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Lumunos Bible Studies
Lumunos Bible Studies are about connecting your story to the Biblical story. They are ideal for small groups or individual reflection. You will find a short Biblical reflection, opportunities to find yourself in the story, and questions for individual or group use.
Psalm 90: Reflecting • Pausing • Stopping • Praying
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [...] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” ~ To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Chapter 3
In this quote, Atticus — Scout’s father — advises her how she might develop understanding and compassion for others. I recently thought of this quote as I reflected upon Psalm 90 — the only psalm attributed to Moses. In this psalm, Moses mourns the trials and tribulations humans face, and how quickly life seems to fly by.* (more)
Matthew 6:25-34 What's the Rush?
Not until the 14th century did Europeans have mechanical timepieces. Until then, time was measured by water clocks, sand clocks, and sundials. But to become a master of time, to assimilate night into day, to slice life into neat, usable portions, we had to find a way to mark small, precise pieces of time. We would have to make a machine ( a clock) . While there was remarkable progress 5000 years ago in measuring the year and useful week clusters of days, only in modern times have we begun to live by hours and minutes.
Luke 2:1-7 Making Room For GodThe following question presents itself as we enter Advent: How may we best open our hearts to welcome the Christ child? As I ponder this question, an unlikely teacher comes to mind--the inn keeper, who tells Mary and Joseph that there is “no place for them in the inn.” (Lk 2:7, NRSV)* Let us turn to this passage, recorded only by the Gospel writer Luke, to see what we may learn about preparing our hearts to welcome the Holy. Read More
Nehemiah
Nehemiah was a palace servant of Artaxerxes I, a Persian king. As the book of Nehemiah begins, his brother Hanani arrives from Judah with bad news—the Jews who have survived the exile are in bad shape, and the wall in Jerusalem is in rubble. We will look at what follows in Nehemiah’s story through the lens of call. In these first two chapters, we see a kind of call process, including the importance of pausing, connecting, clearing and walking. After each section, questions are included to use for personal reflection or group conversation. Read More
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us...We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” From A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson In this quote, Williamson describes a challenge we all face. God has placed a gift of light within each of us. Some may think of this light as our inner image of God that Genesis describes. Some may think of this light as God’s love. However we name this inner light--this part of God’s glory within--we all have it. We all at times fear accepting this gift. This Bible study considers how we may open to God’s gift of light in spite of the fears. To this end, I invite you to take a closer look with me at Matthew 5:14-16.
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Mark 10:17-27 Prayer as Liminal Space with the Rich Young Ruler
I have been reading Everything Belongs, The Gift of Contemplative Prayer by Richard Rohr. He has introduced me to the concept of liminality, a Latin word that means threshold. Liminal space induces a type of inner crisis to help us make a needed transition. "Liminality is a special psychic and spiritual place where all transformation happens. It is when we are betwixt and between and therefore by definition not in control." Nothing new happens as long as we are inside our self constructed comfort zone. Liminoid space is the space we create that feels safe and familiar. In my case a health crisis forced me into liminal space to find a new way to pray for healing. Read More
How to do a Relational Bible Study by Marjorie Zoe BanksonA one-page download on how to do a Bible Study.
For more Bible Studies, please see our individual Newsletters.