Scripture: Jeremiah 29:10-14
The LORD proclaims: When Babylon’s seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity
Thought for the Day: The scriptures are often looking to the future, a future of hope for a people who are stuck, afraid, enslaved, held down, etc. The church has too often forgotten who God has been calling the followers of the gracious way to be. There is a network of leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) called NEXT Church who believe “the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful and more agile.” I believe they are absolutely correct, assuming the church of the future is willing to be the church it was originally asked to be. Next Church’s vision is exactly what is seen in the life of Jesus, yet too often the bureaucracy of the church has forgotten how to build and sustain relationships, celebrate diversity, work cooperatively, provide hope and to do so with a spirit of flexibility.
Prayer: Assist us, Lord God, in following you with faithfulness. We yearn to be the community your Spirit first called us to be. Amen.
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Sermon Title:
Just the faith, Ma’am – Just the faith
