Daily Bread E-Book

• Herausgeber: Scripture Union
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 166

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Daily Bread is the Bible reading guide that aims to help you hear from God as you read the Bible. If you've ever asked the question, 'What possible relevance can this verse have for me today?' or 'What difference does this passage make to my life?' then read on...

Leseprobe

Contents

IntroductionActs 8–12 Growth against the oddsIsaiah 1–9 Isaiah opens upIsaiah 9–21 The Time LordHebrews 1–8 Jesus sat downHebrews 9–13 In Christ alone1 Kings 12–22 The slippery slopeMark 1–4 The coming kingdom of God2 Kings 1–8 It’s your turn nowSU article The God of surprisesSpotlight on… The parables

About Scripture Union

Scripture Union is a Christian charity, inviting children and young people to explore the difference Jesus can make to the challenges and adventures of life.

Through a wide range of activities and initiatives, we provide opportunities for young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith. Having been established in England over 150 years ago, Scripture Union is now a global movement active in over 120 countries.

We believe every child should have the chance to discover Jesus. And, with an estimated 95% of children in England and Wales not part of a church, we’re working harder than ever to take the good news of Jesus beyond the church in exciting and culturally relevant ways.

Thank you for buying Daily Bread.

We hope you’ll find it a real blessing as you delve regularly into God’s Word.

Scripture Union – beyond Bible reading guides

By purchasing this Bible reading guide, you are helping to support Scripture Union’s mission to reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus. All profit made from the sales of this resource are used to introduce children and young people to Jesus in a whole range of exciting ways. Thank you for the part you’re already playing in that.

Get further involved

If you’d like to find out more about Scripture Union, or you’d like to get further involved, go to www.su.org.uk/beyondbibleguides

This edition of Daily Bread copyright © Scripture Union 2023

ISSN 0963-4797 (print) ISSN 2050-5361 (online). ISBN 9781785069109(EPUB ebook) All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Scripture Union.

Scripture Union, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes MK15 0DF, UK

Tel: [phone] Email: [email protected] Website: www.scriptureunion.org.uk

Scripture Union is a member of the worldwide Scripture Union international community. Website: https://scriptureunion.global

Daily Bread is also available on memory stick, DAISY CD and in Braille from Torch Trust, Tel: [phone]; Website: www.torchtrust.org

Printed in India by Nutech Print Services Design by The Smithy CreativeCover image: Lemonsoup14/Shutterstock

Daily Bread toolbox

WAY IN

This page introduces both the notes and the writer. It sets the scene and tells you what you need to know to get into each series.

A DAY’S NOTE

The notes for each day include five key elements: Prepare, Read (the Bible passage for the day), Explore, Respond and Bible in a year. These are intended to provide a helpful way of meeting God in his Word.

PREPARE

Prepare yourself to meet with God and pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to understand and respond to what you read.

READ

Read the Bible passage, taking time to absorb and simply enjoy it. A verse or two from the Bible text is usually included on each page, but it’s important to read the whole passage.

EXPLORE

Explore the meaning of the passage, listening for what God may be saying to you. Before you read the comment, ask yourself: what is the main point of this passage? What is God showing me about himself or about my life? Is there a promise or a command, a warning or example to take special notice of?

RESPOND

Respond to what God has shown you in the passage in worship and pray for yourself and others. Decide how to share your discoveries with others.

BIBLE IN A YEAR

If your aim is to know God and his Word more deeply, why not follow this plan and read the whole Bible in one year?

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton.

2

Introduction

Jesus sat down

The work is done! King Jesus reigns – and is sitting down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3)! So, Ro Willoughby, in her series on Hebrews, helps us to remember the reigning Jesus. As we wrote this, we had just witnessed the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III. In this Daily Bread, we will meet many kings of God’s people, good and bad (1 Kings 12–22), and there is the central theme of their obedience and faithfulness to God – a lynchpin in their well-being.

Our world with its present wars, rumours of war, famine, natural and economic disasters, idolatry and injustice, doesn’t seem so different from the times of the kings and prophets who we will meet in our Bible readings over the coming weeks. As Gethin Russell-Jones reminds us through his series on Isaiah, our God, with eternal perspective, sees the big picture. He watches over his people and knows that those who work evil will be defeated. Meanwhile, day by day, we live in a world where Jesus walked; he understands our everyday experience. Like those earlier disciples, we discover that he is with us in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:35– 41, ESV), and our powerful king reassures us: ‘Peace! Be still!’

In these changing times, we need to remember that it is King Jesus who reigns. Sin and evil are defeated, our sin is forgiven, injustices will be put right. Resurrection and the renewing of God’s creation are a present-future certainty, and: ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’ (Hebrews 1:8).

’Tricia and Emlyn Williams Editors

3’Tricia & Emlyn Williamsworked with Scripture Union for many years. Emlyn led Schools ministry, then worked with SU International. ’Tricia was also part of the Schools team and later worked for SU Publishing, developing, writing and editing Bible resources. Having recently completed research in the area of faith and dementia, she continues with writing and editing faith resources. Retired from his role as discipleship pastor in a local church, Emlyn now continues his writing and talking-with-people ministries.

4

SU Article

The God of surprises

In under a year, Fiona Beck has become a children’s and families’ worker and Faith Guide, and has established an incredibly popular after-school club. She has set her sights and prayers on it becoming a Grow Community. The first green shoots of faith are already appearing.

Fiona has a long history with Scripture Union. She became a Christian on an SU camp in Scotland, became a leader at 17 and later started volunteering regularly at Port St Mary Beach Mission, where she met her husband. Sarah Howard-Smith, SU North Support Worker, visited the Beach Mission in the summer of 2021 and shared the Revealing Jesus mission framework and about being a Faith Guide. ‘I thought it was a great idea,’ Fiona says, ‘but at the time I felt it wasn’t for me.

‘God of course knew different! Before I went home, a godly couple prayed with me and I felt led to look at a  5Christian jobs website. I saw that St Andrew’s Church in Cheadle Hulme (near my home) was looking for a children’s worker. I’d been working in a supermarket, although it was my volunteering with church and with SU that defined me. So I applied for the church role and, to my amazement, I got the job. I never saw that coming! Now I had every reason to be a Faith Guide, so I signed up, did my training and began planning what to do next.’

Wonderful church support

Over a number of years, the church had lost the few families it had, so they were very keen to reach out to children and young people in the wider community. They were so keen, in fact, that 35 of the 50 congregation members volunteered to help Fiona. ‘I only work 20 hours a week,’ Fiona says, ‘so I have felt really blessed by their support. I try to align the roles with what they like doing and are good at. So far it’s worked!’

Making connections with families

SU’s Revealing Jesus mission framework incorporates four stages: Connect, Explore, Respond and Grow. Within weeks of starting in her new role in September, Fiona and her team of volunteers began to connect with local children and their families. ‘We organised a Light Party using SU materials to create a Light Trail,’ says Fiona. ‘In the best tradition, it poured with rain, everyone got wet and we all had to come inside! But we got chatting to parents over refreshments and it started to get me known in the community.’

‘… the next week 51 turned up and soon we had to start a waiting list …’

Fiona was already looking ahead to the next stages of the faith journey with plans to launch an after-school club, K@ STA (Kasta, or Kids@St Andrews), in the January. ‘Meantime, we continued to build up connections with children and families,’ she says. ‘I took on the running of the parents and tots groups which has around 70 members in all. We also put on other events, connected with local schools and promoted K@ STA on social media. We prayed and left it in God’s hands.’

‘God’s been so good to us’

Fiona was astonished when 29 children arrived for the first K@STA session! She says, ‘Word must have gone around the playground because the next week 51 turned up and soon we had to start a waiting list. By the time we broke up for summer, over 130 children, mostly from non-Christian homes, had attended the club since it began seven months earlier. Not all come to every session – the average weekly attendance is around 50. God’s been so good to us, we’ve never had an unmanageable number.

‘It’s amazing to think that the number of children at the club each week matches the number of people in the entire church congregation!’ 6

Friday night fun

K@STA takes place on a Friday night. Fiona says, ‘We have three groups in different rooms. For the first half hour it’s free time and they can do whatever activities they fancy. We have football or another organised game for the active ones, board games in another room and a quieter craft room where children can just hang out and chat. That’s something we introduced in response to a request from some of the older children. We were so busy keeping them busy that they said there wasn’t enough time to sit and ask the leaders questions about things that were on their minds!

‘Then we go through to the church. We sing a couple of songs, with an activity in between. For the first half term we had “twenty questions” with the leaders. There were some fun questions involved, to help engage the quieter children, but also more serious questions around why they believe in God. The next half term, we used some short animation videos where Jesus comes on and talks about a particular theme from the Gospels. Then the final term we evolved the teaching once more and started asking three questions about the video for them to discuss with a leader in small friendship groups.

‘Towards the end of the summer term, we opted to go back to free play again after refreshments, hoping that some of the children would engage with the leaders about the Bible story they had just heard.’

Journeys towards faith

One local mum has seven children. Fiona says, ‘She brought her youngest to the parents and tots group. I got chatting with her and it turned out that she had six other children. I told her about K@ STA and she said that she was sure they would love to come to the club. But she was worried too, as one child is thought to have autism. We talked it through and I said, “Well let’s have a go and see how it works out,” and actually it’s been great.’

‘… we really began to see a positive change in their behaviour …’7

When Fiona and SU Mission Enabler Sarah Davison ran a Diary of a Disciple Holiday Club at Easter, those children came to that as well. Then the oldest three went to SU’s Edale Holiday with Fiona. ‘Initially they bickered,’ she recalls, ‘but we really began to see a positive change in their behaviour. Their mum has started putting prayer requests into our prayer box at church, so I hope she is on the journey towards faith too!’

Perhaps the most exciting development is one five-year-old saying to her mum that she wanted to become a Christian after just a few weeks at K@STA. ‘Her mum came to me and said, “What does that even mean, being a Christian?” So I told her more about what we believe and prayed with her daughter, who now wants to be baptised. I can’t say I saw that coming, either!

‘During this adventure, God has shown that he is truly full of delightful surprises. I wonder what the next one will be!’

A shorter version of this story first appeared in Connecting You, Scripture Union’s free quarterly supporter magazine. If you’d like to receive copies of Connecting You and learn more of how God is moving in the hearts and lives of children and young people today, you can sign up on our website at su.org.uk/connectingyou.

Way in to Acts 8–12

Growth against the odds

These chapters describe the early church growing in the face of opposition. It was an exciting but challenging time. The persecution recorded at the start of our readings took place shortly after Jesus’ death and resurrection (probably around ad 33). Paul’s meeting with the risen Jesus likely took place in ad 34. Dates after that are difficult to identify until the death of Herod in ad 44. (This is not Herod the Great who killed the babies in Bethlehem, nor Herod Antipas who ruled Galilee during the time of Jesus’ ministry, but Herod Agrippa, Herod the Great’s grandson.) This suggests that the execution of James and the imprisonment of Peter took place in ad 43.

Luke selects his material carefully, concentrating on specific episodes. He emphasises the powerful activity of God through the Holy Spirit. He shows ordinary people telling others about Jesus. He demonstrates that the good news of Jesus was for all people – Jews and non-Jews. To us this may not seem a big issue, but it was a key truth that the early church struggled to learn. There is an honesty in the way he recounts the events; the early Christians have weaknesses but are still used by God.

Despite the differences in our context and circumstances, there is much that we can learn from these chapters. Be encouraged by the way that God’s power is displayed through his people. Be challenged by the welcome that God offers to all. Believe that God is still building his church.

About the writer

John Grayston

Now retired after 37 years on the Scripture Union staff, John still writes, teaches and preaches. He is on the leadership team at Tile Kiln Church in Chelmsford. When he can he escapes to his allotment, or the mountains walking or skiing with his wife Jenny. He has two children and seven grandchildren.

9

Saturday 1 July

God has the last word

PREPARE

Pray that you may see things from God’s perspective.

READ

Acts 12:19b–24

EXPLORE

Tyrants in any age exercise their power in similar ways: violence, as we saw yesterday; or the control of vital supplies – in this case food. In the end, most oppressors overreach themselves. Excessive pride and arrogance become the source of their downfall. Here it is seen in theological terms. Herod receives the adulation of the people, usurps the place of God, and God steps in. The downfall of any oppressor has similar logic. God is the ruler of the nations, the King of kings. He has the ultimate authority, and he will have the last word. We may not see it now. We may, like the saints in Revelation 6:10, cry out, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord?’ But we can be confident that the time will come when God will reign in justice.

As we struggle with the tension of knowing that God has won the final victory, but that we do not yet see it completely, we can be encouraged by these verses. The Word of God continued to spread. Many of us may live in places where we feel that the church is in decline and may be discouraged. Even there we can find signs of hope, and if we look at the world situation we shall find even more reason to see that, now as then, God’s purposes will be accomplished.

RESPOND

Commit your situation and that of your church to God in the knowledge that he has a plan.

But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Acts 12:24

Bible in a year:2 Chronicles 33,34; Psalms 75,76

10

Sunday 2 July

The Lord reigns

PREPARE

Acknowledge God as the King of your life. Ask him to reveal more of what that might mean in practice.

READ

Psalm 99

EXPLORE

This psalm might be a comment on yesterday’s reading. The Lord reigns, not Herod, nor any other human ruler. The rulers of the nations have power, but only in so far as God allows. The psalm is a celebration of God’s rule over Israel. At her best, Israel recognised and lived under God’s rule in a way that other nations did not. They thus became, in fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, a blessing to other nations by modelling what living under God’s rule could be like (Genesis 12:2,3). Look back through the psalm to see what marks God’s rule.

God is great, awesome and holy – beyond our understanding and yet intimately involved with us. Not only does God rule justly (v 4), he also enters into a relationship with his people. He speaks to them (v 7), he sets boundaries for their own good and he holds them accountable (v 8). The same is true for us as we enter into relationship with him through Jesus. Israel experienced the forgiveness of God (v 8) through the system of sacrifices, but we find forgiveness through the death of Jesus. So we can join in this wonderful celebration, praising this great God whom we can never fully understand but who is worthy of our worship.

RESPOND

Identify three things, from the psalm or from your own experience, for which to praise God – and do it.

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 99:9

Bible in a year:2 Chronicles 35,36; Luke 1:39–80

11

Way in to Isaiah 1–9

Isaiah opens up