The Gospel reading this week (Matthew 15: 10-28) challenges us to consider who is in and who is out. On the outset it appears that this woman is out and Jesus came for the Jews, but as the story continues we see that she has enough faith to challenge the norms and with great respect for that faith Jesus heals her daughter. She is moved to the ‘in’ side.

In the Lord’s prayer, we ask for God’s kingdom to come. If we truly believe what we pray then we must expect that God will invite whom God pleases into his kingdom. This means that we will be challenged to accept people as ‘in’ that we would not normally be comfortable with. It means that we need to allow people in so that they can be healed. We cannot expect them to have it all together when they arrive but must provide the safe place where God can feed them.

Take a look around our worship centers’; observe people’s behaviors pretending to be one of the ‘out’. Then ask yourself what do we need to continue doing, stop doing, or start doing to make sure that all God’s people are welcome to God’s kingdom through our doors.

Prayers, Linda

The Orthodox church has a deep understanding of the church universal as being ‘The Church’ and the local congregation is a local expression of ‘The Church’. This recognizes the reality of The Church throughout the world and throughout time. The worshiper is part of a much larger whole, celebrating with the saints in glory and those in different places. Our communion liturgy also recognizes this with the words “And so we praise you with the faithful of every time and place….”

This weekend we have welcomed members of the Presbytery of the Downs. This makes visible to us what we already know. That we are all part of a much larger whole, who love and support each other in the expression of ‘Church’ that we call Uniting.

Grace and Peace, JP

“God’s protection is not just for me in a perfectly weed free environment. God’s desire is for as much wheat as possible to be gathered into the divine packing shed. Amazing Grace”

Prayers, JP

The past few weeks of the Sermon on the Mount have been about being generous. The sermon moves to address worry which is tied to fear of shortage of necessities.

Author Joseph Epstein sees it this way: “The practice of generosity can serve as a corrective to addictive consumerism. Generosity enacts the quality of non-greed; it is a willingness to share, to let go. It may be giving of time, energy, resources, love and even in rare cases, one’s own life for the benefit and welfare of others. Generosity weakens the tendency of attachment and grasping and is intimately connected with the feeling of loving-kindness.

People who experience the power and joy of generosity will also experience its effect on consuming. The cultivation of generosity offers a very strong antidote to the wanting mind and would be a powerful corrective if taken up in a widespread way across our culture. A powerful corrective – seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Prayers, Linda

How can I give my whole self to God? If we live as God’s people in everything we do there isn’t really a sacred versus secular divide in life unless we make it. Our work, our hobbies, our groups in the community can be our ministry.

Sometimes in the church we can look only at church things as being for God. Someone who is not involved may not be seen as ‘pulling her weight’, but may be filling a huge need elsewhere. God bless all our ministries.

Grace and Peace,
Jenny

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, calls us to be authentic. We should be honest in the way we pray, honest in our fasting and honest in our giving. All these actions should be motivated by our awe of God. Living a good life is not good enough if we are treasuring things of this world more than God.

When we desire to get brownie points with key leaders of the community, when we value our time more than others, when we focus on the feast and forget the fast, when we hold on to our material worth, we miss the point of Jesus’ words.

The entirety of the Sermon on the Mount is meant to help us understand the command to “love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.”

Prayers, Linda

Jesus in the Sermon the Mount gives his disciples a mission, to be salt and light. Salt and light both impact the things around them. As disciples we are to also impact the world around us. We are called to promote the gospel with our deeds, with our money, and with our church and with our words. The way we do this is to know the relationship of the behaviours listed in the sermon to the God who summons them.

So, from the sermon we can learn that the relationship of prayer to the God to whom we pray is first of all required. Disciples are required to pray but not pray in a way that draws undue attention to them. Public prayer is acceptable even required; however, the prayers themselves must come from the heart of the person who prays. To simplify prayer, it is telling God the things on your heart and allowing space for God to answer. Then the next important step is to act on prompts and feelings. Get help in the discerning.

Prayer, when it is from the heart and when God is allowed to speak to your heart, brings you closer to God. When we are close to God our prayers will bring glory to God when people see that it is a relationship with God that comes from the moves to prayer. If you are not comfortable with prayer, begin by praying a psalm or the Lord’s Prayer daily and then take a moment to think of things in your heart.

Prayers, Linda

Stewardship is understood in the gospel as the management of a household or estate. I believe that all of you fall into the category of stewards as you all have your own household to manage. Together, we manage the “household” we call congregation. Most of the precepts are the same. To manage a household you must be disciplined, to manage a congregation takes no less commitment.

Managing a congregation however, is a spiritual exercise and it is most effective when the spiritual discipline of a congregation is attended to first. This is the point that Jesus makes in his Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. We will be focusing on Matthew chapter six, Pray, Fast, Give, however, you will want to read the entire Sermon (Matt 5-7) to deepen your understanding of the context.

Prayers, Linda

Our Thursday service was based on the seven words spoken from the cross. I found this reflection from the seven words n the cross on www.churchpastor.com it seemed appropriate to share for those who were not at the service.

1. Forgive others (Luke 23:34)
2. Heaven is real. (Luke 23:43)
3. Care for your parents. (John 19: 26-27)
4. Express your heart to God. (Matthew 27: 46)
5. Be thirsty for the Living Water. (John 19:28)
6. Don’t give up. Finish it! (John 19:30)
7. Place your life in God’s hands. (Luke 23:46)

Prayers, Linda

HE IS RISEN!

We have navigated the emotional ups and downs of Holy Week – the celebrations of Palm Sunday, the despair of Good Friday and today the joy of the resurrection. Today, we remember and attempt to understand what Jesus did for us. We have come face to face with all the good and the ugly in order to understand what Jesus truly did for us.

Yes, salvation came at a cost that I would probably have been unwilling to accept if I had been asked. I wasn’t asked. Grace was given and the price was paid. Today we join Mary in her grief at the tomb with our own personal thoughts and we hear the call of the resurrected Jesus. “There is more! I am going to my Father and your Father, my God and your God”(emphasis mine). The relationship that Jesus had with his Father and God is now our relationship; any distinction or gap between God and us has been removed.

HE IS RISEN! And all respond HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

Prayers, Linda