As Jesus encounters all kinds of different people, from a Roman Centurion to a poor widow, he responds with compassion.  From that compassion comes acts of love, and a response of faith from unexpected people.   Are we ready to encounter the world as Jesus does?  Are we aware of the expressions of faith from people we not not expect?

Worship this week with Holy Communion:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. Modified traditional worship in chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. – Sunday School

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary worship

Devotions for this week:

Raising the Widow’s Son                     February 5, 2017

SHARE:   What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

READ: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding

Sunday: Raising the Widow’s Son, Luke 7:1-17

Monday: Jesus Speaks in Parables, Luke 8:4-10
Tuesday: Jesus Speaks in Parables, Luke 8:11-18
Wednesday: Jesus’ Mother and Brothers, Luke 8:19-21
Thursday: Jesus Calms a Storm, Luke 8:22-25
Friday: Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac, Luke 8:26-30
Saturday: Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac, Luke 8:31-39

TALK:  Consider some of these ideas:

Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Luke 7:14-15

Jesus is approaching superstar status. No longer are his fellow Jews the only ones putting their hopes on him, but now he is known throughout the region. And sometimes the faith of an outsider can surprise even Jesus.  Sometimes we might surprise Jesus with our faith.

• Who in your community is in need to prayer and special care?
• What might you do to help?
• What do you need from God? Can you pray for God’s help?
• Find out who in your community lives alone. Invite them for coffee.

PRAY: Holy Lord, You hold the authority of heaven and earth in your hand. Look upon us kindly and grow our faith so that we would always know you as our loving teacher, provider, and example. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

BLESS:  Receive God’s blessing when you are with people and when you are alone. Amen.

At the heart of the law about the Sabbath is not a fixation on keeping the rules, but at its heart is about ‘what brings healing and life for all people’?  How do we live our days in such a way to find time for healing our selves, our families, our neighbors, and our community?  God’s Word about Sabbath can provide a space to breathe, feed, heal, and live!

Worship this week: 

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. Modified Traditional Worship in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. – Sunday School

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary Worship

Devotions for this week:

Healing on the Sabbath                                                      January 29, 2017

SHARE:   What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

READ: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding:

Sunday: Healing on the Sabbath, Luke 6:1-16

Monday: Jesus Teaches and Heals, Luke 6:17-26
Tuesday: Love for Enemies, Luke 6:27-30
Wednesday: Love for Enemies, Luke 6:31-38
Thursday: Love for Enemies, Luke 6:39-42
Friday: A Tree and Its Fruit, Luke 6:43-49
Saturday: Jesus Speaks in Parables, Luke 8:1-3

TALK:  Consider some of these ideas:

Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” Luke 6:5

Jesus knew what he was doing. He knew it was the Sabbath, and he knew it was unlawful to heal on the Sabbath. Religion had made a chore out of not working on the Sabbath. On this day, the lifetime wellness of the man was a greater good than the daylong wellness of Jesus and his disciples.  The Sabbath was made for the wellness of humanity.

• How does Jesus model love for enemies?
• What laws in your community have been created to serve people? What laws have been created for people to serve? Where are freedoms limited and where are they granted? What might you do to ensure freedom to all?
• When and for what have you been forgiven? Was forgiveness offered unconditionally or with limitations? Have you let go of the burden of guilt or shame? How might you let go of shame and live in the unconditional forgiveness of Jesus?

PRAY: Almighty God, Your ways are higher and better than ours. Point our hearts toward you, that the compassion of Jesus would always be our goal. In his name, Amen.

BLESS:  Love your enemies. Let your enemies love you. Amen.

The fish weren’t biting that day; a professional knows when to call it quits. “Yet, if you say so…” Thus begins an entirely new chapter for Simon Peter: learning again and again to put a logic-defying trust in Jesus, and witnessing firsthand the miracles that result.

Worship this week:

Saturday 5:00 p.m.   Modified traditional worship in Chapel

Sunday 8:30 a.m. Traditional worship

9:30 a.m.  Sunday School / Special Meeting of the congregation

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship

The Great Catch of Fish                                January 22, 2017

SHARE:   What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

READ: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding

Sunday: Great Catch of Fish, Luke 5:1-11

Monday: Jesus Cleanses a Leper, Luke 5:12-16
Tuesday: Jesus Heals a Paralytic, Luke 5:17-26
Wednesday: Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew), Luke 5:27-32
Thursday: The Question about Fasting, Luke 5:33-39
Friday: God Does a New Thing, Isaiah 43:14-21
Saturday: God Forgives Sins, Isaiah 43:25-44:5

TALK:  Consider some of these ideas:

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:10b-11

When Simon Peter realized that he was standing next to greatness, he spontaneously praised Jesus. Perhaps just as spontaneously Jesus called him to follow him. That’s how life is sometimes, moving unexpectedly, moment to moment. 

• How is Jesus beginning to make ripples in the community?
• How does your community pass on faith? How and when do you spend time learning and growing deeper in faith? What might you do differently this week to teach or learn more about God?
• What does it mean for you to be Jesus’ follower? What behaviors, actions, and attitudes are shaped by your commitment to follow Jesus?

PRAY: Faithful Lord, We might not recognize you at first. Show us what we’re meant to see, and give us faith to follow in your trustworthy footsteps. By the Spirit’s grace, Amen.

BLESS:  Learn, grow, and love God through Christ. Amen.

The boy from Nazareth has made good for himself, and now Jesus makes a rousing return to his childhood temple. But is his shocking brand of preaching too much for the hometown crowd to handle?  He comes proclaiming a kingdom that includes many they didn’t expect, including people like us today.  That message both comforts and challenges us.

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 this week:

Sermon at Nazareth                                                   January 15, 2017

SHARE:   What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

READ: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding:

Sunday: Sermon at Nazareth, Luke 4:14-30

Monday: Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit, Luke 4:31-37
Tuesday: Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law, Luke 4:38-39
Wednesday: Jesus Heals and Casts Out Demons, Luke 4:40-44
Thursday: The Spirit of the Lord, Isaiah 61:1-3
Friday: Elijah Helps a Widow, 1 Kings 17:8-16
Saturday: Elisha Heals Naaman, 2 Kings 5:1-14

TALK:  Consider some of these ideas:

And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.”
Luke 4:24

Although Jesus didn’t begin his ministry in his hometown, it was one of the first places he visited during his ministry. Word had already spread to Nazareth that Jesus had been teaching and healing throughout Galilee. At first, people in Nazareth welcomed him openly, marveling at his words in the synagogue. But the tone took a turn when Jesus implied that the good news was not just for them, but for outsiders.

• How does Jesus’ ministry begin?
• Who are the outcasts in your community? How might you welcome and serve them?
• When have you felt pressure to speak harsh or prophetic words to people you are close to? How were your words received? What, if anything, might you do differently the next time?

PRAY: Lord God, You have fulfilled your word in the person of Jesus, your son. Gather us into your adopted family that his proclamation might be ours as well. In the name of Christ, Amen.

BLESS:  Speak your voice. Speak the voices of others. God hears you. Amen.

 

John the Baptist comes with a message that both challenges and promises.  More than anything he proclaims a word that will turn the world around.   As we hear his words are we challenged to ask how these words apply to us?  As Jesus is baptized, he is launched into a ministry of love and service.  Have we heard that voice that affirms God’s love for us, and in turn propels us into lives of love and service?

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m.  Modified traditional worship in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. Sunday School

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship

Devotions for this week:

Jesus’ Baptism                                                                        January ,8, 2017

SHARE:   What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

READ: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding:

Sunday: Jesus’ Baptism (Baptism of Our Lord), Luke 3:1-22

Monday: Genealogy of Jesus, Luke 3:23-38
Tuesday: Jesus is Tempted in the Wilderness, Luke 4:1-13
Wednesday: Comfort, O Comfort My People, Isaiah 40:1-11
Thursday: God Will Restore Jerusalem, Isaiah 52:1-12
Friday: Elijah’s Flight, 1 Kings 19:1-9a
Saturday: Hear, O Israel, Deuteronomy 6:4-15

TALK:  Consider some of these ideas:

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22

There is no quick fix for this world; God’s kingdom is made well slowly, one right move at a time.

• What promises from Israel’s history does Jesus come to fulfill?
• How has your lifestyle contributed to the institutionalization of oppression?
• Does your baptism inform your actions and behaviors? If so, then how? If not, why not?

PRAY: Hear us, O Lord, Your axe lies at the foot of the trees. May we bear good fruit and good news to all the people, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, Amen.

BLESS:  You are God’s child, God’s beloved. With you God is well pleased. Amen.