Sunday to Friday

Good evening friends,
We're right at the start of Holy Week, a time that covers today's story of Jesus' triumphant entrance to Jerusalem to his crucifixion less than a week later. To say it's a week of high contrast and drama is a serious understatement. Jesus was welcomed as God's servant king and then denied and condemned by the same crowd. Our job this week is to put ourselves in the story, to spend time imagining being with Jesus in those last days. We may not have walked with him then, but we can walk with him now.

Also, tomorrow night (Tuesday at 7:30) we'll be sharing a service with some of our partner churches at St. Ambrose (Culver and Empire). It's a lovely service of gathering darkness as we hear the story of Jesus' last days in a new way. I hope you can be there.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 19:28-48

²⁸After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴They said, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. ³⁷As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” ³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” ⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

⁴¹As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” ⁴⁵Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; ⁴⁶and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” ⁴⁷Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

healing and teaching

Good afternoon friends,
I want to let you know about a worship opportunity that I forgot to announce on Sunday. This evening at 6:30 at St. Ambrose (in the gym) the Northeast Church Cluster will host a worship service for blessing pets. This has become an annual tradition near the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who was famous for caring for creation. It's a lot of fun, so bring your furry (or feathery, or even scaly) friend for a blessing tonight.

Our reading today will be familiar to many of us from Sunday. Peter and John healed a man who had never been able to walk. When people saw the man leaping for joy and praising God, they gathered around Peter and John to see what was going on. The apostles used this opportunity to tell the story about Jesus and invite people to discipleship. The religious leaders aren't so thrilled. A good reminder of how we can use opportunities to share our faith as well.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 4:1-21

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, ²much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. ³So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

⁵The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ ¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. ¹⁴When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. ¹⁶They said, “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; ²⁰for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened.

one in Christ

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's reading is a slight departure from our usual pattern. We're reading an excerpt from the Presbyterian Church's constitution, in particular from our Form of Government. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a beautiful constitution, but at times it is challenging to read because it is somewhat dense. Today's reading talks about how the church is one church even though that doesn't always seem to be the place. Because we believe we are all one church through Jesus Christ, we are called to work for greater unity in the church. One way we do that at Laurelton is through our local ecumenical association, the North East Church Cluster. With this group of Christians from different denominations we will celebrate a service for Christian Unity in January.

Blessings today,
Sam

PC(USA) Form of Government F-1.0302 a.

Unity is God’s gift to the Church in Jesus Christ. Just as God is one God and Jesus Christ is our one Savior, so the Church is one because it belongs to its one Lord, Jesus Christ. The Church seeks to include all people and is never content to enjoy the benefits of Christian community for itself alone. There is one Church, for there is one Spirit, one hope, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:5–6).

Because in Christ the Church is one, it strives to be one. To be one with Christ is to be joined with all those whom Christ calls into relationship with him. To be thus joined with one another is to become priests for one another, praying for the world and for one another and sharing the various gifts God has given to each Christian for the benefit of the whole community. Division into different denominations obscures but does not destroy unity in Christ. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), affirming its historical continuity with the whole Church of Jesus Christ, is committed to the reduction of that obscurity, and is willing to seek and to deepen communion with all other churches within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Thanksgiving Psalm

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Last night's ecumenical service was lots of fun. There were people from at least six different churches and lovely music. One of the pieces we sang that was particularly fun was a responsive setting of the Psalm we're reading today. We sang a congregational response: "The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest," while a cantor sung verses between the refrains. It was a nice way to hear the psalm and to celebrate God's amazing gift of harvest.

Today we are not having supper and scripture because of Thanksgiving tomorrow. There will be a Thanksgiving feast at Laurelton on Thursday at 4pm hosted by Gary and Susan Dennis along with the Outreach ministry team. Wherever you are for the holiday I pray it will be a time of joy and gratitude for you.
Blessings,
Sam

Psalm 65

¹   Praise is due to you,
          O God, in Zion;
     and to you shall vows be performed,
²        O you who answer prayer!
     To you all flesh shall come.
³   When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
          you forgive our transgressions.
⁴   Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
          to live in your courts.
     We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
          your holy temple.

⁵   By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
          O God of our salvation;
     you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
          and of the farthest seas.
⁶   By your strength you established the mountains;
          you are girded with might.
⁷   You silence the roaring of the seas,
          the roaring of their waves,
          the tumult of the peoples.
⁸   Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
     you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

⁹   You visit the earth and water it,
          you greatly enrich it;
     the river of God is full of water;
          you provide the people with grain,
          for so you have prepared it.
¹⁰  You water its furrows abundantly,
          settling its ridges,
     softening it with showers,
          and blessing its growth.
¹¹  You crown the year with your bounty;
          your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
¹²  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
          the hills gird themselves with joy,
¹³  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
          the valleys deck themselves with grain,
          they shout and sing together for joy.