ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 23, 2020Prayer for the Week: When there is nothing but joy, it is easy for my heart to break open with a prayerful song of gratitude. When there is a single person who is suffering, it is easy for me to bring that name to your ears with a prayer of intercession. When I am the one who is scared, it is easy for me to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 22, 2020Scripture: Psalm 133:1How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Thought for the Day: What does it mean to live in unity when we are not to be interacting in our usual ways? I believe this moment provides one of the great opportunities for us to rediscover a sense of unity that begins with appreciation. You may believe you are
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 20, 2020Scripture: Philippians 4:15-16You Philippians know from the time of my first mission work in Macedonia how no church shared in supporting my ministry except you. You sent contributions repeatedly to take care of my needs even while I was in Thessalonica. Thought for the Day: What is it like to be dependent upon the generosity of others? The Apostle Paul expressed his true appreciation for
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 18, 2020Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1So then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to keep living the way you already are and even do better in how you live and please God—just as you learned from us. Thought for the Day: Let me begin by acknowledging my discomfort with Paul emphasizing at the end of the verse how he and his
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 17, 2020Scripture: 1st Thessalonians 5:17Pray continually. Thought for the Day: Like you, I have always asked how does a person pray continually. There is nothing I choose to do that I do continually. It’s funny how space has been created this last week for many of us, a space that we usually would have filled with all kinds of good (and maybe not so good) activities.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 17, 2020Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-22So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 16, 2020Prayer for the Week: Giver of Life and the Abundant Life, this world is quite amazing. There is so much we do not understand or cannot even begin to comprehend, yet we are most often awe-struck by the beautiful complexity and depth to everything that is. There are moments, though, when the mystery and the uncertainty leave us struck, but with anxiousness. In our world
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 15, 2020Scripture: Psalm 57:1Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. Thought for the Day: Most all of us like to be in control, and even more importantly, we like to be in control of the things we cannot control. In