ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 6, 2020Scripture: James 2:2Imagine two people coming into your meeting. One has a gold ring and fine clothes, while the other is poor, dressed in filthy rags. Thought for the Day: This verse of scripture is referenced in today’s sermon. I like this translation (CEB), and the use of the word Imagine. I can almost hear Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone. In the TV series,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 5, 2020Scripture: James 1:27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Thought for the Day: As you may know, the 16th century reformer, Martin Luther, wanted to exclude The Book of James from the Bible, though it was for a very specific theological reason. Over
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 4, 2020Scripture: James 1:19-20You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Thought for the Day: Let that soak in for a moment, especially the second half: “…anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” Now I don’t wish to suggest that James was wrong, and in fact, I won’t. At
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 3, 2020Scripture: James 1:9-10Brothers and sisters who are poor should find satisfaction in their high status. Those who are wealthy should find satisfaction in their low status, because they will die off like wildflowers. Thought for the Day: I have never fully known what to do with this passage of scripture. Over the years, I have listened to clergy use it to begin their sermon, only
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 2, 2020Scripture: James 1:4Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. Thought for the Day: When faith helps you hold your own against despair, loneliness, lostness, fear and grief, an endurance begins to build. Part of it is an endurance of memory, remembering how you got through a previous challenge. It does not take away the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 1, 2020Scripture: James 1:2-4My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. Thought for the Day: For the next two Sundays, I am preaching on the book of James. When
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 31, 2020Guest Writer: Rev. Hannah FitchPrayer for the Week: O God of the morning light and the glow of dusk, give us the pause that we need in this moment. Though we are distracted in the business of our day, we seek to center ourselves in Your love and guidance. We pray that those we encounter see You in us, that we may be mindful of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 30, 2020Scripture: Proverbs 13:20Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. Thought for the Day: Do you have someone in your life who can tell you the truth? I’m not talking about rude, or someone who is out to tear you down. I have been blessed in life to have a number of people who walked alongside me, encouraging and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 29, 2020Scripture: Luke 10:25-29On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 28, 2020Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-5“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Thought for the Day: This is the beginning of the Shema, a prayer offered twice each day by faithful Jews. It would have been a prayer very much a part of