Plan to lead off your Fourth of July Celebration at a service of prayer and song with the Riverblenders.
Poster
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Highlights of the lessons for Sunday July 11, when next I preach
What questions, curiosities, or thoughts do you have?
A lawyer asks Jesus Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turns the question back to him and elicits the great commandment. Then in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, ending with the question, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
Paul writes to the saints at Colossae and says, “we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. “
Amos has a vision of God holding a plumb line in the midst of Israel and prophesies before the King, foretelling the exile.
In Psalm 84 God says,
"How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favor to the wicked?
Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;
Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
Full text of lessons
A lawyer asks Jesus Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turns the question back to him and elicits the great commandment. Then in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, ending with the question, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
Paul writes to the saints at Colossae and says, “we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. “
Amos has a vision of God holding a plumb line in the midst of Israel and prophesies before the King, foretelling the exile.
In Psalm 84 God says,
"How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favor to the wicked?
Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;
Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
Full text of lessons
Monday, June 21, 2010
Lessons for Sunday, June 27
Please add your question you'd like me to address in the sermon, or comments, below.
Luke 9:51-62: Following Jesus is a whole life commitment:
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Galatians 5:1,13-25
Through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Elijah is “caught up into heaven.” Elijah picks up his mantle.
For the full text of the lessons, go to:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp8_RCL.html
Luke 9:51-62: Following Jesus is a whole life commitment:
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Galatians 5:1,13-25
Through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Elijah is “caught up into heaven.” Elijah picks up his mantle.
For the full text of the lessons, go to:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp8_RCL.html
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
A brief summary of the Lessons for Sunday, June 13
Please add your question you'd like me to address in the sermon, or comments, below.
Luke 7:36-8:3, A woman anoints Jesus’ feet
Simon, a Pharisee, invited Jesus to eat with him. While he was there a woman brought at alabaster jar of ointment. She bathed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them. Simon privately objects and Jesus, sensing this, tells a parable about two debtors who have their debts forgiven. “Which will love him more?” Jesus said to her, “your sins are forgiven.”
Galatians 2:15-21
Paul speaking: a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 5:1-8
2 Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, *
for I make my prayer to you.
3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; *
early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14), 15-21a
Jezebel arranges the death of Naboth, who would not sell his family vineyard to King Ahab. As Ahab goes to take possession of it, God sends Elijah to find him. Elijah says, “Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring disaster on you.
Luke 7:36-8:3, A woman anoints Jesus’ feet
Simon, a Pharisee, invited Jesus to eat with him. While he was there a woman brought at alabaster jar of ointment. She bathed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them. Simon privately objects and Jesus, sensing this, tells a parable about two debtors who have their debts forgiven. “Which will love him more?” Jesus said to her, “your sins are forgiven.”
Galatians 2:15-21
Paul speaking: a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 5:1-8
2 Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, *
for I make my prayer to you.
3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; *
early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14), 15-21a
Jezebel arranges the death of Naboth, who would not sell his family vineyard to King Ahab. As Ahab goes to take possession of it, God sends Elijah to find him. Elijah says, “Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring disaster on you.
Parable of the paint
Jesus parables were mostly about agriculture, with a few about merchants and possessions. He lived in a pre-industrial time and place where the vast majority of people lived by farming. What else was he going to tell parables about? If Jesus were alive today, he would likely base his parables on things we spend our time at. Earlier today I was painting an exterior window frame that had gotten to be in pretty bad shape. I got to thinking, that painting could make a reasonably parable about the process of Christian faith.
If you are starting with bare wood, you make sure it’s all clean and smooth, and then you put on a coat of primer. This is like teaching young children to have good basic values: sharing, kindness, and doing unto others only what you’d like them to do unto you. These are consistent with Christian faith, just as many of the ingredients in primer are the same as in paint, but they are more basic, intended to provide a good foundation. Like primer they make it easier for the paint of faith to stick.
As older children or, if they don’t get it then, as adults, people are ready to receive the first coat of paint with its colorful pigments. The paint is the learning of Christian faith per-se, leading to a commitment to Christ and to God in the Baptismal promises, re-affirmed at confirmation. Many people only ever get that one coat, which covers, but just barely. To get a strong, long lasting finish a person needs a second coat of adult learning to really understand their faith and practice it deeply. People who put on a second or third coat by practicing their faith have the brightest coloration as Christians.
You might think of the ongoing practice of faith as akin to the paint doing its work: keeping the sun and rain from damaging the underlying wood, and reflecting back vibrant colors of the sun to enrich everyone’s life. (Here the allegory breaks down a little, because paint wears out with time, whereas practicing faith is like exercising a muscle. It gets stronger with use.)
If you neglect to touch up your paint, as I neglected my window out back for too long, you may end up having to scrape off all the old, flaky, peeling paint, get down to bare wood and start again with primer. It will last much longer if you touch it up from time to time. Likewise our faith will hold up better if it’s touched up regularly with daily prayer, weekly worship, works of compassion, and occasionally even a spiritual retreat, which might be like getting a whole fresh coat.
Different people will have different ways of touching up their faith and keeping it bright and cheerful. Some like to study, some pray or meditate, while others prefer doing good deeds. All are good. I encourage you to select those that are most helpful for you and build them into your routine, so that your faith remains strong and vibrant.
If you are starting with bare wood, you make sure it’s all clean and smooth, and then you put on a coat of primer. This is like teaching young children to have good basic values: sharing, kindness, and doing unto others only what you’d like them to do unto you. These are consistent with Christian faith, just as many of the ingredients in primer are the same as in paint, but they are more basic, intended to provide a good foundation. Like primer they make it easier for the paint of faith to stick.
As older children or, if they don’t get it then, as adults, people are ready to receive the first coat of paint with its colorful pigments. The paint is the learning of Christian faith per-se, leading to a commitment to Christ and to God in the Baptismal promises, re-affirmed at confirmation. Many people only ever get that one coat, which covers, but just barely. To get a strong, long lasting finish a person needs a second coat of adult learning to really understand their faith and practice it deeply. People who put on a second or third coat by practicing their faith have the brightest coloration as Christians.
You might think of the ongoing practice of faith as akin to the paint doing its work: keeping the sun and rain from damaging the underlying wood, and reflecting back vibrant colors of the sun to enrich everyone’s life. (Here the allegory breaks down a little, because paint wears out with time, whereas practicing faith is like exercising a muscle. It gets stronger with use.)
If you neglect to touch up your paint, as I neglected my window out back for too long, you may end up having to scrape off all the old, flaky, peeling paint, get down to bare wood and start again with primer. It will last much longer if you touch it up from time to time. Likewise our faith will hold up better if it’s touched up regularly with daily prayer, weekly worship, works of compassion, and occasionally even a spiritual retreat, which might be like getting a whole fresh coat.
Different people will have different ways of touching up their faith and keeping it bright and cheerful. Some like to study, some pray or meditate, while others prefer doing good deeds. All are good. I encourage you to select those that are most helpful for you and build them into your routine, so that your faith remains strong and vibrant.
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