Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Thursday, April 30

Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Thursday, April 30: As we enter the third week of Easter, we may see an ease in stay-at-home restrictions and a re-opening of businesses, but we d...

Presbyterians Protecting Life - Uncomfortable? Perhaps it is time for harvest.

Presbyterians Protecting Life - Uncomfortable? Perhaps it is time for harvest.: Life Support Prayer Calendar  Sundays after church when I was growing up, we packed 10 (or more) peop...

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, May 3, 2020 (4th Sunday of Easter)

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, May 3, 2020 (4th Sunday of Easter): Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from the Psalms (Psalm 23), Acts (Acts 2:42-47), the Letters (1 Peter 2:19-25) and the Gospels (John 10:1-10). Please make any comments concerning the passages you want. Together, let's discuss the Word of God.

A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on Philippians 2:5-8 - ...and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought: Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. Christ was humble. And he obeyed God and even died on a cross.

Read, Study and Grow: Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Wednesday, April 29

Read, Study and Grow: Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Wednesday, April 29: As we enter the third week of Easter, we may see an ease in stay-at-home restrictions and a re-opening of businesses, but we d...

Prayers for Our Community, Our Nation and Our World

We can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Between Monday, April 27 and Sunday, May 3, we'll lay before God the needs listed below.

• Monday - That parents and communities would teach young people the importance of love and compassion.
• Tuesday - That those in national authority would be given godly counsel and God-fearing advisors.
• Wednesday - That we condemn racism in all of its forms.
• Thursday - That companies and unions in America would flourish with new creativity and practice honorable work ethics.
• Friday - That workers be provided a safe workplace and paid a living wage.
• Saturday - That American textbooks would honor and reflect the godly heritage of our country and the contributions made by all the different groups within our country.
• Sunday - That artists and entertainers avoid debauchery, pornography, perversion, and drunkenness in their craft.

A New Devotion - Reclaiming Repentance

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 3:7-12

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Reclaiming Repentance

I don’t think repentance is considered important now-a-days, even among Christians. You see, the whole idea that we should admit that we’ve made a mistake and alter our course, well, that’s just not what the great people in our world do, now is it. I mean, instead of having the courage to take responsibility and the humility to change, we’re shown that it’s better to deny responsibility and to find someone else to blame. And if this is what we choose to do, there’s no reason to do anything different, much less better. Man, we can just plow ahead. And if we’re able to find enough folks to accuse or enough lies to tell or enough distractions to construct, then we can keep the chickens from coming home to roost almost indefinitely, that is until we can’t. And when we can’t, when the accusations and lies and distractions don’t work any more, I’ll tell you, at that point the consequences can and will bury us. In other words, we might understand exactly what a tree might feel as it’s being cut down and thrown into the fire.

And I think that’s the reason we desperately need to reclaim repentance, but not just for ourselves. You see, I believe we should be building a society in which arrogance is condemned and humility is rewarded; I’m talking about the kind of country where people are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, including their mistakes, and I’ll tell you why. When that happens, people will feel free to change, to alter course when necessary, in other words, to grow into something better than they are right now. You see, I believe this is what reclaiming repentance is all about.

Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Tuesday, April 28

Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Tuesday, April 28: As we enter the third week of Easter, we may see an ease in stay-at-home restrictions and a re-opening of businesses, but we d...

A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on Hebrews 7:25 - He is forever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.

Presbyterians Protecting Life - Is it time for harvest? #pray4reapers

Presbyterians Protecting Life - Is it time for harvest? #pray4reapers: Life Support Prayer Calendar  Dear Prayer Team Member, Sundays after church when I was growing up...

A New Devotion - The Dark Side

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

1 John 2:7-14

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, "I am in the light," while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

The Dark Side

As a society, we’re in a dangerous place, and I’ll tell you, this has nothing to do with the coronovirus or COVID-19. There sure seems to be a lot of hatred in our country now-a-days. And if you have any doubt about this, just check out Facebook some time. It’s full of all kinds of hate-filled comments. And this isn’t the monopoly of any one political perspective. From where I sit, I read as many false, vile and disgusting things written about Representative Pelosi and the Democrats as I do about President Trump and the Republicans. And the content found within these posts aren’t governed by what was once considered decent and fair. Instead, they’re shaped only by the hatred felt toward all those who disagree. Of course, I have no doubt that each would place sole blame on the other side. But be-that-as-it-may, pure hate seems to be driving most political discourse, while things like compassion, understanding and even rational thought has gotten lost in the shuffle.

But as Christians, I think we should avoid contributing to this problem. You see, I believe it’s crucial that we recognize that hatred and animus are signs of darkness, in other words, the absence of light. And since Jesus Christ is the light of the world, anyone who hates his brother or sister really is in darkness, separated from the one who commanded his followers to love. And for that reason, I think we need to set an example. You see, through our discussion and demeanor, we can demonstrate that we can disagree without having to denigrate those who disagree with us. And we can debate with respect and focus. You see, for those of us who claim to walk in the light, we can decide to love those who may not share our political values, because when we choose to hate, we actually giving into the dark side.

The Wedding Service for Kiran Bembire and Keri Ann Springer on Saturday, April 25, 2020

On Saturday, April 25, I officiated the wedding of Kiran Bembire and Keri Ann Springer in Mars, Pennsylvania. Below is a podcast of the service. If you're planning your wedding and need an officiant, please give me a call at 304-479-3402.

The Wedding Service for David Harry Peele and Gennifer Jo Seeman on Wednesday, April 22, 2020

On Wednesday, April 22, I officiated the wedding of David Harry Peele and Gennifer Jo Seeman in Akron, Ohio. Below is a podcast of the service. If you're planning your wedding and need an officiant, please give me a call at 304-479-3402.

Cove's Celebration Service - Sunday, March 26, 2017

As we deal with the new normal presented by the coronavirus, I've decided to post worship services I led in the past. Although this is in no way a substitute for gathering with our brothers and sisters to praise the Lord, I hope it helps those of us who feel Sunday is incomplete without some kind of worship. I'm also posting separately the sermons preached during these services. Below is the service I led at Cove Presbyterian Church on March 19, 2017. It was the third service in a series entitled, "Why: Answering Some of Life's Hard Questions." We used the Book of Job to grapple with the following questions:

Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why don't people understand me?
Why don't I understand what's going on?
Why is God allowing this to happen?
Why doesn’t he make things clear?

In this fourth service, we addressed the question: Why is God allowing this to happen?

As with all our services, worship is intended to be a free expression of our love for God and the joy we feel when we accept that love. Of course, there are many ways for us to express that love and joy.

We started the service with the announcements. As the Bible entered (marking the beginning of our worship), we sang "This is the Day that the Lord Has Made."

Instrumental and vocal music are important to our worship. Songs give us the chance to praise God and to help focus our attention on the theme of the service. During the service, we have the opportunity to sing songs that reflect different musical styles. Since God has called into his church as individuals with a variety of tastes, this offers us the chance to display our sensitivity for our fellow worshipers and to grow in our knowledge of how we might praise God. Our first song was “Good Good Father.”

Our prayers represent our communication with God. Of course, as Paul wrote, the Holy Spirit “...intercedes for us with groans too deep for words”; therefore, God already knows our needs. Still it’s important that we put them into words, as well as the regret we feel for our sins and our thanks for all God has done for us.

During the Our Congregational Prayer, we confessed our sins and hear the assurance that we're forgiven.  We also lifted our concerns and needs to God.  We closed this prayer with The Lord’s Prayer. After we collected the offering, we praised and thanked God for his presence in our church and within our lives. During the offering, the choir sang “Thy Will Be Done.”

God’s word is at the core of the worship service. It’s often reflected in the songs we sing and the prayers we pray. But it’s most clearly present when we focus a passage from the Bible and apply it to our daily living in the sermon. This morning, the message was based on passages like Job 30:16-31:

Then Job answered: “Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation. Bear with me, and I will speak; then after I have spoken, mock on. As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient? Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth. When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.

“Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off? Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high? One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure, his loins full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of good. They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.

“Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’ Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony, that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath? Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done? When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb. The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before are innumerable. How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

The title of the sermon and the question we’ll consider is this: “Why is God allowing this to happen?” 

During the service, we celebrated Holy Communion. When we gather around the Lord’s table, we believe that even though Christ's body and blood are not physically present in the bread and the juice, he’s with us in a special spiritual way. Jesus is the host of this meal and when we share the communion, we can experience his presence in a special way. For that reason, the elements are spiritual nourishment in Christ by faith. In fact, when the community as the Body of Christ gathers around table and celebrates the Lord's Supper, it’s  “transformed” into the Body of Christ, or “reformed” into the Body of Christ each time it participates in this sacrament.

We began this celebration by receiving the invitation to gather around the table. And then we prayed together, thanking God for giving us this opportunity to share in his presence. After hearing the meaning of the sacrament, ruling elders brought to the congregation the bread and the cup, that we held until everyone is served. And then, as the Body of Christ, we ate and then drank together. At the end of the celebration, we prayed, asking the Lord to help us take the meaning of communion out into the world.

The service ended with the song, “On Eagles Wings.”

Below is the podcast of the service.

I want to thank the following persons who were involved in the service:

Choir Director: Ray Seifert
Organist: Janice Torrance
Bell Choir Director: Sue Willson
Video Technician: Peggy Baldt

Sunday's Message - Why Is God Allowing this to Happen?

Below is a message I offered at Cove Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 26, 2017, and it seems very appropriate today.  It was the fourth sermon in a series entitled, "Why: Answering Some of Life's Hard Questions." We used the Book of Job to grapple with the following questions:

• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Why don't people understand me?
• Why don't I understand what's going on?
• Why is God allowing this to happen?
• Why doesn’t he make things clear?

This message is drawn from Job 30:16-31:

Then Job answered: “Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation. Bear with me, and I will speak; then after I have spoken, mock on. As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient? Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth. When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.

“Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off? Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high? One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure, his loins full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of good. They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.

“Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’ Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony, that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath? Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done? When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb. The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before are innumerable. How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

The title of the sermon and the question we’ll consider is this: “Why is God allowing this to happen?” 

I’ve got to tell you, I think today is a wonderful day. I don’t know about y’all, but for me, spring is actually here. Now, I’m not stupid; we’re probably going to have a few cold days, but I think I’m fairly safe in saying that most of the snow and the ice are over. And in just three weeks, we’ll be celebrating Easter. And even though that signifies all kinds of important stuff, it also means we’ve only got a couple of weeks to go in this series we started when it was cold and snowy and generally grey. 

And during the last three weeks, we’ve used the Book of Job to look at some of life’s more challenging questions. For example, in the first week, we talked about the question, Why do bad things happen to good people? And we looked at how, when we accept that we’ve been cleansed and that, in the future, we’ll be saved and that right now God is with us, well, we can sort of live with the questions even when the reasons aren’t all that clear. That was week one. And then in the second message, we talked about the question, Why don’t people understand me? And we kind of came to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, some folks either can’t or won’t understand what we’re going through, but there are others, and I’m talking about good, sincere people who can identify with what we’re facing and who are willing to face it with us. That was week two. And last week, we talked about the question, Why don’t I understand what’s going on? And as we discussed, that may be easier to understand the minute we accept our limits and broaden our vision and of course, trust our God. Now that’s what we’ve covered to this point.

And this morning, we going to focus on another question that I think can cause a few tosses and turns, and now I’m talking about the question: Why is God allowing this to happen? And I’ll tell you, even though it’s not written on the front of the bulletin, I really think you could add the words “to me” at the end. I mean, why is God allowing this to happen to me? 

And you know, according to the Book of Job, this is really the question Job had from the middle all the way to the end. And why shouldn’t he? I mean, we know that, even though Job was a good and righteous man, God allowed Satan to hammer him will all kinds of stuff he really didn’t deserve. And when Job said that he was innocent, his friends assumed that he was a liar and that he was hiding something, because they were sure that a God of love and justice wouldn’t allow a truly good and righteous person to suffer. That would violate the rules that God himself had given, and even though both Job and the reader know that’s exactly what happened, Job’s friends didn’t know this nor did Job. And although it would have been easy for Job to just surrender his integrity and say he’d done something he hadn’t or turn his back on both his friends and his God, Job didn’t do that. Instead, he simply turned to God and, in essence, asked why. Why are you allowing this to happen to me? And I’ll tell you, that’s something we see not only in the chapter I gave you this morning in your bulletin, but throughout the last half of the book. You see, as Job went through all this suffering that he knew wasn’t right or deserved, he became discouraged. And as he listened to his good friends tell him that he was both a hypocrite and a liar, he became frustrated. And as he compared the rules that he’d followed his entire life, you know, that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked, all this made him more and more confused. And so he simply wanted God to come down and explain how all this was justified, you know, for God to explain how he could allow this kind of injustice to happen.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s the sort of question a lot of very dedicated and sincere believers end up asking when things happen that are unexpected and just don’t seem fair. You see, after spending some time maybe thinking about the nature of suffering and after enduring the comments of people who either don’t understand or frankly don’t care and after trying to make some sense of it all themselves, a lot of these discouraged and frustrated and confused Christians turn their attention right to God himself and expect him to offer an answer that’s better than the mess they’ve gotten from others or come up with themselves, you know, something that might actually make sense of a tragedy or an accident or a disaster that really doesn’t make sense, not in a physical world that’s suppose to be governed by rational laws or a spiritual universe that’s supposed to be controlled by a loving and just God. As a matter of fact, I think this kind of thing can actually make folks who believe that God really does protect his children, man, it can make us become so discouraged and frustrated and confused that we ask that $64 question: Why is God allowing this to happen? And even though hearing this kind of thing come out of our mouths may cause some people to cringe a little bit, I think there are three pretty important things to remember when we ask the question. 

For example, first, I think we need to recognize that we’re probably not going to get any kind of answer that really satisfies. Now I say “probably”, because it’s a bad idea to use words like “never.” I mean, there may be an example of person getting an answer that explains it all. I’m just saying we probably shouldn’t hold our breaths waiting for it. And I think the reason that the kinds of answers we want are so few and far between, well, I think that’s kind of obvious. You see, it comes down to the simple fact that God is God and we’re not. Like we talked about last week, while God is absolutely free, man, our entire lives are defined by limits, and I’m talking about limited power, limited knowledge, limited space, limited time, even limited love. We are creatures and not the creator. And so we’re probably never going to understand why our teacher gave that pop quiz or our company laid-off middle management or our hamster got sick. And I’ll tell you, that’s really what Job encountered when God finally did do what Job had asked him to do. You see, God actually did come right before him. But instead of explaining himself, from a storm, the Lord and creator of the universe said to Job, “Face me and answer the questions I ask! Are you trying to prove that you are innocent by accusing me of injustice? Do you have a powerful arm and a thundering voice that compare with mine? If so, then surround yourself with glory and majesty.” [Job 40:7-10] And then, God rattled through all the things that he had done and could do and that Job hadn’t and couldn’t. You see, when we ask this question, we’re probably not going to get the kind of answer we want. That’s one thing to recognize.

And second, I also think we need to recognize that just by asking the question, we’re actually making a pretty profound statement of faith. I remember, years ago, when I was working for a church out in Montana, a woman, who was obviously upset, told me that while she was on vacation, her best friend died suddenly and unexpectedly and when she told another friend that she was angry at God for letting this happen, she was told she shouldn’t ever be angry at God; he had nothing to do with it. Now that’s what she was told me, but you know, that’s not what we see in the Psalms. I mean, just listen to this, from the thirteenth Psalm: “How much longer, Lord, will you forget about me? Will it be forever? How long will you hide? How long must I be confused and miserable all day? How long will my enemies keep beating me down?” [Psalm 13:1-2] Or this from Psalm 42: “You are my mighty rock. Why have you forgotten me? Why must enemies mistreat me and make me sad? Even my bones are in pain, while all day long my enemies sneer and ask, ‘Where is your God?’” [Psalm 42:9-10] No, when we offer this kind of prayer to God, we’re not questioning his authority, rather we’re recognizing it. We’re affirming it. You see, we’re acknowledging that God really is in control. And we’re accepting that when Jesus said, “[God] makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong” [Matthew 5:45b], he knew what he was talking about. When we look to God for an explanation, we’re saying he’s able to give it, because he’s in control. And I’ll tell you something else, I think asking that question also shows that we feel close enough to God that we can express to him our hopes and dreams and our fears and frustrations without worrying about losing his love. You see, I think asking the question actually shows faith. And that’s something else we need to recognize.

And third, after we ask the question, that’s the time we need to make the decision to trust God and his love. And you know, that’s exactly what happened to Job when, after hearing from God, he said, “No one can oppose you, because you have the power to do what you want. You asked why I talk so much when I know so little. I have talked about things that are far beyond my understanding.”[Job 42:2-3] And as to the psalms, listen to how the thirteenth Psalm ends: “I trust your love, and I feel like celebrating because you rescued me. You have been good to me, Lord, and I will sing about you." [Psalm 13:5-6] And according to the Psalmist in the Psalm 42: “Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.” [Psalm 42:11] Now, we’ve talked about this before, you know, how faith is always a decision, a decision to step into a dark room, a decision to accept that God not only loves us but holds our destinies in his hands. You see, it’s a decision to trust that despite what we might see or even feel, God has cleansed us and will lead us into a glorious future and is with us now, right in the middle of the problems and pain we may be facing. You see, after we ask God “why,” that’s when it’s important to trust. 

You see, regardless of the time of year, I think most of us will be in situations that cause us to feel discouraged and frustrated and confused. And at those times, regardless of what we hear coming from the outside or are thinking about on the inside, we could very well be in the same position as Job. And when we, like him, ask God why he’s allowing this to happen, I think it’s important for us to recognize that we may not get the answer we want but also that asking the question reflects our own faith. And finally, after the question is asked, then we need to decide whether or not we’re going to trust God, something that may shift our focus from troubles we’re facing to the one who’s holds our future in his loving hands.

Happy Sunday!! from Jennifer Payne

I hope you all had a great week and continue to remain healthy during this time of quarantine. This week I came across a neat acrostic on how to use this time of solitude to reflect on God. 

QUARANTINE: 

Q- Quiet your soul

U- Unite as one with God

A- Act with Godly Love

R- Read your Bible

A- Activate your faith

N- Nourish your Soul

T- Talk with God

I- Intercede for Others

N- Nestle in the Presence of God

E- Elevate God in Worship

Though we are not gathering, there is so much we can still do to how our love to God. We can use this time of solitude to worship him and grow in him. God has a plan for everything and is giving us this time to be still and listen to what he wants us to hear. 

May we all nestle in his presence and seek his guidance and will. 

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us, "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."  

May we wait patiently during this storm. God will renew our strength.

Love you all and miss you dearly!!

Blessings,

Jenny

Have a Blessed Day! Jennifer W. Payne

A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on 1 Peter 1:18-19 - You were rescued from the useless way of life that you learned from your ancestors. But you know that you are not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don't last forever. You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb.

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, April 26, 2020 (3rd Sunday of Easter)

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, April 26, 2020 (3rd Sunday of Easter) Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from the Psalms ( Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 ), Acts ( Acts 2:14a, 36-41 ), the Letters ( 1 Peter 1:17-...

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, April 26, 2020 (3rd Sunday of Easter)

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, April 26, 2020 (3rd Sunday of Easter) Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from the Psalms ( Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 ), Acts ( Acts 2:14a, 36-41 ), the Letters ( 1 Peter 1:17-...

A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on Romans 14:11 - In the Scriptures God says, "I swear by my very life that everyone will kneel down and praise my name!"

Read, Study and Grow: Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Friday, April 24

Read, Study and Grow: Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Friday, April 24: This Eastertide, as we continue to navigate the shut-down of society and the global response to COVID-19, we are joined togethe...

A New Devotion - Loving the Unlikable

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

John 15:12-17

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."

Loving the Unlikable

You know, there’s a lot of people that I consider unlikable out there in the world. Of course, before I say anything else, I’m sure there are plenty of men and women who would include me on their unlikable list. And since the act of liking a person involves emotion rather than intention, likability is up to the beholder. In other words, I may like folks that you dislike, and vice versa. As a matter of fact, the very traits that make a person likable to me may lead you to an opposite feeling. But regardless of the “whos” and the “whys,” I think we’d agree that the world is full of folks are aren’t exactly our “cup of tea.” That’s just the way it is.

Still, that doesn’t free us from our responsibility, as followers of Jesus Christ, to love them. You see, no where did Jesus give us a loop-hole that would free us from loving our neighbor. In fact, he made it a command, that we love one another as we’ve been loved. Since everyone who believes in him knows that he chose us and has freed us and has given us hope as we look into the future, obedience would seem to be something we’d be willing to give our Savior. If not, we couldn’t appreciate what he did very much, right? You see, that’s also just the way it is. God expects us to love one another.

But right here, we’re in luck; the kind of love Jesus wants us to show others has very little to do with emotion. Rather, it’s treating those around us in a loving way. It’s responding to their needs. And it’s being gentle and kind, even when we’d love to lash out. When you get right down to it, it’s really a matter of decision rather than feelings. And because of that, as Christians, we can and should be willing to love the unlikable, because that’s exactly what Jesus did for us.

A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on Romans 1:20 - God's eternal power and character can not be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse.

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Breath prayer eases anxiousness

Ancient practice synchronizes breathing with sacred words

By Diane Stephens Hogue | Presbyterians Today

Victor Garcia/Unsplash

Whether it’s threats like climate change or a pandemic — or whether we feel powerless after news of another shooting or natural disaster — we live in a state of fear and constant vigilance.

Take a deep breath, I tell those who come to me for spiritual direction. Let’s breathe together, slowly, I say.

These are anxious times. And they are taking a toll. We find ourselves restless and indecisive. Tears flow at every injustice. We are less patient and more snappish. Self-doubt, stress eating and insomnia have a hold on us. Our creativity is shot.

Just breathe, I hear myself saying again and again.

While we cannot avoid stress in our lives, we can develop healthy ways of managing stressors, beginning with mastering “breath prayer” — a spiritual practice tracing its roots to the desert fathers and mothers in the third century A.D.

We take about 25,000 breaths per day. The air we breathe contains 21% oxygen, 0.04% carbon dioxide, 78% nitrogen and small amounts of other chemical elements. The air we exhale is different only in the amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide, now 16% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide. In that exchange, we have oxygenated our blood with nutrients our cells need for energy, intelligence, imagination and love.

But we tend to be shallow breathers, using only about 15% of our lung capacity, which exacerbates fear and any anxiety we may be feeling. Deep breathing (also known as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing and belly breathing) is the antidote, and it is as straightforward as filling the lungs by inhaling deeply through the nostrils, holding for three counts and exhaling slowly through the mouth.

In the past few years, the health care profession has been touting breathwork for improved health. All the while, religious traditions worldwide have known for millennia the benefits of breath awareness, from Taoist Qigong breathing to Tibetan Pranayama to Zen breathing practices. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, we understand that we are animated and enlivened by the breath that was breathed into us at Creation.Interestingly, in Hebrew the word for “breath” and “spirit” are the same — ruach.

In our Christian faith, we also know the power of prayer. If we turn our attention to God, we can catalyze our deep breathing with breath prayer. This prayer invites us to synchronize our breathing with sacred words. The psalms, with their raw emotions and poetic language, are well suited to breath prayer. Sacred poetry and hymn texts work, too.

Breath prayer is simple to do, requires minimal preparation and can be done anywhere. The repetition of words that mean something, our breathing — they engage us body, heart, mind and soul. We rest in the Spirit and discover new dimensions of trust in God.

These are anxious times.

Yes, they are. But just breathe and pray, I remind myself.

Diane Stephens Hogue is a spiritual director and writer, specializing in spirituality and the arts, prayer and liturgy.

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Put into practice

• Choose a phrase of up to 12 sacred words.
• Divide it into two parts. You will be praying the first part on the inhale and the second on the exhale. For example, take words from Psalm 23 and as you inhale, pray, “beside still waters” and as you exhale, say, “you lead me.” Or these words from Romans 8:38–39 (inhale): Nothing can separate us, (exhale) from the love of God.
• Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Tune out any distractions.
• Take three deep breaths, slowly. Resume your normal pace of breathing.
• When ready, introduce the first part of your prayer on the inhale. Exhale the second.
• Repeat the phrase in the silence of your heart as you breathe naturally, up to 20 minutes.
• Slowly let the words fall away. Tend to your breathing. Open your eyes and reorient yourself.
• Carry your breath prayer with you as God’s word to you today.

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Remembering victims, resisting violence and renouncing evil

A prayer for Holocaust Remembrance Day

by the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, Office of Theology & Worship | Special to Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). First observed in 1951, this commemoration has become an international day of remembrance for those who perished in the Holocaust. It takes place on the 27th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which occurs on April 20/21, 2020 (in Jewish tradition, the new day begins at sunset).

As we confront the coronavirus and live into the reality of the human crisis of our time, we remember all who suffered from the great evil and violence of that time. And in remembering, we join in prayer to “commit ourselves, this day and always, to work for reconciliation in the world, until Earth and heaven embrace.”

The following prayer is offered by the Office of Theology & Worship of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. It incorporates an allusion to the April 1951 speech in the Israeli legislature first calling for such an observance, as well as a reference to Psalm 85. It seeks to connect this commemoration with the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s commitment to dismantle structural racism as part of the Matthew 25 vision.

Heaven and Earth cry out to you, O Lord,
and your people join their lamentation.
We remember the six million Jews
who were killed in the Holocaust.
We remember other victims of Nazi violence:
LGBTQ, disabled, and Romani people.
We remember those who gave their lives
to save others and resist the genocide.
We renounce the evil of anti-Semitism
and other forms of hatred and prejudice.
We commit ourselves, this day and always,
to work for reconciliation in the world,
until Earth and heaven embrace
with steadfast love and faithfulness,
righteousness and peace.

To learn more about the commemoration of Yom HaShoah, see “Mishkan Moeid: A Guide to the Jewish Seasons,” Rabbi Peter S. Knobel, ed. (Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2013). 

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WCC News: Orthodox churches honor deep Easter tradition, even in difficult times

The world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter on 19 April, carrying forth time-honored traditions even in difficult times.

Intertwining traditions, beliefs and a deep community spirit, from Jerusalem to Romania, from Greece to Russia, from Turkey to Georgia, and in many other places across the world, Orthodox churches respected their traditions while equally respecting government rules put into place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Patriarch Daniel of Romania described, in his Easter Message, the way the “feast of feast” was celebrated this year in Romania, but also in most of the Orthodox Churches: “This year we celebrate Holy Pascha at times of sadness, during a pandemic which induces fear, the fear of sickness and death, while state authorities need to take measures in order to stop the spread of the disease. In this context, the Church is in pain, as its servants and the faithful cannot pray together in the same church, in the same place of worship. From this point of view, the faithful’s homes from each parish become family chapels united in prayer with their parish churches, professing their common faith in the crucified and risen Christ.”

Spreading the light of the Resurrection

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania reminded the Orthodox faithful that, this year, sharing the light of the Resurrection, one of the most significant liturgical traditions, will have a different character: “This year we will not be able to transmit the Light of the Resurrection, from one chandelier to another. Let us transmit the light of hope and fearlessness that Christ gives us from one heart to another! Christ is Risen!”

In Romania, volunteers wearing masks and gloves were able to spread the light to parishes, as they would every year, so that people could celebrate Easter.

Then each home reflected on Easter, with most unable to attend church services, yet they took the opportunity to understand their values, cherish tradition, and be with each other, still connected by tradition.

A sense of connection was also evident in Greece, even though the nation remained on lockdown, as Greek Orthodox watched livestreamed Good Friday prayers and Easter services. On Saturday evening, at midnight, when the Lord’s Resurrection was proclaimed by clergy in churches behind closed doors, people on their balconies, with their candles lit, sung together “Christ is Risen!”

Many families said they missed traditional travels out to ancestral villages, a pilgrimage that involves several million people who travel to the countryside and the islands.

In Moscow, Patriarch Kyrill celebrated Easter at the Christ the Savior Cathedral, surrounded by clergy, but without the presence of faithful. As we celebrate the Lord’s glorious resurrection, Patriarch Kyrill said in his Easter message, “We are called upon to preach the Son of God and the Son of Man, who in his ineffable love for us shed his most precious blood on the Cross. We are called upon in both word and deed and with our whole lives to bear witness to people of the One who ‘was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities’ (Isa. 53:5) and ‘was raised for our justification’ (Rom. 4:25).”

Some Orthodox Churches did not follow strictly the government measures and opened the doors of the churches to faithful, although not many people attended as, for example, in Bulgaria and in Georgia.

Easter at home

In Turkey, most Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter at home, with services livestreamed on social media by a few church leaders who performed the rites.

In southeastern Mardin province, only a few Syriac Orthodox Christians gathered in the fourth-century Kırklar Church on Easter Sunday, in line with measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Those who gathered prayed for an immediate end to the deadly pandemic.

The Deyrülzafaran Monastery located just outside the city of Mardin also held Easter rituals with a limited number of people.

Assyrian leaders in the city of Mardin decided last month to indefinitely suspend all visits to churches and monasteries and to halt Sunday rituals.

However, an exception was made for Easter Sunday. At Kırklar Church, Archbishop Gabriel Akyüz led the rituals on Sunday, reading chapters from the Bible and leading chants in Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac.

The service was broadcast live on social media, allowing the faithful to watch from their homes.

Orthodox communities in Turkey have been supportive of government measures to combat the novel coronavirus and aid those affected by it.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated Easter with the small community of clergy, living with him in Phanar, and delivered a message to the Orthodox Church around the World for Holy Pashca.

“The radiant worship, the sacred mysteries, the life of prayer, fasting and ascesis, pastoral ministry and good witness in the world – all of these emanate the fragrance of Paschal joy,” he said. “The presence of pain and death, no matter how tangible these may be, does not constitute the ultimate reality. That lies in the definitive abolition of death.”

In his Easter Message, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew praised the doctors and nurses: “It is difficult to remain human without the hope of eternity. This hope lives in the hearts of all doctors, nurses, volunteers, donors and all those generously supporting their suffering brothers and sisters in a spirit of sacrifice, offering and love. In this indescribable crisis, they radiate resurrection and hope. They are the ‘Good Samaritans’ that, at the risk of their own lives, pour oil and wine on wounds; they are the modern-day ‘Cyrenaeans’ on the Golgotha of those lying in illness.”

A special article from the Easter celebrations in Jerusalem will be published later this week.

WCC Orthodox member churches (Eastern and Oriental)

WCC resources on coping with the Coronavirus

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.

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