Scripture: Ephesians 4:22-25 You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors,
Scripture: Matthew 26:12 By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Thought for the Day: After Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), he found himself in the home of Simon the leper. While there, a woman entered the home with a jar of expensive ointment. She poured it over Jesus’ head, and the disciples were offended by the act. They tried to
Scripture: Matthew 21:1-3 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will
Scripture: Ezekiel 20:19 I the Lord am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances… Thought for the Day: The Hebrew word we translate as ‘follow’ is yaw-lak’. It means: to walk or move along with. In scripture, when we are invited to follow the statutes or the teachings, we are being invited to join a trek already in progress. These statutes
Scripture: Psalm 88:14 O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me? Thought for the Day: A colleague of mine posted the following quote from Rob Bell, one of my favorite authors: …faith and doubt aren’t opposites. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it’s alive and well and exploring and searching. There are a growing
Scripture: Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for the Lord is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Thought for the Day: When I was an RA in the college dorm, I had a rather shy freshman tell me how he had come to college to
Guest Writer: Rev. Brian Edwards Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thought for the Day: This passage can be overwhelming. That’s quite a list. How do we even begin to imagine how to lead a life full of these sorts of things? As Philip Kenneson tells us, in his book about the fruit of the
Scripture: Psalm 68:34-35 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel; and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! Thought for the Day: Throughout the scriptures, God is found to be the source of gifts. Human beings are blessed beyond measure, yet the blessing is only known
Scripture: Psalm 11:4-5 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence. Thought for the Day: In the sermon this morning, we are reflecting on the notion of surrender. Throughout history, there have been many stories (some fiction, some not) in
Scripture: Exodus 7:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.” Thought for the Day: Criss Jami is an interesting musician and author. He wrote, “I often find that people confuse inner peace with some sense of insensibility whenever something goes wrong. In such cases inner peace is a permit for destruction: The unyielding optimist will pretend that the