JuLy/August 2010
July 4: “Who is my neighbor?” A lawyer asks Jesus that question after Jesus tells him to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus responds, as he did so often, with a story: the beloved parable of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 10:25-37. On this Independence Day, it’s a story that has something to say about how we as Americans should relate to the rest of the world, because Jesus is challenging national stereotypes held by both the Jewish and the Samaritan peoples. We’ll do some national soul-searching in a message titled “Beyond Borders.” Holy Communion will be served.
July 11: During July we’ll leave behind the lectionary readings and explore one of the most beautiful and stirring books of the Bible: Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We’ll begin with Philippians 2:1-13, in which the apostle encourages his readers to “let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Is that even possible? We’ll explore that question in a sermon called “Coming Up Empty.”
July 18: “Think on these things,” Paul writes – things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable. Is the apostle counseling us to blind ourselves to all the pain in the world? No he’s showing us that a focus on God’s activity in the midst of all that pain is transformational for us and for the world. We’ll read Philippians 4:1-9 today and explore it with a message called “Set Your Mind Straight.”
July 25: In addition to promoting harmony in the church he has established at Philippi, Paul’s concern is that the gospel be preached far and wide. In Philippians 1:12-18a, he takes stock of the differing motivations for sharing the Good News. “What does it matter?” he asks rhetorically. We’ll try to answer his question as we share a message titled “Motive and Opportunity.”
Aug. 1: Pastor Scott is away this Sunday. We’ll welcome to our pulpit the Rev. Jan Mahle, who serves as associate campus minister at D’Youville College and has extensive experience as an interim minister. Jan’s message, “Sometimes You Got to Get Out of the Boat,” is based on Matthew 14:22-33, the familiar story of Jesus’ walk on the water. Holy Communion will also be served.
Aug. 8: Rev. Jan Mahle will return to our pulpit today with the stirring Old Testament of Gideon. Her message, based on Judges 6:33-40, is titled “Gideon: Needing Proof.”
Aug. 15: The prophet Isaiah’s “Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard” Isaiah 5:1-7 forms the backdrop for today’s worship service. The prophet laments that unfaithful Israel has become like a lovingly tended vineyard that yielded only wild grapes and foresees God’s judgment because of it. Sometimes that’s true in our lives as well – the best-laid plans, the lovingly nurtured children, can cross over into chaos and ruin. Where is God when that happens? We’ll seek answers in a message titled “Surviving a Rotten Harvest.”
Aug. 22: Eighteen years. That’s how long the woman had been, in the words of Luke 13:10-17, “bent over and ... quite unable to stand up straight.” And even though he risked criticism for working on the Sabbath, Jesus puts his hands on her, loved her and healed her. The constraints put on us by our upbringing and the expectations of “polite society” can be crippling in their own way. In today’s message, titled “Straight to the Heart,” we’ll think about how we too can be unburdened of the strictures that bow us down and hold us back from a life of true faith.
Aug. 29: When was the last time you set a place at the table for an angel? “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,” says the writer of Hebrews, “for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Today, as we study Hebrews 13:1-8, we’ll examine that fascinating promise and think about how it might really be that angels appear to us in ways we might least expect. Our sermon is called “Entertaining Angels.”