripture Journal email list by contacting heather@makingscripturerelevant.com.

Discipleship 5K: A Physical and Spiritual Journey to the Cross by Heather Neds, author of the Weekly Scripture Journal is more than a book, it is a guide to becoming a stronger disciple.  Grab a copy and start the journey!

Sunday, July 9th Readings

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Christ within me,

How I struggle!

I move forward but leave you behind.

I trip and fall, then cry out to you.

My heart knows you are with me.

My will says I can do it alone.

It is a constant battle!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Zechariah 9:9-10

  • The scripture describes a king riding in on a donkey…how do these things go together (King and Donkey)? Where do you see these together in the New Testament?  Share how the two passages are similar and different?
  • Share a time when God won a victory for you. What was the battle?  What did you struggle with and how did God help you overcome the obstacle?

Romans 8:9,11-13

  • What burdens/benefits come from being human vs. divine?
  • If the Holy Spirit dwells in you, how does this change your perspective of yourself? What about if it dwells in others?  Does it affect your perception of them?  How and why?

Matthew 11:25-30

  • What does it mean that God’s yoke is easy?
  • Describe what it feels like to ‘rest’ in God. What does it look like, smell like, taste like, sound like?

General Questions for Journaling

  • How did Jesus show humility? Share specific examples for us to follow.
  • Is humility a leadership quality? Why or why not?
  • Do your actions towards others show your love for God? Share a recent example.
  • How can you tell if the Holy Spirit dwells in you? In others?
  • When might it be necessary to ‘banish’ someone from your life? What actions could be taken to do this?
  • Have your actions ever caused division between you and another person? How did your relationship with God help or hinder the situation?
  • What actions can be taken to overcome the temptations of the flesh? Have you experienced the rewards described in scriptures for doing so?
  • When have you felt the most burdened? How do you overcome it?  What helps to lighten the load?
  • What characteristics of the ‘flesh’ do you wish to shed?
  • What characteristics of the ‘spirit’ do you wish to take on?
  • Imagine a time when you were exhausted and didn’t have any strength to continue. Describe this feeling.  Where did you find strength to carry on?
  • What burdens do you carry? Are there burdens you allow others to carry for you?  Are there burdens you carry which are the responsibility of others?
  • Explain how the Father, Son and Spirit work together.

Closing Prayer

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know meekness.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know humility.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know weakness.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know burdens.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know hunger and thirst.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  let me know hurt.

Leader:  Come, dwell in me…

ALL:  so I may find rest!

Challenge for the Week:  Come to me all who are burdened and worried, I will give them rest.  Imagine a parent saying this to a child whose bedtime is quickly approaching and is showing signs of restlessness and weariness.  These words call out to the child just like they call out to you in order to soothe your spirit.  The restlessness melts away when the child is swept up into the secure arms of their parent; they know they are safe, taken care of and loved.  This is what Jesus wants for you too.  God wants you to let go and relinquish the stress and strain of the day so you can fall into His arms and let Him minister to you.  Identify the things in your life which keep you from experiencing this peace of resting in God.  What can you do to move the obstacles which stand in the way of this kind of rest?

“O Jesus!  Yoke us to yourself.  When we too hunger, give us food.  When we too thirst, or tire, or falsely witness, just let us learn to find you and to find ourselves in you!” – from a sermon by St. Augustine

GET CONNECTED DAILY!  Find more reflections and prayers at Making Scripture Relevant on Facebook and Instagram.  Join the Weekly Scripture Journal email list by contacting heather@makingscripturerelevant.com.

Discipleship 5K: A Physical and Spiritual Journey to the Cross by Heather Neds, author of the Weekly Scripture Journal is more than a book, it is a guide to becoming a stronger disciple.  Grab a copy and start the journey!