Introduction to Worship for 9/18/2016

1 Timothy 1:12-17

The letter of Timothy retells the story of Paul and his encounter with the risen Christ. Written from Paul’s perspective, the letter talks about the ways in which this experience changed the apostle’s life. The writer knows that Paul was not deserving of God’s understanding, yet God is loving. This is grace and it is the catalyst for transformation and growth. Once full of cruelty and hatred, Paul is transformed from one who tried to squash the good news of Jesus to one who proclaims it. How wonderful to know that God never gives up on us. Like Paul we are free to grow in God’s love.

Family activity (can be adapted to families of all ages)

Get out family photograph albums and note the many different ways family members have grown and changed over the years. Talk about some of the invisible, internal changes as well.

Take a quiet moment to reflect on examples of personal transformation, and where these experiences have led.
What responsibility do you think individuals have when they receive the gift of God’s transforming love? In what ways do individuals continue to develop and nurture this gift?

New prayer concerns

Bill & Joyce's family: Janet, bone cancer; Grace- lost husband a month ago, broke her hip 2 weeks ago.

Alice- total knee replacement.

Ted- in an apartment, continued prayers for healing.

Cancer: Jeanie- starting chemo; Linda starting chemo and radiation

Alex in hospital

Dylan & Holly- changes

all those who have started new school year

Comments

Introduction to Worship for 8/27/17

Disappearing: The gift of Disappearing is a tricky one, although I think it is a terrifically important one for American Christians, and particularly mainline WASP Christians to understand and claim. Psalm 19 Galatians 2.20: “...[I]t is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Disappearing comes in those moments when we can see the world beyond ourselves as it is, undistorted by ourselves in the frame. Sometimes, as in Psalm 19, it comes in moments of awe, when we are so caught up in beauty or in process or in relationship that our sense of self ebbs away, leaving only the experience. Sometimes it comes when our illusions about our false self are stripped away, and we stand undefended before the truth of our lives. Either one can be a powerful motivation for change. Both allow us to see ourselves as part of God’s plan, in relationship to others. Both...

Introduction to Worship for 7/23/2017

Looking Ahead—Seven Weeks on “Gifts of the Dark Wood,” by Eric Elnes: I want to prepare you for the rest of the summer, starting on July 23, when we will be exploring the ideas raised by Eric Elnes in his book called “Gifts of the Dark Wood: Seven Blessings for Soulful Skeptics.” Dr. Elnes writes, “This book is about finding your place in the world at the very point where you feel furthest from it. It’s about recognizing the fierce beauty and astonishing blessing that exists within experiences that most of us fear but none of us can avoid…failure, emptiness, and uncertainty are as critical for finding our way through life as they are unavoidable” (p. 2). Dr. Elnes takes the expression “the Dark Wood” from Dante Alighieri, who wrote in the Divine Comedy that the Dark Wood was a place of stumbling, of turning away from God because of sin and terror. Yet there is also a strong tradition in Christianity that insists that the Dark Wood is ...

Introduction to Worship for 5/14/2017

Stand Firm: This week’s scriptures set up a strange tension. On the one hand, rock is used in a positive way: God is referred to as a rock and a fortress in Psalm 31:3. In 1 Peter 2:1–10 we are told Jesus is a living stone, and that we ourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. And yet, in the reading from Acts we read the story of Stephen the deacon being stoned to death because he stands firm in faith and witness to Jesus. Like fire which we will celebrate in a few weeks at Pentecost, rocks are both good and bad. Acts 7:55–60 When we last read about the early Christian community, they enjoyed the “goodwill of all” (Acts 2:47). This regard was short-lived. In Acts 4 we learn that Jewish leaders came to Peter and John, “annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:2). The leaders ordered Peter and John to cease their witness. They did not, and the number of Jews believing...

This Week at UPC

Search This Blog