Weekly Bible Verses: Luke 13:31-35: ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord

Luke 13: ³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³²He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. ³³Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ ³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
³⁵See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan

 To all who are bullied or have been bullied and carry the scars, we at ECBC stand with you. Please take in the message here and believe it, especially the ending. Know this, Jesus loves you, Jesus came into this world for you, Jesus knows you and accepts you. Please believe this. Jesus came to tell you that the creator of the universe knows and loves and accepts you as you are. As a pastor and theologian and satirist said:

The grace of God is dangerous. It's lavish, excessive, outrageous, and scandalous. God's grace is ridiculously inclusive. Apparently God doesn't care who He loves. He is not careful about the people He calls His friends or the people He calls His Church. 

~ Mike Yaconelli

Believe!

How to Reach Out to People Today with Good News

What follows are a few recommended steps to telling our story differently [evangelizing] in a society that has become mistrustful of Christians and all we have to offer. I would add, be willing to use a little well timed humor to make a point.

1. Apologize for past hurts: It never hurts to say "I’m sorry for the way Christians have misrepresented Christ. I’m admitting the church fell short in many ways representing Jesus as written about in the Bible. As we aren’t perfect, we simply can’t. We fallible Christians want you to know we are aware of our discrepancies. I'm sorry if some of our members have hurt you." At that point, the person engaged can see a person humble enough to say "we aren’t perfect, we’re all broken. We don’t get it right every time and we know it." There is no point in saying anything arrogant about having arrived ... we haven’t. We're on a journey. This is a posture that is far different from typical evangelism.
2. Move from talking to listening: “How are you?” “Who are you?” Think of evangelism as at least half listening, not all talking. Also listen to the person’s story. This is the relational, postmodern thing to do. You can even ask (if you're brave enough), “What would you say to Christians if you had the opportunity?” But if you do, be still and listen.
3. Moving from strength to weakness: Let people know you understand that you are ordinary and imperfect, just like everybody else.” Be willing to let people know: "I’m still journeying and will say I don’t know to your questions when I don’t." Be honest about what we know and what we don’t. None of us have to make things up to be okay. Affirm questions and discuss them. Explore them together and learn something together. This is an attitude and posture different from others.
4. Shift from speaking of beliefs to spirituality: “I want to talk about God, not religion.” Emphasize God and spirituality. Spirituality is our relationship with God. It is how God speaks with us. People have largely rejected institutions, but not spirituality. 
5. Move from debate to dialogue (we have WAY too much debate today): I don’t want to argue, let’s learn from each other. What can I learn from you and vice versa. I’ll be open to you if you let me be open with you. We can say who we are and who we follow if we follow this line and listen to the other.
6. Don't Manipulate ... Just Be Intentional: “I am a Christian, now can we move on?” Christ is not about manipulation. Move away from manipulating conversations and be real with people. Eventually, if the conversation authentic and we are sharing who we are, eventually we will come to a conversation about our faith. It is central to us and will come up if our conversation partner is serious about knowing who we are. Let the conversation develop naturally. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel. Be authentic. Be aware of natural opportunities to share who you are. That will come out in conversation naturally. With old evangelistic methods, we tend to have forgotten natural conversation. Relationships require a lot more work than handing out a tract, and are worth it. 
7. Tell what you know in story form: Tell people the story of particular moments with you and God. American Baptist Churches USA recommends you tell the story of what Jesus has done for you (or at least one little piece of that story). People respond much better to story than to canned remarks. 

For more on this subject, you can read the book: Jim & Casper Go To Church. 

Weekly Bible Verses: Luke 4:1-13: Worship the Lord your God, and Serve Only Him

Luke 4: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. ³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” ⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” ⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” ⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ¹¹and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” ¹²Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Weekly Bible Verses: Exodus 34:29-35 & Luke 9:28-43: Transformation Sunday

Exodus 34: ²⁹Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. ³⁰When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. ³²Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that theLord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. ³³When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; ³⁴but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Luke 9: Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
³⁷On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. ³⁹Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” ⁴¹Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴²While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
⁴³And all were astounded at the greatness of God. 

Church Seeks Prom Dresses to Offer Helping Hand

FBC Norristown, Pennsylvania, Prom Dress Giveaway: 
First Baptist Church of Norristown is hosting our 4th annual Prom Dress Giveaway and we need help collecting dresses and spreading the word!  Last year the Lord provided over 800 dresses and we are praying for just as many this year!  He also sent 124 girls and we pray He will send even more young ladies and families to select and take home a FREE prom dress.

Offer Consolation

Words of wisdom and a wonderful way to help others on life's rocky road.

Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the solider who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive. 

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it. 

~ Henri J.M. Nouwen. Bread for the Journey

To those who suffer today, we the congregation of ECBC are with you, keeping you from standing alone, sharing your burden ... wherever you are and whatever it is. 

Weekly Bible Verses: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13: What Is Love?

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.⁹For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; ¹⁰but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Freedom from Guilt Is Ours for the Taking!

There are certain ways to treat yourself and others when dealing with the sticky issue of "guilt." These are outlined in a complicated text called the Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling.They're good guidelines well worth your consideration.

1. It is entirely inappropriate for you to either consider yourself either flat out unforgivable (to practice "unmitigated self-condemnation" to use the DPCC's term) or peacock proud of your own morality.
2. God in Christ has stated once and for all strongly that we have worth and are forgiven (repeat that line over and over until it starts to sink into your heart ... intellectual understanding just won't cut it here).
3. When we accept for ourselves that we live in the context of God's love for us (powerful and unwavering love) we are freed from fear of alienation from God. To live within that love, we need to confess guilt, change our lives to avoid sin, and make up for whatever wrong we have done (you still have things you have to do).
4. Living in the fellowship (community) of other believers (you can be one too, trust me, ... and you are invited into the community, you really are) helps to shape our values and inform our judgments and conscience, allowing us to grow responsibly in love toward God, others, and ourselves (very, very important). 
5. Forgiven believers have a big job to do and that is forgiving others, restoring relationships that have been broken, and doing our parts to help maintain and grow our communities of faith. After all, those communities are supposed to be busy living out and proclaiming the good news message of God's forgiving love and need every forgiven believers help in doing so. Far too many are agonizing under guilt they could be freed from. 
6. Recognize that guilt is complicated and life is muddled by the "structures of evil" to use a DPCC term I enjoy. Check out what the therapists and behavioral scientists have to say. Christians should use these professionals' insights and seek their skills when possible and appropriate to heal human brokenness. 
7. Help the hurting whenever you can, who suffer from guilt (if it's "neurotic guilt" recommend specialists trained in helping them). Help them to take for themselves, assimilate into themselves, and share with others God's love, forgiveness, and acceptance, moving toward personal and communal wholeness. 

In 1 John we are given encouragement. We are reminded who is on our side: 

^{1 John 1:6-2:5:} If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.  

Free yourself and others today.