Prayer for Lent

God, please make me aware of any hurtful thing I have done in your sight.
Amen

Discussion 26 February 2012

GENESIS 9:8-17

⁸Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹²God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

PSALM 25:1-10

¹   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 
²   O my God, in you I trust; 
          do not let me be put to shame; 
          do not let my enemies exult over me. 
³   Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; 
          let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴   Make me to know your ways, O LORD; 
          teach me your paths. 
⁵   Lead me in your truth, and teach me, 
          for you are the God of my salvation; 
          for you I wait all day long.

⁶   Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, 
          for they have been from of old. 
⁷   Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; 
          according to your steadfast love remember me, 
          for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!

⁸   Good and upright is the LORD; 
          therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 
⁹   He leads the humble in what is right, 
          and teaches the humble his way. 
¹⁰  All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, 
          for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

For Consideration:

-Why are these passages selected for the 1st Sunday of Lent?

-What does the Genesis scripture say about God's justice?

-Most Psalms are of a personal nature. What would you give a sermon on from the Psalm scripture? 

Sunday 12 February 2012

The Sunday School Class will not meet in The Chapel this Sunday. Please plan to join all the adult classes in the Fellowship Hall for Dr. William P. Brown's Spiritual Renewal discussion on his book, The Seven Pillars of Creation.

"In their highly selective and literal reading of Scripture, creationists champion a rigidly reductionistic view of creation in their fight against "soulless scientism." Conversely, many scientists find faith in God to be a dangerous impediment in the empirical quest for knowledge. As a result of this ongoing debate, many people of faith feel forced to choose between evolution and the Bible's story of creation. 

But, as William Brown asks, which biblical creation story are we talking about? Brown shows that, through a close reading of biblical texts, no fewer than seven different biblical perspectives on creation can be identified. By examining these perspectives, Brown illuminates both connections and conflicts between the ancient creation traditions and the natural sciences, arguing for a new way of reading the Bible in light of current scientific knowledge and with consideration of the needs of the environment. In Brown's argument, both scientific inquiry and theological reflection are driven by a sense of wonder, which, in his words, "unites the scientist and the psalmist." Brown's own wonder at the beauty and complexity of the created world is evident throughout this intelligent, well-written, and inspirational book." 

Discussion 5 February 2012

 1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-23

¹⁶If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! ¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. ¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

For Consideration

-What is Paul's reward?

-Are we "all things to all people?" Why or why not?

-How does the following movie clip coincide with today's scripture? Movie Clip