Waffles

GodSpeak for the Week of February 9

This week’s Gospel brings us into the heart of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”; a teaching where He takes on full authority for what God’s Word means and how it applies to daily life. 

Along with that passage, God looks ahead to what He wills for His people in the Isaiah passage; while, Paul sums all of what he says with a call to “have the mind of Christ”.

Day 1…Read Matthew 5:21-22

• Consider this – for all of history up to that day, whenever someone was quoting from and interpreting God’s Word they would say something like: “Thus says the Lord,” or “an oracle of God”.
• Answer this – what does Jesus’ use of: “But I tell you…” say about who He thinks He is and what He intends to do?

Day 2…Read Matthew 5:21-22 (again)

• Consider this – Kellogg’s Eggo Waffles have had an iconic tagline for years: “Leggo my Eggo!”
  • This notion here (playful as it is communicated) is to KEEP someone from STEALING the hot, crispy toaster waffle you just made for yourself.
• Consider this – the Greek Matthew records where Jesus says: “But I tell you…” is “ego de lego”.
• Answer this – if “Leggo my Eggo” is a whimsical way to warn someone about stealing a waffle, what is important/what is Jesus trying to say with “ego de lego”?
  • What’s His point in digging deeper into the sins he lists?

Day 3…Read Isaiah 58:3-4

• Consider this – unlike Jesus, in this passage Isaiah is speaking on God’s behalf.  It is GOD’S voice we hear here.
  • And God cuts right to the heart of what He wants His people to be all about.
• Answer this – how does this passage agree/align with what Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel?

Day 4…Read Isaiah 58:5-9a

• Consider this – notice what God says through Isaiah in v. 5 about a “reed”.
• Answer this – what happens to the “reed” after it has “bowed” its “head” for a time?
  • What does that reversal mean/what does it look like when people do this?
• Answer this – what are the kinds of things God REALLY want from His people to do?
  • How do we do those kinds of things in our day-and-age?

Day 5…Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

• Consider this – Paul was actually quite a learned man.  He was an expert in Jewish religious Law.  He was a Roman citizen.  Paul was the kind of person who had “letters behind his name” (e.g., Ph.D., Dr., etc.)
• Answer this – so, what does Paul mean when he says: “…I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom…” – what does that tell us about the methods and ways in which he shared the Gospel?
• Answer this – likewise, what does Paul mean when he says: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power…” – what was his point in teaching and leading in this way?

Day 6…Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

• Answer this – Paul concludes this part of his letter by saying simply: “But we have the mind of Christ.” – based on what he has said in this passage + based on what you know about the Gospel as a whole, what does it mean/look like to “have the mind of Christ”?