cup of blessing

Good morning and Happy Mothers' Day!
Today we'll be confirming youth in worship and celebrating their ministry; what a great celebration for Mothers' Day!
Our first reading concludes Peter's sermon on Pentecost. He's told the story of Jesus, including his death and resurrection. That story makes the crowd feel, "cut to the heart." They feel the truth of the story and their own place in it, and they know they are called to respond. Think about a time you felt that way. What was your response? What are you being called to today?

The second reading is a lovely Psalm, especially on a communion Sunday like today. One thing I'd like to highlight in the Psalm is that the psalmist wonders how he can repay God for God's goodness. He decides the best way is to lift up the cup of blessings in thanksgiving. We can't repay God, but we can give thanks. A little later this morning we will lift up the cup of blessing and call on God's name. The second thing I want to lift up fits with Mothers' Day. The psalmist calls him/herself a servant of God and then says, s/he is a "Child of your serving girl." In other words, the psalmist's mother was devoted to God, which paved the way for the psalmist to come to God. How did your mother or another woman shape your faith? Let's give thanks for the women who guide us, both to God and to them.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 2: 37-41

37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.



*Sunday

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

12 What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!