Readings and Themes for the Week of May 09, 2010

Readings for Faith Sharing
Week of May 09, 2010,
Sixth Sunday of Easter

Reading Acts 15:1-2,22-29

Faced with controversy, the disciples reach a decision under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Psalm 67

"O God, let all the nations praise you!"

Reading II Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

John sees the city of God illumined in splendor.

Gospel: John 14:23-29

Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to guide his followers.

THEME:

The Holy Spirit instructs us in everything we do.

Keeping the Word that is Christ close to our hearts, we listen to the Lord promise his disciples that he will send them an Advocate. This Advocate, the Holy Spirit, opens our minds and hearts to receive the kind of love that comes only from God.

Questions of the week

Question for Children:

How do you experience the peace, which Christ offers us?

Question for Youth:

Jesus told us to trust in the Holy Spirit to help guide our lives.

How can you be open to what the Holy Spirit might say to you?

Question for Adults:

How do you experience the peace which Christ offers us?

Bulletin Bites
"I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb"

The Apostle John was banished to Patmos for refusing to give up his mission to bring Christ to all people. Patmos is a charming small island in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey where John wrote the Book of Revelations, a letter he addressed to the Seven Churches of Asia. Today they are on the western side of Turkey along the shores of the Dardenelles and the Agean Sea. John employs sinister images and applies coded references to people and groups to convey the beauty of the Love of God and to challenge disciples of Jesus to stay firm in the faith. He taught that God was not confined to a building, the temple in Jerusalem... Rather, Jesus, the Lamb, and all who believe in Him and imitate Him, are temples. This challenged the beliefs and threatened the livelihood of the Jewish leaders. John also challenges us to believe in God as the source of all that we have, all that we are, and all that we ever will be. Are we good stewards of all that God has given to us?