Looking into the lectionary - A prayer after Iran's strike on Israel

April 28, 2024 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 8:26-40 I came to faith as an adult. I had grown up going to my grandparents’ church when we visited with them, so I had some familiarity with the Bible, but not much. Through personal growth and searching, I came to believe in Jesus Christ. I found a church and joined as an adult. And I began to read the Bible by myself. I started at Genesis and read each day. Within a month, I found myself thinking, “If I have to read about one more animal sacrifice, I’m gonna lose it!” I did not understand much of what I read, and the love of Christ I had experienced in my life was hard to find in the words I read. The Bible can be very hard to read and understand, especially on one’s own. In the lectionary passage from Acts 8:26-40, we find someone who had trouble reading the Word of God, too. The story begins, as all of the stories in the book of Acts do, with the Holy Spirit. The story of Acts is the story of the Holy Spirit in the world, guiding and creating the new church. Philip, led by the Holy Spirit, has been in Samaria — offering grace and salvation to that community amid persecution. And again, through the leading of “an angel of the Lord,” Philip is now led south to Gaza. It is a deserted wilderness road, hardly where one would expect to encounter God’s purposes. But it is there that Philip encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian eunuch is a man of high status in his community and the treasurer for Candace, Ethiopia’s queen. However, in terms of the people of God, the Ethiopian eunuch would have been considered marginalized. Isaiah 11:11 declares that the people of Ethiopia will be recovered one day; until then, they exist as outsiders. In addition, the man’s status as a eunuch would have meant he was partly, but not fully welcome. Deuteronomic Law barred eunuchs from entry into the Temple. The Ethiopian eunuch had been able to worship in Jerusalem, but likely couldn’t gain entrance into the Temple’s inner courts. Yet, even if the Ethiopian eunuch is an outsider, he is faithful still. Can we take a moment to marvel at that — at the faithful response of a man who was excluded? What experience of God must this man have had to be faithful under those conditions? Maybe that alone makes this a miracle story. ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Thank you to this week's writer Tara Bulger.  Order of worship for April 28, 2024. These liturgies are free to use. A prayer after Iran’s strike on Israel by Teri McDowell Ott The Canaanite woman’s faith (April 28, 2024) by Sheldon Sorge Meeting in wild spaces  — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale Want the worship resources for April 21, 2024? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Beyond the offering plate: Diversifying your church’s fundraising strategy Laura Strauss offers three tips for churches who need help making ends meet. Embracing mysticism, near-death experiences and spiritual encounters at church People are having intense, life-transforming spiritual experiences, writes Graham Standish, but they don't feel the church is the right place to talk about them. Somehow: Thoughts on Love In "Somehow," Anne Lamott gives us reason to trust in the God whose love is the greatest of all. Breaking down barriers A lesson about Acts 8 and expanding the boundaries of community. — Sheldon Sorge Join Faith and Money Network for a free 90-minute webinar with Miguel Escobar, author of The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty and the Church Today. On Wednesday, April 24, from 7:00-8:30 pm Eastern, Escobar will discuss what early Church thinkers have to say about money and generosity. Are American churches destined to become more socially conservative? With an influx of Christian immigrants from the global South coming to America, some writers forecast a more conservative American Christianity. Katherine Pater looks at statistics and Acts 8 to argue that an inclusive future is possible. Lazy sabbath: A journey through parenthood and rest "To fully live into sabbath, maybe we need to admit to being lazy in the best kind of way," writes Katrina Pekich-Bundy. TOMORROW Join us for a webinar to continue the conversation our “Small is beautiful” issue started. Tomorrow Outlook Editor/Publisher Teri McDowell Ott will convene a panel of voices from our January issue including Catherine Neelly Burton, Warren Lesane, Shavon Starling-Louis, and Philip Blackburn. This is a pay-what-you-can webinar.