[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, July 27 MATTHEW 13:10-17 I tell you that you have been given the secrets of the Kingdom. Prayerthoughts a.  The Lord says that the Apostles had been given the opportunity to know the mysteries, that is secrets of the Kingdom of heaven. As a modern day believer, so have I. Do I take the opportunity to discover the mysteries by reading the Gospels as much as I should? b. The Lord assures me that if I take the time for Him in my life, more will be given to me.  Is it clear from my pattern of behavior that I give a sufficient time for my spiritual development? c. Parables or stories help us understand what the Lord wants us to understand. Which story of Jesus has the most meaning for me and why? d. The quote from Isaiah emphasizes the personal responsibility of accepting the words of Jesus. Do I accept responsibility for what I have done in the past, especially for the sinfulness, in the sense that I really have tried to do something about it? e. I have been blessed with the knowledge of Jesus and what he has done and said to me. As I look at my day yesterday, was it clear that I have truly accepted the Lord and his words into my life? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. My prayerthoughts… Today I will take some significant time to carry out letter e. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  BE READY  + The Book of Exodus uses an interesting phrase as it prepares to give a commentary on receiving the Law of God           – the Lord told the Israelites to “be ready”                     – be ready to truly accept what the Lord is going to give  + We don’t like to do that because oftentimes we would much rather prefer our own ways           – that is, we tend to look at solutions which are really not solutions                      – we turn to idols like pleasure, money and power                      – we trust in drugs                      – we trust in created things rather than trust in God  + Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel becomes very direct as he talks about himself           – he says to his disciples: blest are your eyes and ears because you have been with me                      – with the implicit statement that that should do something for them  + You and I are not eyewitnesses, but we have chosen Jesus and Christianity by faith           – for a person of faith, that is as good as being an eyewitness                      – which says then that our closeness to the Lord ought to do something for us  + The strongest difficulty that the people of the Hebrew Scriptures—the Israelites here—had to face among his people was the difficulty connected with idolatry           – his Israelite people were easily prone to give themselves to the worship of idols                      – interestingly enough, as we have mentioned often, our problem is exactly the same thing                                – we have given ourselves over to the work of our hands                                          – coming in the form of money, pleasure and power  + If we are to ready ourselves for the Lord to speak us, and give into the idols that we have here           – it may look like we are accomplishing something, but we are not           – if we ready ourselves to truly make the Lord present in our lives,                      – it will direct our actions away from the idols of this world. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Radioactive” — Imagine Dragons THE SUN HASN’T DIED The Gospel LUKE 15:8-10 [Jesus said:] “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Gospelthink: Repentance is necessary for you to turn to me. Have I completely repented for my sins?

“I’m waking up to ash and dust, I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust. I’m breathing in the chemicals. I’m breaking up, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus. This is the apocalypse. I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones, enough to make my systems blow. Welcome to the new age. I’m radioactive. All systems go, the sun hasn’t died, deep in my bones, straight from inside.”

Jesus told this simple story of finding what was lost. A woman had lost some coins, and finally finding them, she had a celebration. Studying its meaning, it can be a story of a person who had lost his/her way for a while, and finding that way again leads the person to happiness. Jesus applies it to discovering a life of sin, and then repenting. The group Imagine Dragons uses the same thought in their song “Radioactive.” The man in the song has had a difficult past, it would seem–“ash and dust” is how he describes it. He wakes up from that past, and now he is looking forward to a life of happiness, as he says, “all systems go, the sun hasn’t died.” The man has been able to recognize what held him down in the past, and he has now awakened to a new age, the apocalypse, a radioactive feeling straight from his inner being. The song is a conversion story. There are often many difficulties in our lives before we finally “wake up” to discover how bad we were. Unfortunately, we find that there are many addictions that plague us–gambling, as portrayed in the excellent video to the song–alcohol, other drugs, anger, hatred, selfishness, disregard of parents, pride, allowing the desire for power to overtake us. They are addictions that can make us “ash and dust,” make ourselves “rust,” as the group describes it, if we do not “wake up” to what is happening. But the good news of life is that we can “wake up” “to the new age.” Jesus calls it understanding that we have sinned, and then repenting. The followers of Jesus can turn their lives over to the virtues described by their leader. A person can see where the past has led them and do something about it in the future. Indeed, the “sun hasn’t died,” and life can be so much more than we have had.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son has moved us to wake up to the reality of what sin has caused. May we not only acknowledge our sinfulness, but give us the grace to enter his world with a new life. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Once we understand what we have done wrong in the past, we can shape a good future.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Jesus tells his story because of his concern for the lost in society. As you look at the world today, who is most in need of help? 2. Jesus wants us to turn away from sin. What is the greatest sin that people commit in today’s world? 3. Studying your answer to number 2, specifically, what can you do about it? 4. Text analysis: “waking up to the ash and dust.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 5. Text analysis: “I sweat my rust.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 6. Text analysis: “I’m breathing in the chemicals.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 7. Text analysis: “This is the apocalypse.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 8. What do you think the song means by “the new age”? 9. Text analysis: “I’m radioactive.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 10. How would you describe the “perfect” life of happiness? 11. The presenter may want to relay a “conversion” story like Paul the Apostle, asking the question: “What is most important about the story?” 12. Obtain a copy of the video to the song, and analyze the story presented by it. 13. What are the worst addictions in our world at the present time? 14. No one can “make” another “wake up.” What are the ways that we can help other people “wake up” to a good life? 15. What does the song “Radioactive” teach young people?