renewal

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
We've been reading about how Hannah and Elkanah gave their son Samuel to God at the temple of Shiloh. Today we hear about the state of worship at the sanctuary. While Eli was a faithful priest, his sons were not. As the story continues from there we'll see that Samuel is God's instrument for renewal and reform in Israel's faith.

God bless,
Sam

1 Samuel 2:11-21
¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the boy remained to minister to the Lord, in the presence of the priest Eli. ¹²Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord ¹³or for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴and he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ¹⁶And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take whatever you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now; if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord; for they treated the offerings of the Lord with contempt.

¹⁸Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord”; and then they would return to their home. ²¹And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

part II

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This morning I'm going to Irondequoit Presbyterian Church to learn about a small group program called Alpha that introduces some of the main ideas of the Christian faith for discussion. I think it might be a good fit for Laurelton, so I'm going to learn more. If anyone else would like to join me, the program starts at 9:30 this morning and includes breakfast.


After Jesus rose from the dead he spent some time with his disciples, getting them ready for what would happen next. Then he rose into heaven. Those events form the end of the Gospels and the beginning of Acts, which is the story of God working through the church. Acts is a wonderful book to read when you are in a time of church renewal, like we are at Laurelton. As we pursue a new beginning, it's good to go back to the churches beginning. Acts is part two of Luke's Gospel, which you see in the introduction here. The writer begins by addressing Theophilus (which means lover of God) and relating the story he is about to tell to the one his reader has just finished reading. Notice Jesus instruction to the disciples: wait in Jerusalem for God's power. That's how the church begins, by waiting in prayer.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ ⁷He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’