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
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 27, 2020Prayer: Lord God, we might have invited your presence into our lives, but you were there long before those words were spoken. Your love did not require an invitation or any special act by us. And so this day, as the storm continues to rage, we not only claim your presence, but bear witness to it for the sake of those who are afraid and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 26, 2020Scripture: John 20:28Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Thought for the Day: This is part of the well known “Doubting Thomas” story. Let me suggest that we dismiss much of the story in the belief that it is well summarized by simply saying things like, “Well that’s just Thomas. He was the doubter.” Of course, Thomas was the only disciple who wasn’t