persecution and release

Good morning friends,
I hope you have some time today to enjoy 
friends and family. It's a great day to remember the blessings of 
freedom we have in our country and the sacrifice of those who have 
guaranteed them, both people in uniform and people organizing and 
protesting for civil rights. Please also pray for our nation, that we 
would continue the difficult and sacred pursuit of freedom for the 
common good.

Our reading today continues the story of an episode 
of persecution. King Herod killed James (son of Zebadee and brother of 
John, not the brother of Jesus) and put Peter in prison. God executes a 
jailbreak for Peter that is funny in its execution. The passage after 
that, which we'll skip, tells the story of Herod's death and summarizes a
 period of growth for the church. One of the great strengths of our 
faith is that we are strongest when we are weak. Even the power of royal
 persecution, when we respond in faith and openness with love, makes us 
stronger. That's also the brilliance of non-violent protest, as with 
think about civil rights struggles in the context of our nation's 
history.

God bless,
Sam
 

Acts 12:6-24

6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’

 ⁹Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. ¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’

12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. ¹³When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. ¹⁵They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she insisted that it was so. They said, ‘It is his angel.’ ¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, ‘Tell this to James and to the believers.’ Then he left and went to another place.

18 When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. ¹⁹When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

remember

Good afternoon friends,
I hope the weekend is treating you well. Our worship this morning was very relaxed, with "congregational choice" singing. It was great for me to be back at Laurelton after some time away. In our reading yesterday we talked about God making a covenant with Israel after bringing them out of slavery in Egypt. The next books of the Bible give more detail to God's covenant by telling stories of Israel in the desert following (and not following) God, as well as by teaching the laws. In today's reading we skip ahead to Deuteronomy where Moses makes final preparations for the people to enter the land without his leadership.

Blessings on your afternoon,
Sam

Deuteronomy 6:4-24

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.

¹⁷You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his decrees, and his statutes that he has commanded you. ¹⁸Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you, ¹⁹thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

²⁰When your children ask you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?” ²¹then you shall say to your children, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²²The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. ²³He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. ²⁴Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case.

covenant

Good evening friends,
I'm home after an exhausting week in Pittsburgh for the PC (USA) general assembly. It was a tremendous blessing to be there, but it's good to be home. There's so much to digest, both intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Tomorrow's worship will be very relaxed and we'll do some requests for hymns, so you might want to think of a favorite between now and then. In our reading we continue the story of Israel's liberation from slavery and formation as God's people. God continues his claim on us and covenant with us, as well as with the people of Israel. How is God calling to your today?

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 19:1-8

On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ²They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. ³Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 

⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” ⁷So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

liberty and law

Good morning sisters and brothers,
We often think of commandments as the opposite of freedom. Our reading has a different view: God's law teaches us true freedom. When we follow God's guidance for a just society and a faithful life we become free from the tyranny of greed, idolatry, oppression and fear. It's not the freedom of doing whatever we feel like, but the deeper, truer freedom of being who we are meant to be. When we take things a step further through the gospel of Jesus, we become free from the religious requirements of the law in the perfect freedom of submission to Christ's calling. It's harder than following a simple list of rules, but true freedom comes from following God.

Blessings,
Sam

Psalm 119:41-50

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise.

⁴²Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word.

⁴³Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your ordinances.

⁴⁴I will keep your law continually, forever and ever.

⁴⁵I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts.

⁴⁶I will also speak of your decrees before kings, and shall not be put to shame;

⁴⁷I find my delight in your commandments, because I love them.

⁴⁸I revere your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

⁴⁹Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.

⁵⁰This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.

idols and knowledge

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Our section for today is full of quotes that scholars believe came from a letter to Paul from the Corinthian church. The issue discussed is whether it is OK for Christians to eat meat sacrificed to idols or not. The letter to Paul seems to make the argument that since Christians know that idols aren't really gods it is fine to eat food sacrificed to them. Paul agrees in part, because he thinks it's true that strong Christians won't be hurt by eating food sacrificed to idols, since idols aren't real.

At the same time, he reminds them that not everyone in the church is so firm in their knowledge. In fact, many Christians are recent converts from idols, and though they now know that Jesus is Lord, they are still used to idols having power. If these newer Christians see strong Christians eating food sacrificed to an idol they might think that idolatry has a place in the church, which would risk leading them back to the idols they left behind. While idol worship isn't such an issue in the church today, the bigger principle is important. Christians are free in most things, but we are also called to think about the impact of our actions on others. When we think about how we will act we have to consider not just whether it is OK in itself, but also whether it might hurt someone else's faith. In all things we are called to seek love, which builds up the community.

God bless,
Sam

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.


7It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.