Weekly Bible Verses: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13: Do Not Become A Stumbling Block

1 Corinthians 8: Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ²Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; ³but anyone who loves God is known by him.
⁴Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
⁷It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. ¹²But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Weekly Bible Verses: 1 Samuel 3:1-20: Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening

1 Samuel 3: Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. ²At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.” ¹⁵Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”
¹⁹As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

For Those Who Grieve

For all who grieve, please know that we stand by you and pray for you in this time of troubles. May the promises of the Lord give you strength and the support of the community of the saints give you comfort.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 32:27

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By God's great mercy we have been given a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. 1 Peter 1:3-4

and 

The home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them and they will be God's people. God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. Revelation 21:3-4

Let us pray together:

Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, and who by your mighty power raised Jesus Christ from the dead, give us the light and life of your presence. Help us to put our trust in your wisdom and to open ourselves to the ministry of your love. Open our hearts, that we may truly hear your words of encouragement as they come to us from the Scriptures, and that by their consolation we may be lifted out of our sorrow to know that in Christ there is life eternal. Amen

A blessing before you go: 

Go in peace, and may the blessing of God the Creator, Christ the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit the Comforter be with you, and remain with you now and forever. Amen

Are You Ready to Plant Your Flag?

God has many surprises for us in our lives. Not long ago, in a class on the theology of romantic love, our professor stated that there are many areas in our faith where there is a great range of interpretation based on sound biblical study and interpretation. He stated that in these areas a time would come when each of us will have to decide where to plant our flag and take our personal stand (mind you, your thinking on where that is can and does shift as you mature spiritually and that's a good thing ... if uncomfortable and unsettling). Far sooner than I expected, circumstances arose where I was called upon to plant my flag and take a stand on thorny issues facing the church today. Left to my own devices, I probably would have chosen to avoid these issues, focus on more pressing matters (in my estimation), or find a way to artfully skirt the issue (I work with words for a living after all). After much prayer, Bible reading, and consultation, I planted my flag and took my stand.

There were two surprises for me in this experience. The first was that this requirement from God arrived so soon after the classroom discussion. The second was how good it felt to stated clearly, faithfully, and civilly where I stand. I am hoping this will lead to productive dialogue with the group asking the questions. If nothing else, I am now ready for these questions in the future. In either case, I will be interested to see where this leads.

Weekly Bible Verses: Mark 1:4-11: With You I Am Well Pleased

Mark 1: ⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Weekly Bible Verses: Luke 2:1-20: I Am Bringing You Good News of Great Joy for All the People...

Luke 2: In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
⁸In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

An Evening in Song: Celebration of Belief and Belonging

My memories of holiday dinners past - way, way past - are not complete without the “saying of the piece” , a mandatory performance by individual family members, the children in particular, which always followed the meal. Of all the annual performances, none comes to mind more clearly than Aunt Agnes singing “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries” year after year. After Grandad bought one of those newfangled reel to reel tape recorders, we got to hear it even more often than that.

ECBC’s Christmas concert is not your average Christmas concert. It is like an enthusiastic “saying of the piece” by our individual church family members. The interior walls of our church are painted a kind of neutral rose, so at night with the Christmas tree lit (it’s a little tipsy this year since one section was accidentally overlooked during assembly) and the house lights down, our little church is positively glowing.

First up was Andrew Henry’s annually composed for the occasion “Christmas Poem”. He always rises to the challenge of fitting his rhymes very neatly into a very eclectic meter. From there we were touched by Kathi Johnson’s singing of “Mary Did you Know?”

The musical performances included Leah Johnson on violin, some super jazzy piano playing by Sally Sorber complete with glissandos, trills, and fancy chords, and then Madeline Snyder thrilling the crowd with “O Holy Night”.

We swayed to “Calypso Lullaby” sung by our own ECBC choir, Lucy Jefferys on guitar with “Go Tell It On the Mountain”, favorite hymns sung by Holly Johnson, Dawn & Dustin Flay, and multiple generations of Hegarty women singing a Spanish song, an English song, and a just plain silly song.

Bruce Reid managed to pierce our hearts with his reading of a story about a baby and a skid row bum. Jesus liked to do that with his parables.

Wrapping it all up was Pastor Joseph Sum singing and playing guitar followed by our usual circle and blessing.

Belief and Belonging - We celebrated it here Saturday night.

Then we ate cookies.

—Marie Jones