Scripture Readings

Daily Bible Readings for the Week of September 10

Monday, September 10- 1 Kings 17:8-16   

Tuesday, September 11- Romans 8:18-30

Wednesday, September 12-  Matthew 6:19-23    

Thursday,  September 13- Isaiah 56:8—57:2

Friday, September 14- Deuteronomy 6:4-7    

Saturday, September 15- Acts 8:26-38

Prayer of the Week

  

O God, You call us into fellowship with each other and into service in Your church.  Be with us in times of difficult decisions and grant us the wisdom of Your Spirit; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

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Memory Verses for September 2018

September 2

Psalms 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain 

September 9

Colossians 3:23-24 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

September 16

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  

September 23

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

September 30

 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  

Book of the Month

 Colossians 

Journey to Hope

Navigating Change

Change Is not something most of us eagerly anticipate, especially if it is not our plan.  Grief brings about abrupt change.  What was comfortable and familiar yesterday becomes horrifying and different today.   Life can be re-categorized—there is BC (before change) and AD (after death or loss). 

What the Parable of the Sower Tells Us About Grief

 When we grieve the loss of something dear to us our faith is often tested.  We are told in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13) of four areas where seeds fell and subsequently grew.  Three areas could not sustain the plants that sprung up—only one could.  Going through grief can reveal our spiritual soil type.  God made soil to be a natural medium for the growth of plants and we are the God-designed medium through which faith is cultivated.  

Letting Go

We might not think that grieving would be an appropriate word to use for the Israelites after they left Egypt. They had been in the land for many years and it had been welcoming and a prosperous time.  But under a new Pharaoh life changed drastically. The bible tells us that the Egyptian masters worked the Israelites “ruthlessly” (Exod. 1:13, 14) and made their lives “bitter” (Exod. 1:14) with “hard/cruel” (Exod. 1:14; 6:9) service. As a result, Israel languished in “misery” and “suffering” (Exod. 3:7).