praise of God's glory

Good afternoon friends,
Today's reading continues yesterday's. Paul continues to give thanks for the faith of the Ephesians. What I notice is that he bases all the rest of his discussion on faith. Everything for Paul comes back to theology. When we know God and God's love, and live according to that love, everything else falls into place. I love the poetry with which Paul praises God. I hope it inspires your evening too.

God bless,
Sam

Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 

²⁰God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

God's goodness and presence

Good morning sisters and brothers,
This morning is Dominic Gammariello's memorial service at Laurelton at 10:30 am; please continue to keep Dom's family in your prayers. Today's reading is a strange one. Moses craves a greater assurance of God's love and presence. God loves and values Moses, so God does just what he asks. Moses gets to see God in some physical way while God protects him from seeing more than he can manage.

Many of us crave a deeper sense of God's love but won't see what Moses saw. When we feel far from God or worried about anything, we can look at the cross. There we clearly see all God's goodness and God's amazing love for us. Seeing that image of God's goodness we know we have nothing to fear because we are not alone.

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 33:12-23

12Moses said to the LORD, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.”



17The LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” 19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The LORD’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” 21And the LORD continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

clay pots

Good morning sisters and brothers,
At the end of yesterday's reading Paul approached the question of why many Jewish people didn't follow Jesus with the idea of God's choice. Today he fleshes out that argument a little bit. He argues that God chooses who will open their hearts to God and whose heart God will harden. He uses the image of clay to illustrate the same point. God shows power and mercy in many different ways, including choosing surprising people to lead the way. When we look at Paul's life we see one way this works: God hardened Paul's heart to persecute the church and then showed the depth of his grace by calling him as the most famous apostle. God's calling is surprising, and he is not done with any of us yet.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 9:14-24

14What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. 17For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.



19You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; 23and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

suffering for glory

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Peter encourages the church that suffering for their faith is for God's glory and to their credit. That doesn't mean that any time they suffer it's a good thing. Often we suffer because we make bad choices; that doesn't glorify God. But when we suffer for doing the right thing, we can take courage because one day it will be clear that our faith is not in vain. Often the world is hard and life is unfair. Even in our suffering we can build up others and bear witness to the power of love. When we know that our suffering can be for the good, the power of evil weakens and we can find a measure of joy even in hardship. While all that is true, it doesn't change our obligation here and now to work to reduce suffering and combat injustice. Working for justice also gives God glory, and we can show love in joy as well as sorrow.

God bless,
Sam

1 Peter 4:12-19
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. 16Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?” 19Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

separation from God

Good morning friends,
First, we certainly want to keep our brothers and sisters in Japan in prayer as they rescue those in danger and begin the work of recovery. I also want to remind you about Tiffany's visit to lead a discussion of her peacemaking work in Iraq. She'll be sharing with us after worship tomorrow and will have some amazing pictures as well as a powerful story. Also, don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed tonight; the calendar says Spring is upon us, even though the snow on the ground says otherwise.

Our reading today dives into the meat of Paul's argument. The good news about Jesus is God's power for salvation for all, so we certainly are not ashamed of it. From this positive beginning Paul makes a case that everyone in the world can see evidence of God's power through the glory of creation. That should have led everyone to worship God, but instead many people worshiped idols and images of creatures instead. Since most people didn't seek God, God allowed them to go off on their own to live in immoral ways. Because of that separation we make between ourselves and God, many people fall into all kinds of trouble and the world became a mess. In passages to come Paul will tell us how God overcomes this bad situation, but for now we simply look around and see that it is true.

Blessings,
Sam

Romans 1:16-25

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.


19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.