"Looking Toward Sunday" for August 31

"What's In a Name?"

12th Sunday after Pentecost

August 31, 2014

This week we take a look at the story of Moses' encounter with God on Mount Horeb. (You can read the text here.) In the first of their many conversations, God speaks through a burning bush to inform Moses that he has been chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Initially hesitant, Moses is assured that God will be with him and that the Israelites will one day worship in freedom on this very mountain.

Before Moses leaves he wants to know what name to call God. God's reply is "יהוה" (commonly translated as "I AM WHO I AM"). The answer seems a bit evasive, almost like a riddle. And yet it is entirely accurate! God is who God is - uncontainable, transcendent, impossible to pigeonhole - the incomprehensible Wholly Other who is more than our language, images,and ideas about God.

Can we be comfortable with a God who is always bigger than the boxes we attempt to place God in? Are we willing to give God the space in our lives to be who God will be? Can we simply remove our sandals and stand before the mystery of the Holy One? Join us this week as we consider the ineffable nature of God.

See you on Sunday!

"Looking Toward Sunday" for August 24

"Doing the Something We Can Do"

11th Sunday after Pentecost

August 24, 2014

This week we take a look at the beginning of the book of Exodus and the story of the survival of the infant Moses. (You can read by clicking here.) Anyone who's ever gone to Sunday School probably knows it by heart. Moses is placed in a basket in the Nile by his mother to save him from Pharaoh's murderous plot to eliminate every Hebrew baby boy. Moses is fished out of the water downriver by the Pharaoh's daughter and she claims him as her own. 

As familiar as the story may be, there are two characters that most of us skip right over. Yet they're as necessary as anyone else in the story for Moses' survival (and arguably more so). They're the two midwives who defy Pharaoh's mandate of infanticide.

What do we know about these two seemingly insignificant women, Shiphrah and Puah? What motivated them to do what they did? And what can they teach us about the power of ordinary people? Join us as we learn a bit more about these two overlooked players in God's daring plan for the liberation of the Israelites and ponder our own part in God's purposes in the world.

See you on Sunday!

"Looking Toward Sunday" for August 17

"Inside Out"

10th Sunday after Pentecost

August 17, 2014

This week we take a look at Jesus' confrontation with some Pharisees over their criticism of his disciples for not following the rules of ritual cleanliness as scrupulously as they did.  (Matthew 15:1-20 - You can read it here.) Jesus' response is that his critics are hypocrites who say all the right things and perform all the proper religious rituals, but whose hearts are far from God. They're careful about what they put into their mouths, but not about what comes out of them.

Jesus then tells the gathered crowd that they should be more concerned about living from the inside out. They need to pay closer attention to what's in their hearts, because that's what will affect them and everyone around them. That's what will defile a person's life - not what goes in from the outside.

Join us as we ponder Jesus' quote from the prophet Isaiah,"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Do we merely go through the motions of being a good Christian while neglecting our inner transformation? What do our words, our actions, our attitude say about what's really in our heart? Are we more concerned with living from the outside in or the inside out?  

See you on Sunday!

"Looking Toward Sunday" for August 10

"The Opposite of Fear"

9th Sunday after Pentecost

August 10, 2014

This week we take a look at the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water during a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. (You can read it here.) Peter - always the impulsive one - asks to join Jesus in his water-walking adventure. But after just a few steps Peter sinks in fear, prompting Jesus to say, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

It's been said that the opposite of faith isn't disbelief, but fear. So, where do we find the courage to live out of faith rather than fear? What can enable us to grow our "little faith"? Can we learn to be daring enough to swing our legs over the side of the boat? Join us as we wrestle with those questions this week.

See you Sunday!