Readings – Jeremiah 23:1-6; Song of Zechariah; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 How many here have been to Strasburg, Pa.? How many have taken the train from Strasburg? And where does that train take you? What is the destination? Paradise, Pa. It is about a 4 ½ mile ride through Amish farmland from Strasburg to the…
Readings – Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 12:2-6; II Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21: 5-19 There was a time not far from here, counties to the east, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Carbon, Northumberland, when coal was king. The mines were booming; the railroads were hauling; the small towns were thriving. Many of us remember those times. And then the abandonment…
Readings – Daniel 7:1-3,15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 The composer of Psalm 149 began with: Sing to the Lord God a new song; sing his praises… let the children of Zion be joyful… …praise him with timbrel and harp… Let the faithful rejoice… A new song yet the composer reverted back to the…
Readings – Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; II Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10 This morning I will focus on the well-known passage from our Gospel according to St. Luke. It occupies an important position in this Gospel, being placed just before the final approach of Jesus to Jerusalem, and the Holy Week narratives that begin…
Readings – Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; II Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. … the first day…the second day…the third…
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Readings – Galatians 6: 14-18, Psalm 121, & Matthew 11: 25-30 In the tradition of St. Francis, the twelfth-century saint, there are three elements that are crucial. First, to know God, we just need to step into nature and soak in all the beauty, the majesty, and the glory. Second, everything…
Readings – Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6,14-16; I Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 The Tortoise and the Hare, who remembers Aesop’s Fable? The Hare races forward, way ahead, and then he stops and takes a nap. The Tortoise lumbers toward the finish line, slow and steady. He passes the sleeping Hare and crosses the finish line…
1 Corinthians Paul founded the church in Corinth but discovers after he leaves that they have fallen into sin, error, and internal disputes. Paul writes this letter hoping to correct these problems. Come join the Bible Study Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am. 14 September Session One Paul opens with friendly greetings and then…
Readings—Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; I Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10 Today I will begin with the word “vengeance”. Webster defines vengeance as “punishment given in return for an injury or offense”. In ancient times it was not unusual for the offense of one man to be avenged by wiping out his entire family, or even…
Readings– Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 One of my favorite images of God at work is the image from Jeremiah of a potter, shaping clay. The image works for me because many times throughout my life I have been shaped by those loving, powerful hands, shaped and re-shaped, again and again. …