{"id":767085,"date":"2012-05-13T23:49:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T03:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/episcopalchurch:8888\/bible_study\/bible-study-easter-6-b-2012\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:48:18","slug":"bible-study-easter-6-b-2012","status":"publish","type":"bible_study","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/bible_study\/bible-study-easter-6-b-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Study: Easter 6 (B) &#8211; 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><hr>\n<h4><strong>Acts 10:44-48<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>During the earlier part of the 20th century, there was much debate over when the Holy Spirit was given to the Christian believer, whether at baptism or at confirmation. The former option won the day, as can be seen in our current Book of Common Prayer. However, this story in Acts flies in the face of the entire question. Here we see the Holy Spirit falling upon Cornelius and his household before they have received any sacramental action. This is not to devalue the sacraments as \u201csure and certain means\u201d of grace, but rather serves to remind us that the Spirit \u201cblows where it chooses\u201d (John 3:8) and cannot be limited by our rigid theological categories. In particular this movement of the Spirit shows to Peter and his companions that God is calling the uncircumcised gentiles into his kingdom as well \u2013 something that they could not have fit into their working theological framework!<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Where have you seen God at work in ways that defy your theological expectations?<\/li>\n\t<li>How does this challenge us in our spiritual lives? In our ministry to others? As individual Christians? As church communities?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4><strong>Psalm 98<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>Strange as it may seem, the term \u201cvictory\u201d has almost come to have a negative connotation in our culture, evoking images of arrogant triumphalism. But this is not the sort of victory being described in this psalm. Rather it is the victory of good over evil, of a righteous judge over injustice, of a God who \u201cremembers his mercy and faithfulness\u201d to his people (v. 3). Ultimately it is the victory of the risen Christ over sin, death and the powers of darkness. As the psalm expresses, joy is the only proper response to this, a joy not limited to the people of God, but a joy that must go forth among all people, extending even into the created order.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>In what ways can we show forth \u201cthe victory of our God\u201d in our lives?<\/li>\n\t<li>Do you find it difficult to experience the joy of this victory in a world where sin, evil and injustice are still present?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4><strong>1 John 5:1-6<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>\u201cIf you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.\u201d \u201cLove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.\u201d \u201cBe perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect\u201d (Matt. 5:22, 44, 48). These commandments of Jesus seem difficult, even impossible to follow. How then can John tells us that \u201chis commandments are not burdensome\u201d (v.3)? The answer comes in the closing verses of this passage. We have been \u201cborn of God\u201d (v.4) in baptism, \u201cby water and blood\u201d (v. 6), and so united to Christ by faith. As Christ has \u201cconquered the world\u201d (John 16:33), so we have victory through Christ \u2013 victory even over our own sinfulness and weaknesses that keep us from living in accordance with the kingdom of God. It is only through God\u2019s grace, which we receive through faith and the sacraments, that we are able to become the people God has called us to be, and to show his love to the world.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Which of Jesus\u2019 commandments do you find most \u201cburdensome\u201d? How might you respond to God\u2019s grace to overcome this difficulty?<\/li>\n\t<li>What role does the community of faith have in allowing us to live into God\u2019s grace?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4><strong>John 15:9-17<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>In this portion of Jesus\u2019 last discourse with his disciples before his death, he presents both a rich blessing and a weighty responsibility. By calling his disciples \u201cfriends,\u201d he brings them into a deeper relationship with himself, a relationship marked by great acceptance and intimacy. But he also commands them to love one another, and illustrates this love by his own willingness to lay down his life for those he has called his friends. If we, like the first disciples, are to be friends of Jesus, it means not only enjoying the comfort of his presence and love, but also loving one another to the point that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the other friends of Jesus. It is in this way that we abide in the love of Christ, and in this way that we bear lasting fruit for the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>What would our lives (individually and collectively) look like if we followed Jesus\u2019 example of love?<\/li>\n\t<li>What holds us back from loving one another the way Christ loves us?<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acts 10:44-48 During the earlier part of the 20th century, there was much debate over when the Holy Spirit was given to the Christian believer, whether at baptism or at confirmation. The former option won the day, as can be seen in our current Book of Common Prayer. However, this story in Acts flies in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,22,52,3],"tags":[201],"class_list":["post-767085","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-easter","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-easter-6b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":22,"label":"Easter"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":201,"label":"Easter 6B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951789,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767085\/revisions\/951789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}