Scripture: Acts 22:20 And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him. Thought for the Day: In the NRSV, we read the word witness. In other translations of scripture, the word is rendered martyr. That’s a transliteration of the Greek word (martus) that means witness, though in the case of Stephen (and
Scripture: Psalm 68:4-6 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds — his name is the Lord— be exultant before him. Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched
Scripture: Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Thought for the Day: On Sunday, our three preachers started the service with a couple of scriptures, including this one from Leviticus. First, Leviticus has never got the recognition it deserves. Clearly it is difficult (even a little boring
Scripture: Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God. Thought for the Day: I remember walking out of the gym one day when a guy greeted me and then wished me a good day. Without thinking about it, I responded by saying, “The possibility is there.” This day, no matter what difficulties may arise, always has the possibility for good things to occur and joy to be
Scripture: Luke 6:35 (the Message) I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never – I promise – regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Thought for the Day: In a time where we are seeing atrocious acts of misguided and misplaced hatred, I am reminded
Scripture: Acts 9:28 So Paul went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Thought for the Day: William Sloane Coffin, in his book “Letters to a Young Doubter,” talked about a conversation with some rather arrogant folks who brushed off the whole idea of religion. Bill couldn’t remain quiet, so he said, “‘I can understand doubting the quality of the
Scripture: 1st Peter 4:10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Thought for the Day: I’m excited for Sunday, and it’s not just because someone else is preaching. In fact, three other people are preaching. Don’t get nervous, they’ve been working on it and I’m sure it won’t be three 20-minutes sermons. But I love
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Thought for the Day: CS Lewis wrote in the book, The Four Loves: To
Scripture: Mark 5:35-36 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” Thought for the Day: Yesterday I was reading an article on Christian Century’s website entitled: Believe it or not. It was written by
Scripture: Psalm 36:5-6 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. Thought for the Day: I was fascinated to read that NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope discovered an Earth-sized planet in what is called the habitable zone. It is approximately 500