Jude, Pt. 1: Scripture
Take Communion
Leader Note: Begin your gathering by taking communion together, whether as a full meal together or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone lead through this guided prayer:
Holy Spirit, as we begin our time tonight, would you bring to our minds a moment in which we heard your voice really clearly this last week?
(Leader Note: Pause here for a moment.)
God, we remember that you are kind and that you love to speak to us.
We remember that you are patient and will continue to teach us to hear you.
We remember that you are gracious, gentle, and good.
And, for all of this, we are thankful.
Amen.
Review the Last Practice
Before we jump into tonight’s Practice of Scripture let’s take a few minutes to hear from one another about how the practice of daily Scripture reading went.
What did your time in Scriptures look like this week? Did you take advantage of BREAD in your time of meditation? If so, was it helpful? If so, what was helpful about it?
What was something God spoke to you about through Scripture, more specifically Psalm 139, this week that you found particularly encouraging, or convicting?
Was there any way that you felt led to practically respond to God’s voice this week (i.e. generosity, obedience, sacrificial love for another, forgiveness, etc.)?
If your practice of Scripture reading is more irregular than you’d like or feels hard to integrate, what might be helpful to change this week in pursuit of greater consistency?
Read This Overview Aloud Together
We’re following Jude into a very deep dive of the Hebrew Scriptures. If it was a swimming pool, most of us wouldn't be able to see the bottom. But Jude, the brilliant pastor that he was, knew what he was doing. He wrote this letter to a church or churches who had fallen prey to some unnoticed, corrupt teachers who had embedded among them. He wrote with urgency, but with deep compassion, beginning his letter with intimate identity-language, reminding his dear friends that they were called, loved, and kept. He was writing to say two things: 1) What’s happening in your churches isn’t new – false teachers rebelling against God’s goodness is an ancient pattern that goes all the way back to Genesis and 2) that such practice always leads to death. There is no way to rebel that keeps you on the path of life.
We see Jude tracing a series of examples through the Hebrew Scriptures, some of which are probably new to us because they aren’t in our Bibles, but all of which would have been entirely familiar to his audience. Jude was reminding them that even though grace had been extended to them, they were still as much at risk of the destruction that rebellion produces as their own ancestors were. But also that they were just as able to choose the life and flourishing that Jesus offers instead.
Jude is speaking to them as a parent. He is warning them, pleading with them to change course, to return to Jesus. And he needs them to know the seriousness of what’s going on. He needs them to really see what’s at stake. But, as we find out, Jude doesn’t write to those who are following these false teachers with anger or legalism; he knows and understands that belief is a process, that spiritual formation is a journey, and that oftentimes belief grows out of the soil of belonging. Jude tells the church to contend for the faith, and this week we get to learn more about how to do that: we keep ourselves in God's love and we show mercy to those in doubt.
Do This Practice Tonight
In the narrative of Scripture, and as we see it in Jude, “mercy” is “enacted compassion.” It’s what happens when we see something that moves our heart in the same way God’s is moved, and then we do something about it. Jude is inviting us to imitate God by contending for the faith. And in a letter about how we do that, we learn it’s about staying in God’s love and showing mercy to others. So, tonight we are going to take some time to Practice lectio devina, a way of prayerfully engaging with Scripture as it reveals who God is, who we are, and how we can respond. Lectio Devina is not about “mastering” Scripture, but surrendering to it as a living and active authority in our lives. We’re reading for depth, not breadth. We’ll engage the five movements that traditionally are included in lectio devina, and then end our time hearing from one another about how God is inviting us to respond.
The five movements that are included in lectio devina are:
Prepare (Silencio): quiet preparation of the heart
Read (Lectio): read the word
Meditate (Meditatio): meditate
Pray (Oratio): respond, pray
Contemplate (Contemplatio): contemplate wait on God
Leader note: Jude v17–25 will be read aloud three different times during the practice, so it could be helpful to have three different people be available and willing to read.
Let’s take a moment to get comfortable. This can involve putting our phones aside, making sure the kids are doing okay in the other room, and getting into a posture that helps you feel open to the Spirit.
Now, let’s begin.
Prepare. Let’s become quiet and come into God’s presence by slowing down, and intentionally releasing the chaos and noise in your mind to God.
Read. Let’s have someone read Jude v17–25 out loud. We’re not in any hurry, so read this passage slowly. When a word or phrase catches your attention as you’re hearing it read out loud, attend to what God is saying. Listen and wait.
Meditate. We’re going to hear Jude v17–25 read a second time outloud. Listen for any invitation that God is extending to you in this passage. Meditate and reflect on the words that stand out to you. After this passage is read outloud, we’ll wait in silence for a few minutes.
Pray: Let’s read Jude v17–25 for a third and final time. This is the moment we get to move towards responding and prayer, as we enter into a more personal dialogue with God. There’s no right or wrong to do this. The important thing is to respond honestly and openly with God.
Contemplate: Lastly, let’s contemplate, rest, and wait in the presence of God. The end of v21 and beginning of v22 says “...wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt.” What feelings or thoughts are stirring up in you? In the ways you have experientially known the mercy and compassion of God, how might you be sent out to help others to do the same? How might you be invited to contend for the faith by staying in God’s love and extending mercy to those around you who are having a hard time doing that?
Let’s wait for God to speak as we take the next few minutes in silence.
Close. Offer a brief prayer of gratitude to God for his mercy and compassion, and for the ways the Spirit met with the Community tonight.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
This week, we want to continue this Practice of Scripture by setting aside intentional time every day for lectio devina. Either in your daily BREAD reading, or a Psalm, or the book of Jude, practice lectio devina by following these five movements: (Keep in mind, this could take as little as 5 minutes or up to an hour if you’d like. This is all about keeping company with Jesus whether or not he speaks to you.)
Prepare (Silencio): quiet preparation of the heart
Read (Lectio): read the word
Meditate (Meditatio): meditate
Pray (Oratio): respond, pray
Contemplate (Contemplatio): contemplate wait on God
Close by getting into groups of 2-3
Let’s split up into groups of 2–3. While there is no pressure to hear from everyone, we want to carve out space for anyone who wants to share what feelings, thoughts, even specific invitations came up during the practice. Close your time in prayer by blessing each person to live a life of love in the power of the Holy Spirit.