Worship with Rev. Peter

Sunday Worship Service
January 28th 2024
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 111:1&10

Please join with me in Prayer
Almighty and ever living God.
Lord as we gather together to worship You.
Lift up our hearts and help us to draw near,
Let us find comfort and support in You and Your Word.
The world in which we live is ever changing, but from age to age, You are the same.
The world is the work of Your hands,
And the Spirit that dwells within us is Your Spirit,
We are yours for You have made us in Your power and claimed us through Your Son,
Your Word made flesh, come to dwell among us and tell us,
Of the Creator’s love for His creation, for our Father’s love for all His children.
Lord, we gather to praise You and worship You as our Triune God,
As Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
For You have made us and all things, and called them good.
And Your Son’s sacrifice, His death and resurrection made us Yours, redeeming us.
And Your Spirit has been at work throughout the ages,
upon the hearts and minds of the God fearing and faithful all over the world,
lifting us up and carrying us forward, kindling our faith and sustaining our prayers.
You are our God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
And we are ever Your people.
But Lord, while we are yours, we must confess to You our unrighteousness,
Our willfulness, our arrogance, and our waywardness.
Lord, we turn aside and away from You.
Lord, at times we act carelessly and speak thoughtlessly.
We believe more in our weakness rather than in Your strength.
And are led by our fears rather than our hope in You.
Lord, forgive us our faults and failures, forgive us our Sin.
And we ask forgiveness in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For He came among us with good news, offering forgiveness for the repentance of Sin.
He came that we might know that the Judge of all creation is a loving parent,
Ready to catch us when we fall, if only we are prepared to trust in Him and His Son,
So hear us as we continue to pray in the words He taught us to say praying…
Our Father, Who art in Heaven.
Hallowed be thy Name
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
on Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever and ever
Amen

Our opening Hymn #

Please join me in the Unison prayer of Illumination
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen

Our Psalm today is Psalm 111

1. Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2. Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.

3. Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4. He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.

5. He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6. He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.

7. The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8. They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

9. He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.

Our First reading is Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Our Second reading is 1st Corinthians 8:1-13
Our Gospel reading Mark 1:21-28
“Gathered like us”
Do you think the crowd at the synagogue knew that one among them had an unclean spirit? They were in Capernaum, which was more village than town. When Jesus speaks in that synagogue, there is about 1500 people living there. It’s not so far off the number we have here in Boularderie. Of course, not everyone shows up to the same place to worship, so maybe we’d have a hard time imagining that crowd, all the faces, some familiar, some not. Some beloved, some … not. But there along with Jesus, they’ve gathered to worship, and worship in a way not all that different from how we worship. They don’t speak the same language that we do, nor do they sing the same songs. But they recite the same psalms, they hear the words of the prophets, and they listen to teachings. They pray together and worship in fellowship. Just like we do.
And they don’t generally expect a person with an unclean spirit to be among them. Neither do they expect someone to teach them with authority either. Which is exactly what Jesus is doing. I am a bit hesitant to declare to you that we are engaged in worship in the same way. I am much more comfortable in the role of the scribe, the reader of scripture, and reminder of stories. Because to speak with authority is a fearful thing, it is the role of the prophet. To not simply hold forth scripture, but to interpret it and take the risk saying something new. Something you’ve never heard before. And that is a risk, as we’ve seen from the book of Deuteronomy. There, the Lord quite clearly states that because human beings are overwhelmed by God speaking directly to them, For the people of Israel have told Him so themselves, God shall send messengers to speak His Word to His people. And woe to any who speak a word that God did not send or speak a word in the name of another God. The punishment for that is death.
So! The comfortable role is that of scribe, the reader of scripture and reciter of laws, but that’s not what I’ve been called to. I am here as a teaching elder. And that means I have to do more than just read the scripture, I have to interpret it. I have to pass along what I’ve learned in my studies and in my life, so that you will hear God’s living Word, not just a repetition of what you can read yourself. There’s no special trick that I was taught, other than learning to trust in God’s Spirit rather than my own skill to bring to you the Good News of Jesus Christ. Believe me, each one of you here, listening (or reading) could get up and do what I do. You might not want to, and that’s okay. But you can. There is no one stopping you except for yourself. All of which is to say that the reason I am up here is not all that different from the reason Jesus was speaking at the Synagogue. He came from among them and stepped forward to speak. I mean, someone had to. But Jesus wasn’t a priest. He just knew scripture and He had something to say.
And so did someone else in that synagogue in Capernaum. Someone with an unclean spirit. I asked earlier if anyone there knew. If anyone knew someone was there with an unclean spirit. It’s a difficult question, because as I made it clear, that synagogue is not so different from our gathering. Would you ask yourself, looking around, whom among us has an unclean spirit? Who here would speak up to interrupt someone in their midst that spoke with authority? It’s not a comfortable thought, is it? But if we are to read the gospel and apply it to our lives, then we must also look to our lives and see the gospel stories in them, the good and the bad. If we believe the gospel to be true and not fairy tales or fables, then we have to accept that those stories and our lives have a great deal in common. I don’t mean for you to look around wondering which one of us has an unclean spirit. I mean for you to look around and know that just as any one of you could get up and stand where I am, and speak God’s Word to His people, any one of us could be the one to cry out like that man with the unclean spirit did and interrupt someone speaking God’s Word.
But as frightening and strange such a notion is, I want you to look very closely at what Jesus did in that synagogue. Take courage in Christ’s example rather than be fearful of unclean spirits among us. The man with the unclean spirit asked Him “What have you to do with us? Have you come to destroy us?” and then revealed that he knows Jesus’ true identity and said aloud that “You are the Holy One of God”. This unclean spirit interrupts with many questions and knows many things, and seeks to engage with Jesus, confronting Him in this place of worship, in front of all those gathered, the friends, the family, the village and all those passing through that had come to the Synagogue to hear the Word of God and find fellowship among the faithful. And Jesus answered, with nothing.
Jesus didn’t answer his questions, Jesus didn’t confirm his claims. Jesus didn’t argue with him. Jesus told him to fall silent and get out; ‘Get out of him’, specifically. He didn’t have the man with the unclean spirit ejected from the synagogue, he had the Spirit ejected from the man in the synagogue. And I think that is very important for us to hear and recognize Jesus’ wisdom and example. To not engage with the unclean Spirits that confront us. To not play their game. There are all sorts of people out there. And some of them have genuine questions, questions for us, questions about God. Questions about the world and their place in it. But there are those, beset, I guess would be the best way to put it, by spirits that are unclean. Sickening the souls of men and women, giving them an arrogant heart on account of what they believe they know, and a fear they cannot manage, a fear of the future because it is out of their hands. A fear that God will have something, anything to do with them. An unclean spirit that seeks to interrupt or disrupt us and our relationship with God. An unclean spirit which argues that you and I do not matter, that what we do does not matter. And they’ll argue their points. They’ll try to contend with us, as faithful followers of Christ. They have questions, but they are not looking for answers, they are looking for people who will argue with them until they tell them ‘I guess you’re right’. They want people to give up, just like them.
Christ does not contend with those spirits. And neither should we. Spirits are not like us. We need not speak with them or argue with them, because the good news is not for them. Nor is it a matter of debate. It is not a reasonable discussion. The good news of Jesus Christ is a call to believe, to repent and be forgiven, to acknowledge that You and I matter! You do not answer the call of Christ with a counter argument. You do not win believers by arguing over beliefs. And that is important to remember because you are not called to convert the unclean spirits. The gospel is not good news for them but for us. That is why Christ spoke to cast them out and away. We too are called to silence them and call them out, so that we may hear human cares and considerations. So that we may make others see that they do matter and what they do matters. That’s why anyone of you can do what I do. Come and speak with authority. Speak of what you know and what you see. You have no need to argue because you are speaking as a child of God, you can speak of what you know, what you have seen. You are witnesses to God’s love and power. And here is a place to speak of such things, as praise and worship for our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit which dwells upon all who are gathered like us, through out the world and throughout the ages, those gathered in worship as the beloved children of God. Amen

Once again, please join with me in prayer
Living Loving God
We gather on account of Your will,
We dwell in a world of Your making,
And we live sustained by Your Spirit.
And stand before You a grateful people.
We are humbled by all that You have done, in us, through us and for us.
And we are amazed at the wonders all around us,
We are puzzled by the mysteries that confound us,
and we are delighted with the joys that confront us, and that we share with one another.
You have made us as individuals, but You have not made us to dwell alone.
You send us forth to dwell in families and among friends.
You call us to live in fellowship with one another.
And so we give You thanks, together as grateful individuals and together as Your people.
Lord, as we give thanks to You for Your many gifts, we ask that You continue to bless us.
And we ask that You bless our loved ones as well, our friends and family wherever they are.
Lord, We ask a blessing upon those that are dear to us, close at hand or held close in our hearts.
Bless Lord, those that struggle, the ones we know and the ones we know not.
Bless those whose names we lift up to you …
Bless those that help others, and lead others, bless those that care.
Bless all who cross our paths, whether we know them well, a little or not at all.
Bless those that struggle and those that strive.
Bless those that work toward the good of us all.
And bless those that help the ones that need help most of all.
Bless those that serve our country and return them to loved ones at home.
Lord, enter the lives of those that call on Your Name,
And make Your presence known to those that have forgotten You.
Bless those that are engaged in the healing arts and sciences in any capacity.
Bless those that are suffering illness, injury or affliction,
Bless them and see that they receive the care they need in a timely fashion.
Bless Lord, those that find themselves struggling in their hearts and minds.
Those that feel abandoned or fearful, help them to find the strength to reach out.
And bless those that reach out to others to help them and support them.
Lord, bless our hurting world,
Reach out with reassurance to the confused,
And help to the lost. Bring hope to those that struggle with feelings of futility.
Bring safety to those fearing violence and feeling vulnerable.
Bring peace to the warring nations and peoples.
And Lord, reach out beyond our reach to those that believe themselves to be entirely alone.
Show them that they are not alone, that You have not forsaken them for You do not forsake any one of Your children. This we ask in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Closing Hymn

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you,
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Amen

Sunday Sermon January 28th 2024
“Gathered like us” Mark 1:21-28
Do you think the crowd at the synagogue knew that one among them had an unclean spirit? They were in Capernaum, which was more village than town. When Jesus speaks in that synagogue, there is about 1500 people living there. It’s not so far off the number we have here in Boularderie. Of course, not everyone shows up to the same place to worship, so maybe we’d have a hard time imagining that crowd, all the faces, some familiar, some not. Some beloved, some … not. But there along with Jesus, they’ve gathered to worship, and worship in a way not all that different from how we worship. They don’t speak the same language that we do, nor do they sing the same songs. But they recite the same psalms, they hear the words of the prophets, and they listen to teachings. They pray together and worship in fellowship. Just like we do.
And they don’t generally expect a person with an unclean spirit to be among them. Neither do they expect someone to teach them with authority either. Which is exactly what Jesus is doing. I am a bit hesitant to declare to you that we are engaged in worship in the same way. I am much more comfortable in the role of the scribe, the reader of scripture, and reminder of stories. Because to speak with authority is a fearful thing, it is the role of the prophet. To not simply hold forth scripture, but to interpret it and take the risk saying something new. Something you’ve never heard before. And that is a risk, as we’ve seen from the book of Deuteronomy. There, the Lord quite clearly states that because human beings are overwhelmed by God speaking directly to them, For the people of Israel have told Him so themselves, God shall send messengers to speak His Word to His people. And woe to any who speak a word that God did not send or speak a word in the name of another God. The punishment for that is death.
So! The comfortable role is that of scribe, the reader of scripture and reciter of laws, but that’s not what I’ve been called to. I am here as a teaching elder. And that means I have to do more than just read the scripture, I have to interpret it. I have to pass along what I’ve learned in my studies and in my life, so that you will hear God’s living Word, not just a repetition of what you can read yourself. There’s no special trick that I was taught, other than learning to trust in God’s Spirit rather than my own skill to bring to you the Good News of Jesus Christ. Believe me, each one of you here, listening (or reading) could get up and do what I do. You might not want to, and that’s okay. But you can. There is no one stopping you except for yourself. All of which is to say that the reason I am up here is not all that different from the reason Jesus was speaking at the Synagogue. He came from among them and stepped forward to speak. I mean, someone had to. But Jesus wasn’t a priest. He just knew scripture and He had something to say.
And so did someone else in that synagogue in Capernaum. Someone with an unclean spirit. I asked earlier if anyone there knew. If anyone knew someone was there with an unclean spirit. It’s a difficult question, because as I made it clear, that synagogue is not so different from our gathering. Would you ask yourself, looking around, whom among us has an unclean spirit? Who here would speak up to interrupt someone in their midst that spoke with authority? It’s not a comfortable thought, is it? But if we are to read the gospel and apply it to our lives, then we must also look to our lives and see the gospel stories in them, the good and the bad. If we believe the gospel to be true and not fairy tales or fables, then we have to accept that those stories and our lives have a great deal in common. I don’t mean for you to look around wondering which one of us has an unclean spirit. I mean for you to look around and know that just as any one of you could get up and stand where I am, and speak God’s Word to His people, any one of us could be the one to cry out like that man with the unclean spirit did and interrupt someone speaking God’s Word.
But as frightening and strange such a notion is, I want you to look very closely at what Jesus did in that synagogue. Take courage in Christ’s example rather than be fearful of unclean spirits among us. The man with the unclean spirit asked Him “What have you to do with us? Have you come to destroy us?” and then revealed that he knows Jesus’ true identity and said aloud that “You are the Holy One of God”. This unclean spirit interrupts with many questions and knows many things, and seeks to engage with Jesus, confronting Him in this place of worship, in front of all those gathered, the friends, the family, the village and all those passing through that had come to the Synagogue to hear the Word of God and find fellowship among the faithful. And Jesus answered, with nothing.
Jesus didn’t answer his questions, Jesus didn’t confirm his claims. Jesus didn’t argue with him. Jesus told him to fall silent and get out; ‘Get out of him’, specifically. He didn’t have the man with the unclean spirit ejected from the synagogue, he had the Spirit ejected from the man in the synagogue. And I think that is very important for us to hear and recognize Jesus’ wisdom and example. To not engage with the unclean Spirits that confront us. To not play their game. There are all sorts of people out there. And some of them have genuine questions, questions for us, questions about God. Questions about the world and their place in it. But there are those, beset, I guess would be the best way to put it, by spirits that are unclean. Sickening the souls of men and women, giving them an arrogant heart on account of what they believe they know, and a fear they cannot manage, a fear of the future because it is out of their hands. A fear that God will have something, anything to do with them. An unclean spirit that seeks to interrupt or disrupt us and our relationship with God. An unclean spirit which argues that you and I do not matter, that what we do does not matter. And they’ll argue their points. They’ll try to contend with us, as faithful followers of Christ. They have questions, but they are not looking for answers, they are looking for people who will argue with them until they tell them ‘I guess you’re right’. They want people to give up, just like them.
Christ does not contend with those spirits. And neither should we. Spirits are not like us. We need not speak with them or argue with them, because the good news is not for them. Nor is it a matter of debate. It is not a reasonable discussion. The good news of Jesus Christ is a call to believe, to repent and be forgiven, to acknowledge that You and I matter! You do not answer the call of Christ with a counter argument. You do not win believers by arguing over beliefs. And that is important to remember because you are not called to convert the unclean spirits. The gospel is not good news for them but for us. That is why Christ spoke to cast them out and away. We too are called to silence them and call them out, so that we may hear human cares and considerations. So that we may make others see that they do matter and what they do matters. That’s why anyone of you can do what I do. Come and speak with authority. Speak of what you know and what you see. You have no need to argue because you are speaking as a child of God, you can speak of what you know, what you have seen. You are witnesses to God’s love and power. And here is a place to speak of such things, as praise and worship for our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit which dwells upon all who are gathered like us, through out the world and throughout the ages, those gathered in worship as the beloved children of God. Amen

Sunday Worship Service
January 21st 2024
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
Psalm 62:5-6

Please join with me in Prayer
Heavenly Father
From our lives we come,
From our hearts we lift our worship,
From our lips we show forth our praise.
We gather because You are our God, and You call us Your people.
We are Yours, for You have made us as the Creator.
And You have claimed us through Your Son our Redeemer.
And You surround us and lift us up through Your Holy Spirit.
You are our God, three in one.
For We call You Father, the creator and maker of all things.
Your Son came to tell us of You and of Your love.
Your Son, Your Word made flesh came and dwelt with us as one of us.
And in His death and resurrection,
You have made us Your own, and shown us the way to Your Home.
All this, Lord, we affirm and attest through the power of Your Spirit.
The Spirit that sets our hearts aflame and upon which our faith rests,
Your Spirit, by which we come to know the truths all around us, the truths set forth for us in Scripture, and the way, the truth and the life we come to know in Your Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ, the living Word of the Living God.
Lord, we gather today to praise You and worship You.
This worship comes from humble hearts and discerning minds, lifted to You.
But while we raise our hearts and minds to You,
We must also set forth our hurts, our faults and our failures before You,
And seek Your forgiveness.
Lord, You have made us know us within and without,
Our hearts and minds are not hidden from You.
Lord, we falter as a faithful people,
We fail in our care and compassion for others.
We lift ourselves over one another,
We push each other down rather than uplift,
We act carelessly rather than cautions.
We wander away from Your ways, and turn aside from Your care.
Lord, forgive us these things.
Forgive us our Sin.
And we ask Forgiveness in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ,
For He came with good news, offering forgiveness for the repentance of Sin.
He came to tell us that His Father was a loving parent, ready and waiting to catch us when we fall. Ready to come find us when we are lost and cry out.
Lord, Hear our repentance and forgive us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
And hear us as we continue to pray in the words that Jesus taught us saying…
Our Father, Who art in Heaven.
Hallowed be thy Name
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
on Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever and ever
Amen

Our opening Hymn #

Please join me in the Unison prayer of Illumination
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen

Our Psalm today is Psalm 62:5-12

5 For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.

9 Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.

Amen

Our First reading is Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Our Second reading is 1st Corinthians 7:29-31
Our Gospel reading Mark 1:14-20
Sunday Sermon January 21st 2024
“Good catch” Mark 1:14-20
Because we read our scripture in translation, that is, the Word of God comes to us in scripture that was once written in another language; we must recognize that what we read may have nuances which are not captured by our translation. English simply isn’t Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. That’s not to say that the meanings we find in our bibles differ from the intent of the original scriptures. It means that there might be small, but nevertheless useful, bits that we don’t hear, that we don’t see unless we go looking. And one such passage, an important passage to me, is hidden in plain sight in our psalm. Psalm 62:11. It reads in our translations “Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God.” In the Hebrew in which it was originally written, it can be read that way, but it can also be read more simply, ‘God said one thing, I heard two things; that power belongs to God.’
Do you see how subtle but significant a shift that is? And it really does not change the intent of the passage. It doesn’t turn it upside down, it broadens it, strengthens it. Now we are not hearing God speak repeatedly, now we are hearing God speak simply but profoundly. Saying more than we are prepared to hear. Something we hear at least twice. Saying two things to us when we hear Him speak to us. And that capacity is reserved for God.
This passage is important to me because it captures one of the important aspects of our tradition. We take scripture seriously. It is the source of saving knowledge. Our salvation rests on Christ alone, and we must hear of Him and read of Him in order to know what we _need_ to know; In order to hear His gospel. His good news. The Kingdom of God has drawn near, repent and believe in the good news.
You have to hear or read to believe. That’s it. It’s not a series of skill testing questions, it’s not a difficult test you take or a lengthy essay you have to produce. Read and repent, hear and believe. The kingdom of God is at hand. This is what we’ve been told once, and we hear twice.
Look at our gospel story, Jesus calling his disciples the first four, asking them to come and follow Him, and he will make them fish for people. These men will gather his followers, in the fashion that they have made their living, by fishing.
Literally? Of course not! As hilarious as it is to imagine Jesus encouraging these brawny fishermen to come follow him and capture others with their nets, it is utterly absurd. Remember, God speaks once, but we can hear two things. We hear Christ calls these men to fish for people, and we can also hear and know the Son of God is calling them to join in His ministry, drawing forth believers as they would draw forth fish from the sea.
And but think about how He framed the call of the kingdom, the good news. Fish for people. Fishing requires much skill, but not in the actual catching of fish. They swim into the net. Now, placing the nets, and hauling them in, that takes skill and strength. Taking boats out on the waters and returning with your catch, that takes effort and care. The work is dangerous, but the danger doesn’t come from the fish that you catch. It comes from the weather, the waves; from your own carelessness. The most important part of the whole process, the actual catching, happens beneath the waves, where the fish swim into the net. You aren’t there, you are in the boat, patiently minding the nets.
“And I shall make you fish for people.” In saying this simple single thing, the Son of God has said something profound, not just about what He has in store for His followers, but He also speaks of the gospel the very thing He offers, the very thing which shall draw others to follow Him; and follow them. The image He has used is fishing, not hunting, not making, not cooking. None of these things. The spreading of the Gospel, the good news, which we today call ‘Evangelism’ is not something in which we play the decisive role. We do not hunt and capture believers as prey. We do not make believers as a potter makes a clay bowl, or a woodworker carves a figurine, nor a cook makes a meal. We are active, we are involved, we sail our boats and we set our nets, but we don’t make the fish swim into the net. We do not make the believer believe. That is the work of the Spirit.
So, what then are the boats in which we fish, what then are the nets with which we catch? It is the good news. The gospel, the very things in which we believe, the things which caught us and drew us forth. And what are they? They’re the good that we’ve come to know. Not the good we like to imagine, not the good we think other people want. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t the bait, it is the net. It is the good we have and can share. And what God has said to us, what we have heard can be many things, but it will always be good. That’s how we got caught. But to me, there seems to be a great deal of confusion in the world at large about Christ and His call. His simple message to repent and believe has been made complicated. Not because God speaks with that polyvalent voice, saying many things in speaking once. No, it is because we humans want to put our own stamp on the Kingdom. Some Christians say they want believers, but they want people to believe in them, and their version of the gospel. Live like I say you ought, and God will love you like He loves me. They aren’t telling people to repent because the kingdom of God has drawn near. They’re telling people ‘Don’t fear, I am here, we’ll be the kindgom’. That is the news they bring. And that is not good news. It is not good news because the gospel isn’t mine or yours. It’s not my news or your news, it is news of the Kingdom of _God_, and that news is good. Simply that. Good News.
How many out there demanding people follow them to get to God, forget that one simple fact.? How many wish Jesus was speaking literally to His disciples when He told them that He would make them fish for people, because that would mean they could use nets and clubs to make followers of Christ. The message of the kingdom is good news, and that ‘good’ is not one which we may define. We don’t get to decide what is good for others, because we know what is good for us. We’re simply called to share it. Share what has brought us into the nets and hauled us into the boat. The good with which the God that has made us too fish for people. God has spoken to us, and said to us many, many things, and all of them are good, but His Word to us in Christ Jesus will lead us to Him without fail. We’ve only to wait and work toward the good that we surely know. That is what makes us a good catch, that we’ve been caught up in the gospel. Amen

Once again, please join with me in prayer
Living Loving God
You are the giver of every good gift and grace,
You are the source of life and the author of our lives.
And as we are gathered to worship You,
We lift to You the sacrifice of our hearts and minds,
the thanksgiving and praise which is Your due.
For all that there is, You have given to us.
For all that You have made, we offer our humble thanks.
Lord, Your works are wonders, The world You have made and called Good.
The seas and the skies, the heavens and the earth.
We live in a garden of Your making,
and You’ve left it in our care that we may tend it as stewards.
And You have called us to be more than Your Servants,
You’ve called us to be Your children.
You’ve called us to care for each other as a family, united in the Spirit, Your Spirit.
Lord, as we give thanks to You for Your many and countless blessings,
We ask that You continue to bless us and bless those that we care for and cherish.
Bless our family and friends, bless our loved ones.
Bless those that live among us as neighbors and around us in our communities.
Bless those that we know well, know a little and know not at all.
Bless those that have needs we know about, and those who have needs known only to You.
Bless those whose names we lift up to You …
Bless those that lead us, and those that help us, bless the guides and those that serve.
Bless those that serve our country at home or abroad.
Bless those that inspire, nurture and protect.
Bless those that teach and those that learn.
Bless those that are engaged in the healing arts and sciences,
Bless those that seek out treatment for illness, injury and affliction,
Lord may they receive the help they need in a timely fashion.
Bless the caregivers, Lord, those that care for others in their work,
And those that care for loved ones in their home.
Bless, Lord, those that work toward the good of us all,
And those that need it most of all.
Bless those that suffer in the Spirit, those seeking peace for their hearts and minds.
Bless our World too, Lord, for it is fearful and restless.
Bring peace and hope to this world and all its peoples.
Lord, there is violence and hatred,
Lead the nations in love, lead us to peace.
Help us all to see Your face in the faces of everyone on earth,
So we might know that we are all children of God.
Finally, Lord, reach out to those that lie beyond our reach,
Those that believe themselves to be entirely alone.
Show them that we are not alone, that You do not forsake any one of Your children.
All this we ask in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN
Closing Hymn

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you,
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Amen