Ministry Moment to set the stage for our Fall Stewardship Campaign.  

Pentecost 16:  18.09.16

Sunday Three of Five Straight RCL Sundays on James

As I indicate in the reflection, the passage was selected in April or May and then the week consumed me with how words had been misused.  It just seemed appropriate to take the events of the week and move them into the reflection.  My purpose was not to be mean, but to educate and learn.  Please try and listen w/o attaching names to the people.  An adventure in missing the point.  

James 3:1-12

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ² For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. ³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

This is August 19, 2018.

Ephesians 6 and Full Armor of God, but rather focused on remembrance.  That was the big idea of the day.  Remember.  

Ephesians 5: 15-20

¹⁵ Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰ giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Played with the "making the most of the time" and used an alternate translation of "redeem the fullness of time" in order to do the will of God.  Being drunk means drifting, but instead be filled by the spirit, from our hearts through our focus on the music we sing.  

Ephesians 4: 1-16

The body of Christ needs to be in unity.  That doesn’t mean unanimous but at the same time, unity.  I am not sure of the classical distinction on unity versus unanimity, but ‘whole body’, ‘knit together’ ‘every ligament’ are comments I think about religion and what binds us together.

Bind us together Lord. 

Ephesians 2: 13-22.  The second rule is to be grateful and remember those who came before us.  We are going to have seven weeks of Ephesians when done.  

This was preached on July 1, 2018 right before the July 4th midweek break.  I obviously felt we could do both -- secular and sacred.  

Ephesians 1: 3-14 

Sermon one of seven from Ephesians.  Will introduce a "rule" per week.  

This week:  "Love your congregation where they are."  

Ephesians 1 -- this is Mother's Day and we look at being a parent as a church.

Scripture is Acts 4: 23-33 and the focus is on how the early church was in unity.  I proffer that they were in unity in terms of mission, vision, and values.  The Resurrection is the engine that drove the growth in of the early Church.  

The focus here is on people, not buildings, or denominations.  This is an initial exploration of changing our belong, believe, become to something new and different.  Hospitality, helping, hope and healing.  There is a both an inward and outward focus simultaneously:  Caring for their people and carrying the story into the world.  

Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34

How shoud we understand the story we find in Scripture? How do we, as a community, develop a church-wide approach to teh good work of studying and wrestling with Scritpure. How do we understand the role of tradition 

5 Rules for Studying the Bible: 

• We understand the Bible through Jesus 
• Look for the spirit of the passage 
• Find Scriptures that give you a lens to have the eyes of your heart opened  
• Read and study the great teachers (Yes, that includes Bonhoeffer)
• Be careful not to create your own theology and tradition 

Studying God's Word takes work, but it is a good work permeated with grace and truth.