resurrection hope

Good evening brothers and sisters,
Thanks to everyone in worship this morning for your great participation. I was tired when I walked in this morning and left excited and energized. God is so good and I love being on this journey with you all. Today's reading completes Paul's discussion of the resurrection of the dead, the teaching we discussed this morning in worship. It's such a blessing to know that God has us safe in his arms every moment of our life and beyond the grave. Trusting in God we can take risks for justice and for our faith. Knowing God can raise the dead gives us hope that even in the worst situations God is at work, and one day God will bring us all safely home.

Blessings on the week,
Sam

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

⁵¹Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

God first

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This morning's readings remind us to put God first. Our first reading is called the Shema, from the Hebrew word for "hear." It is the core of Israel's faith and is followed by a warning from Moses not to forget God's love when Israel is finally safe in their land and secure. Moses knew that comfort can be a real risk to our faith, so we have to remember that everything we have comes from God.

Our reading from Matthew reminds us that God cares about our material needs and that worrying doesn't help anything. If we seek God's kingdom and follow Jesus faithfully, the other things will fall into place. That doesn't mean we'll have fancy cars and houses or that our life will be easy. Instead it means that God will give us what we need and we will probably learn to want less as we serve God and our neighbors.

God bless,
Sam

Deuteronomy 6:4-16

⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. ⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, ¹¹houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, ¹²take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹³The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. ¹⁴Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, ¹⁵because the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. ¹⁶Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

praising God

Good morning sisters and brothers,
I chose this Psalm of praise for today so we could spend some time just praising God. Christ is born and rather than moving on to learning something else in scripture I'd rather dwell in the amazing love and surprising grace we see in the birth of our savior. So read the Psalm slowly and give yourself a moment to just sit in praise. Our God is amazing and full of love.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 147:1-11

¹  Praise the Lord!
     How good it is to sing praises to our God;
     for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
²  The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
     he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³  He heals the brokenhearted,
     and binds up their wounds.
⁴  He determines the number of the stars;
     he gives to all of them their names.
⁵  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
     his understanding is beyond measure.
⁶  The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
     he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷  Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
     make melody to our God on the lyre.
⁸  He covers the heavens with clouds,
     prepares rain for the earth,
     makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹  He gives to the animals their food,
     and to the young ravens when they cry.
¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
     nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
¹¹ but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
     in those who hope in his steadfast love.

closing words

Good evening/morning friends,
Today's reading is Paul's closing encouragement to the church at Thessalonica. He encourages them to keep the faith and to treat others well. He also reminds them that it is God who will keep them safe and faithful. The advice that was good for the Thessalonians is good for us today as well, and the one who calls us is faithful.

Blessings on the new week,
Sam

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

¹²But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; ¹³esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. ¹⁵See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise the words of prophets, ²¹but test everything; hold fast to what is good; ²²abstain from every form of evil. ²³May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. ²⁵Beloved, pray for us. ²⁶Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. ²⁷I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them. ²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

God is with us

Good morning friends,
When God led Israel out of slavery it was a hasty exit, but also clearly thought out. God worried about how the people might react to different dangers and guarded them along the way. God's presence isn't usually as obvious as a pillar of fire, especially when we're going through hard times. But even in the darkness God is always with us. Often we see God most clearly in our friends and family; other times in the kindness of strangers or a subtle feeling of calm in our soul. God is here.

Blessings,
Sam

Exodus 13:17-22

17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 19And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.” 20They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. 22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Joseph's rise

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We all love an underdog, and this is one of the great underdog stories. Through God's wisdom and revelation Joseph not only interpreted Pharoah's dream, he also proposed a plan for dealing with the famine the dream predicted. With that, Joseph goes from imprisoned slave to second in command of Egypt. God continued to care for Joseph and make him successful in spite of many obstacles. God never leaves us alone. God's care for us is usually not as obvious as it was in this case, but in different ways God looks out for us. Often that care comes through friends and family, but no matter what, we are not alone.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 41:33-43

33Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. 35Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”



37The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?” 39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck. 43He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

interpreter of dreams

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We read how Joseph's master had him imprisoned because his wife accused Joseph of making a sexual advance toward her. Even in prison God blessed Joseph. After some time had passed Pharaoh had a dream that puzzled him, and no one could explain it to him. Pharoah's cup bearer had been in prison with Joseph and remembered Joseph's gift for interpreting dreams. He brought Joseph to Pharoah's attention and we will see where the story goes from there.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 41:15-32

15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”



17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; 18and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt. 20The thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows, 21but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk, 23and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouting after them; 24and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.”



25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine. 28It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. 30After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land. 31The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous. 32And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.

trouble and care

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Joseph's mistress sees an opportunity to get revenge on Joseph for refusing her advances, and Joseph ends up in jail. Even there, God's care follows Joseph and he prospers. Even when everything seems to be going wrong for us, God won't leave us alone. God's care isn't usually as obvious as it is in Joseph's case, but we are never alone.

God bless you with your day,
Sam

Genesis 39:13-23

13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; 15and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” 16Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; 18but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.”



19When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.