Posts from March 2020 (Page 2)
Worship at Home This Sunday March 15
“Cast All Your Anxieties on Him for He Cares for You” We will not be meeting in the sanctuary this Sunday – in obvious response to the current pandemic. Following the lead of Collier County Schools that will close next week, Peace worship, our Early Learning Center, and all meetings and Bible studies will be suspended for next week. We will, however, have opportunity to worship at home! Consider this email a starting point and review these Scriptures: Cast all…
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
St. Paul declares, “I press on…” referring to knowing the power of the resurrection and the chance to share in his sufferings. He perseveres… Jesus tells the story of the persistent neighbor waking up his friend to provide for his guest and instructs us in the explanation of the story to “keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking” and the search will be rewarded… (Luke 11.5f) Jesus tells another story of a lowly persistent widow getting her way with a big…
The Parables of Lent: The Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10.25f) “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4.9) In essence, to whom am I responsible to love? To witness? To serve? Breaking through self-focused, self-indulgences may be difficult enough, but is probably more likely when we care for people we love or people like us in race, creed, or color. Chances are we’re more likely to delay or cancel our plans to care for others we like, or who are like us, than if we…
The Parable of the Weeds & the Wheat
The reflex for fight or flight is strong especially when we are witness to injustice unfairness or even laziness. People who have little vested interest in the mission of the church but are quick to criticize with curmudgeon like zealousness disrupt momentum and ministry. Underhanded neighbors make plans to disrupt HOA meetings. Family members hold grudges that stifle family gatherings with eye-rolling and heavy sighs. And on and on goes the seemingly endless list and examples of (what Jesus would…
The Parable of Lent: The Mustard Seed & Leaven
What’s your thoughts? Should the Word of God “make sense?” Should it have reasonable, predictable patterns? Or, is the Kingdom of God more about surprises, paradoxes and unpredictability? The pastoral answer is, of course, yes. There are many places in Scripture where clear linear thinking is commended. Luke 14.25f instructs disciples to exercise clear planning and strategic thinking. The parables of Jesus about the mustard seed and leaven, however, are about the small beginnings that lead to astounding growth which produce…
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