ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 11, 2021Scripture: Ephesians 4:31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice… Thought for the Day: Many of the translations of this verse give the impression that we need to put away these unhealthy attitudes and attributes, yet in the original Greek, the verb “put away” is a passive verb. It gives the impression that someone else
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 10, 2021Scripture: Deuteronomy 18:10-11Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Thought for the Day: I think that first one in the scripture is a fair request, and not one with which most
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 9, 2021Scripture: 1 Peter 2:17-18Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. Thought for the Day: Recently a member sent me a publicity piece from Chalice Press, our denominational Publishing House. In it was a snippet about a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 8, 2021Scripture: Luke 14:1-4On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” But they were silent.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 7, 2021Prayer for the Week: You are the God of new beginnings, new possibilities, new life, new found hope. We worship in a spirit of gratitude, for no matter what we might face, you do not leave us in the solitude of our circumstance. Even when there is discouragement or pain, you do not forget us or bury us under the weight of guilt. You want
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 6, 2021Scripture: John 11:7-8Then after this Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Thought for the Day: This is part of what we know as the Lazarus Story. Jesus has received word that his friend Lazarus is sick, and the sisters
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 5, 2021Scripture: Luke 18:1-5Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 4, 2021Scripture: Luke 19:1-7Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 3, 2021Scripture: Luke 12:1-2Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Thought for the Day: All I can picture is a concert I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 2, 2021Scripture: Romans 8:38-39For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thought for the Day: This past Sunday, I preached on an earlier section of chapter