Mindful Leader

Epiphany + 6 - Sow a New Life

First Corinthians 15 meets Luke 6 with a touch of For Every One Born, A Place at the Table.  Our choir performing this piece is shared.  

Invaluable help here from Rev. Kerry Greenhill.  Her opening prayer, Call to Worship, Confession and Pastoral Prayer were exquisite. 

I had to add the Youth Choir with their I Believe by Mark Miller.  A great piece and something they do quite well.   

I confess that General Conference 2019 in St. Louis was in my mind.  I don't think I mention it directly.  

The sermon starts about 11:30 or so and goes to 38:00 or so.  A little longer than is my norm.  Kerry's Litany of Commitment wraps up the Sermon.  

Epiphany + 5 -- Blessed to be a Blessing

 

The various scriptures for this Sunday are HERE.  The sermon is from the Luke with touches from the Psalm and the (unread) Jeremiah.  

I wonder if the title doesn't give the big idea to us:  "Blessed to be a Blessing."  

Epiphany + 4 -- Faithful to the Call

Faithful to the Call -- Luke 5: 1-11

 

The text was the Revised Common Lectionary Luke passage.  I was trying to balance the idea of faithfulness and call.  This was Scout Sunday, so I did get over into our local context a good bit.  

Epiphany + 3 -- Be Still My Soul

 

Hallelujah Bells at 9:00 AM on January 27th.  

Epiphany - I heard the Bells

This is Hallelujah Bells on Epiphany Sunday -- I heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  

Epiphany +4 - To Love as God Loves

The scripture is 1 Corinthians 12: 31b through the end of 13.  

Gift and Fruit of Love.  Paul has been driving to this point in his letter and lays out his theology of Love.  To love, in a mature way, as God loves.  

Epiphany + 3 -- Listening in Kindness

Sermon is from 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a -- Listening in Kindness ... 

Epiphany +2 -- Listening Peacefully

Gifts of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, Gifts are what you have been given, fruits are what is made manifest by your connection to God.  Big ideas:  common good, community, trusting the Spirit for others to have gifts I don’t have.  GC2019 – Peace is a fruit.  Peace will (might?) come if we collectively take a deep, inspiring, breath.  

Epiphany +1 -- Our Anthem

 

This is Prayer of the Children, our anthem on Epiphany 2.  

Epiphany + 1 -- Listening Gently

Receiving the Holy Spirit – Gentleness

 Primary Text that I will read:  Luke 3:15-22 – Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.

 Marilyn White and Claudine Haight reporting on the mission trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Marilyn during her report on the mission trip to San Juan will, in part, address the need for helpers in that kind of role to be respectfully gentle in relationships.  We don’t show up and say “this is what you must do” and when presented with road blocks and problems, keeping them informed as to what is going on conveys a gentleness of spirit that I think Paul is driving at in his Fruits in Galatians.