Come to services this weekend to hear more about the kids we sponsor through Compassion International—Glendy, 12, from Honduras, and Dickson, 17, from Tanzania—and you get to take home one of these nifty, double-sided bookmarks.

How often do you really take notice of the very good things about this day? What is it that you really value — what is your heart’s desire?   Jesus challenges the crowd, and us, to consider where we focus the desires of our hearts. Are we consumed with the things as worries of this world, or do we trust God’s love in each day?

Worship with Holy Communion this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m.  Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m.  – Sunday School

10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

Devotions for this week:

February 1, 2015                                                   Treasure in Heaven

 In any culture and in any time, the accumulation of more is a temptation. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day professed to live rightly, praying publicly eloquent prayers and acquiring praise for their “righteousness.” Their desire for more was misplaced, as their desires could only be met with material goods or praise from others. Jesus didn’t want empty words or rituals. Jesus wanted action. He wanted people to treat each other with kindness and generosity, and to speak with God honestly. Jesus encouraged people to seek treasure that would last far beyond the years on this earth. He showed that investing in God would pay far more dividends than investing in anything we can receive in this world.

 Follow these stories of Jesus’ miracles, teachings, and healings.

Sunday, Matthew 6:7-21 (and/or Matthew 6:25-34), Treasure in Heaven

Monday, Psalm 20:7, Psalm

Tuesday, Matthew 7:1-29, Teachings of Jesus

Wednesday, Matthew 8:1-17, Healings of Jesus

Thursday, Matthew 8:18-27, Miracles of Jesus

Friday, Matthew 8:28-9:8, Healings of Jesus

Saturday, Matthew 9:9-17, Call of Matthew

• How are Jesus’ miracles, teachings, and healings connected? What do they tell people about Jesus’ role in the world?
• How is the accumulation of more encouraged in your community? What media or messages could you stop listening to so that you could limit your exposure to those messages?
• Name three things you wish you had more of. Reflect on how the desire for more shapes your behaviors and attitudes.
• Limit your exposure to TV, internet, and other media this week. First, notice how you spend that recovered time. Second, notice how you feel after limited exposure to messages that encourage the accumulation of more.

So often we hear people talk about being blessed only when things are going their way.  Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount challenged his hearers with a description of a very different set of values, and we are still challenged by those words today.

Worship this week:

Saturday — 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday — 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. — Sunday School

10:30 a.m. — Contemporary Worship

Devotions for the week:

Every culture has some variation of a hierarchical social structure that is critical, or even unjust to its weakest members. In Jesus’ day, those who were meek, ill, grieving, poor, or perceived as weak were the ones most likely to suffer from social inequities. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount promised those at the bottom of the social structure that there was a reward for them that would surpass any they could receive here on earth. The gifts of God’s kingdom would be abundant for them. His words gave hope to those who may have long abandoned hope.

This story does not seek to condemn those whose lives appear blessed in the eyes of the world. Instead, it seeks to offer hope to anyone who suffers any affliction of body, mind, or spirit. It encourages us to be kind and gentle to those whose suffering is greater than ours, and gratefully to accept the help and care from those whose suffering is less.

Follow these stories of Jesus’ sermon on the mountain.

Sunday, Matthew 5:1-20, Beatitudes

Monday, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm

Tuesday, Matthew 5:21-26, Concerning Anger

Wednesday, Matthew 5:27-32, Concerning Adultery and Divorce

Thursday, Matthew 5:33-42, Concerning Oaths and Retaliation

Friday, Matthew 5:43-48, Love for Enemies

Saturday, Matthew 6:1-6, Concerning Almsgiving

• What does Jesus’ sermon tell us about the nature of God? What is God’s role in our world? What is our role?

Do: Set your week’s grocery budget at half of what you normally spend. Find ways to provide for yourself and/or your household with this lowered budget. Reflect on the challenges and joys of this activity.

In the wilderness the devil tempts Jesus in a variety of ways, but the Jesus relies on God’s word and promise to expose the devil’s lies. How equipped are we to stand up to those same temptations?

Worship with Holy Communion this week:

Saturday  — 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday — 8:30 a.m. — Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. Sunday School

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship

Devotions for the week:

January 18, 2014 – Temptation in the Wilderness

Reflect: Reflect on Sunday’s reading – Matthew 4:1-17

 Jesus began his ministry with 40 days of fasting and praying. During that time, the devil took advantage of his weakened physical state to attempt to tempt Jesus to abandon God and worship him.

The first temptation preyed on his hunger, tempting him to break his God-honoring fast. The second temptation preyed on his ego, tempting him to prove that he was God’s son. The final temptation preyed on his ambition, tempting him to give up God in exchange for the whole world. But Jesus resisted each temptation, knowing that the rewards of heaven far outweighed any temporary satisfaction earthly desires could offer.

Follow these stories of temptation and Jesus’ early ministry.

Sunday, Matthew 4:1-17, Tempted in the Wilderness

Monday, Psalm 91:9-12, Psalm

Tuesday, Genesis 1:26-27, Creation of Humanity

Wednesday, Genesis 3:1-7, Temptation in the Garden of Eden

Thursday, Deuteronomy 8:1-10, A Warning from God

Friday, Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus Calls the First Disciples

Saturday, Matthew 4:23-25, Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People

• How does temptation help or hinder people’s relationships with God?
• What tempts you the most? How can your faith help you resist temptation?

Choose one temptation to resist this week. Look at the challenge not as a punishment, but as an opportunity to be free from the object of your temptation. Notice how you feel after one week of abstinence.

Perhaps we don’t hear it often or clearly enough, but we too are God’s ‘beloved’.

When Jesus was baptized, his public ministry began. He helped people to understand that righteous living was necessary, not for eternal salvation, but for the well-being of the human community.

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. – Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. – Sunday School and New Member Orientation

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary Worship

Devotions for the week:

January 11, 2014 —   “Jesus Baptism”

Reflect: Reflect on Sunday’s reading.Matthew 3:1-17

Study: Study the reading and consider the background.

John the Baptist was a prophet at the time of Jesus. He baptized in the Jordan River, asking people to repent for their sins. He knew Jesus was coming. He also knew that when Jesus started baptizing, it would be even more powerful. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John gathered followers, baptizing them into a life of righteous living. Religious and political leaders who arrived at the Jordan River were reprimanded for their lack of righteous living. When Jesus was baptized, his public ministry began. He helped people to understand that righteous living was necessary, not for eternal salvation, but for the well-being of the human community.

Read about prophesies that promised a Messiah from King David’s heir.

Sunday, Matthew 3:1-17, Jesus’ Baptism

Monday, Psalm 2:7-8, Psalm

Tuesday, Judges 13:1-7, The Birth of Samson

Wednesday, Isaiah 11:1-9, God’s Peaceful Kingdom

Thursday, Zechariah 3:1-10, Joshua and Satan

Friday, Numbers 31:21-24, Cleansing by Fire

Saturday, Isaiah 40:1-11, A Voice in the Wilderness

• What did God promise the people? How does the story of Jesus’ baptism connect with the prophetic scripture readings?
• How does your community of faith honor its baptismal promises for those who are baptized?
• How do you claim God’s baptismal promises in your daily life? What difference does your baptism make in your life?