PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson: Mark 4:26-34 Mustard Seed faith

Time to reflect: The “Black Mustard Seed” was grown as a condiment, but it was sown in wild fields, not in gardens. A very small seed (although not the “smallest”) when grown wild in this fashion could grow as tall as a human. The process of a plant growing from a seed was very mysterious to the ancient world and was viewed as quite miraculous but also unpredictable.

Moving through the day: We could paraphrase with an modern image: The kingdom of God is like a peaceful settlement of strife. You never know when Peace will break out and we don't know why, but isn't it amazing when it does?”

Scripture:

The Parable of the Growing Seed

 26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

 30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

 33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

PrayerBits for Saturday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Saturday

Scripture lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Wherever we are, serve God

Time to reflect: In this passage Paul reflects the ancient Hebrew idea that we are called to serve God wherever we are, whatever our circumstance. That we are to try to live as long as possible so we can serve God as long as possible. That we are never without a way of serving.

Moving through the day: Pray that you may make the most of every moment of life.

Scripture:

6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

PrayerBits for Friday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Friday

Scripture Lesson: Psalm 20 Pray for our President

Time to reflect: This is a “Royal Psalm” a set of psalms written to be prayed/sung annually in behalf of their ruler.

Moving Throughout the day: Pray this for your President (or head of your government, if you are not an American citizen).

 Scripture:

 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
       may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

  May he send you help from the sanctuary
       and grant you support from Zion.

  May he remember all your sacrifices
       and accept your burnt offerings.
       Selah

  May he give you the desire of your heart
       and make all your plans succeed.

  We will shout for joy when you are victorious
       and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
       May the LORD grant all your requests.

 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
       he answers him from his holy heaven
       with the saving power of his right hand.

  Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
       but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

  They are brought to their knees and fall,
       but we rise up and stand firm.

  O LORD, save the king!
       Answer us when we call!

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Thursday

Scripture lesson I Samuel 15:34-16:13 “The Lord does not see as mortals see”

Time to reflect: Again and again God picks a surprise to serve. Some were jerks (Jacob), others bumblers (Moses), and others complainers (Jeremiah) and so forth. The greatest of the Israelite kings was a young adolescent and the least likely candidate from among the family of Jesse. Go figure.

Moving through the day: What unlikely person around you might be God's representative? In what unlikely ways is God calling you? It probably won't be in an area of strength for you.

Scripture:

Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 16

Samuel Anoints David

 1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

 2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me."
      The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."

 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"

 5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
      "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
      Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down [a] until he arrives."

 12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
      Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."

 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Wednesday

Scripture lesson: Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus

Time to reflect: Zacchaeus and others in his profession were viewed as “sinners” if not completely evil. There were a part of an oppressive system but also their work made them ritually impure. So in every way they were viewed as inappropriate companions of a Rabbi. Jesus refused to be bound by such boundaries.

Moving through the day: Who are our societies excluded? Who are your excluded? Your Zacchaeuses?

 Scripture:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

PrayerBits for Tuesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Tuesday

Scripture lesson: Acts 19:11-20 Do not attempt this at home.

Time to reflect: Most of this passage is outside of if not against our experience. For the passage to be useful at all to us we need to look past concerns about historicity or science and focus on the purpose of the passage which is to say that healings were not manic and the shear mechanical invocation of Jesus's name is not only not enough, but dangerous. God cannot be manipulated.

Moving through the day: Think about situations where we may be tempted to assume that a set, ritualized action (worship, a particular prayer, a particular spiritual practice, use and misuse of the Bible, etc) will automatically gain God's favor or action.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

PrayerBits for Monday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Monday

Scripture lesson: Matthew 15:1-20 Law vs Tradition

Time to reflect: At the time of Jesus there was a great deal of discussion about how to fulfill God's commandments in the Modern world. Various Jewish factions were all over the map about how to handle certain things that “modern life” made complicated (such as restricted travel on the Sabbath when you are a international merchant). Jesus pokes fun at some of the more extreme or offensive ideas that were floating around at the time. [The first issue about honor the parents is too complicated to explain in a PrayerBit, but the gist was to find a way around having to spend too much money on supporting elderly parents.]

Moving Through The Day: It is natural for us to want to codify religious rules and to interpret them to our advantage. Can you think of some situations or practices of the modern church that are more convenient than right?

 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
 " 'These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.
 They worship me in vain;
      their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "