Devotional 4-25-14

Risen, He Lives Again
 

Come, all ye faith-ful, joy-ful and tri-um-phant.
Fold-ed the grave clothes; an-gels stand ex-ul-tant.
Come and a-dore him!   Christ the Lord is ri-sen!
Ri-sen, he lives a-gain.

Ba-nish the doubts, di-spel the cloud of ter-ror.
They, dis-il-lu-sioned, now con-fess the er-ror
of dis-ap-point-ment and their fear-ful hi-ding.
Ri-sen, he lives a-gain.

Sing choirs of an-gels, sing in ex-ul-ta-tion.
Run with the wo-men's glad ex-hil-a-ra-tion.
Run with th' a-pos-tles' new ex-hu-be-ra-tion.
Ri-sen, he lives a-gain.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, ris'n this hap-py mor-ning.
Death can-not hold him!  Come, be-hold his glo-ry.
Come and a-dore him!  Christ The Lord is ri-sen!
Ri-sen, he lives a-gain.

jwl 2014
quoting John F. Wade "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (1743),
            translated by Frederick Oakeley (1841)
tune:  SHADES MOUNTAIN, K. Lee Scott (1987)

Rev. Jack Lipphardt

Devotional 2-21-14

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

I don't think I spend a lot of time thinking about how God created me in his image. That's probably a good thing, because it's after Christmas and there is more of me than I'm happy with.  That's something I have to work o , and it's certainly not God's fault.

On Wednesday I was invited to see my next grandchild.  What a wonderful experience.  You can actually see the bones in the hands, arms, feet and legs.  You can watch and hear the heartbeat. You can tell if you need to buy pink or blue; it's blue for this one.  It is such a miracle to be able to see all of these wonders right in front of me.

One of my favorite new Christmas songs is "Mary Did You Know?".  It is so beautiful and a little sad, but one of my favorite lines is "when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the Face of God." What a wonderful thought.  I don't think I'd really thought that before, I've just enjoyed kissing the sweet faces of the innocents.

The next time you kiss someone, partner, child, parent, friend, remember that you are kissing the Face of God.  Remember that how you treat this person or any other person you meet during the day is a reflection of how you treat God.

Think about this with every person you deal with and see if how you treat others doesn't improve your day, week, and your year.

I can't wait to kiss the face of our little grandson when he gets here.  He will be so fresh from God that I'm sure some of that grace will rub off on us.

May your days be blessed.

Debbie McGinnis

Devotional 2-14-14

What if?
"Our attitude towards others reflects our relationship with God."  1 John 4:20 (NRS)
 

When I was a little girl, my mother’s mantra was always, “Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, worry about what you are doing.” The implication was that that that would give me more than enough to do. In John 21:22 (NRS) when Peter asks about John, Jesus tells him, ”If I want him to stay alive until I return, what is it to you? You must follow me.” We aren’t supposed to compare our lives to others. We are to use the talents that we have been given to live the best life that we possibly can. We are to follow Him.

 

Jesus taught us to forgive others and not to judge them. Most of all he taught us to love. It doesn’t seem very hard when you first think about it. The devil (literally in this case) is in the details. Forgiving can be very hard. Sometimes it is an on going process that we struggle with for years. And we aren’t just to forgive, we are supposed to ‘turn the other cheek’ and pray for them. It seems to be human nature to judge others. It makes us feel better about ourselves. But Jesus (and my mother) said that we were not to compare ourselves to others. We are not to judge. Why do people behave the way they do? Only God knows, and that’s the point! Loving is Jesus’s greatest command. We are to love God--above all else. We are to love our neighbors--as we love ourselves. We are to love our enemies--and pray for them. Oh those pesky details!

 

What if we actually managed to live a life where love, forgiveness, and compassion are more important than judging and revenge? How would we be different? How would the world be different? What if everyone lived this way?

 

Margaret WIlliams

Devotional 2-8-14

A Good Man
Read Psalm 112:1-10

A good man is hard to find these days. At least that’s the impression you might get from a society that is having a tough time finding heroes.

Too often, though, we look in the wrong places when we’re searching for role models. We look for someone who is a good athlete or who makes a lot of money or who commands respect because of leadership skills.

When we look only in these situations for good men, we fail to see that most of the godly men are not in the spotlight. They are just quietly and faithfully serving their families, their friends, and God.

In Psalm 112 we see a clear set of guidelines for what makes a man good. According to the psalmist, a good man fears the Lord (v.1), delights in God’s commands (v.1), and is gracious, compassionate, and righteous (v.4). He is generous and exercises discretion (v.5). He is unshakable in his faith, and he has no fear because his trust is in God (vv.6-8).

Looking for a good man? In a society where so many are anything but godly, how can we set the right example? Look at Psalm 112. It’s a pattern (All Christian Men and Women) need to follow if they want to make a difference in their world.

The model of a man is he
Whose life is strong and true,
Who loves the Lord with all his heart
And seeks His will to do. —DJD

To make a difference in the world, let Jesus make a difference in you.

Yours In Christ Jesus:
Jim Perry

Devotional 1-31-14

Blessed Am I !!

Blessed: (bles-ed or blest) adj., 1. Holy  2. Beatified  3. Delightful.

Lately, I have been telling Facebook Friends, 'have a blessed birthday' or commenting on a post, 'what a blessing'.  The comments are indicative of great joy or bliss.

In scripture, Matthew 5:3-11 and Luke 6:20-23, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes, words and thoughts for Christians to follow in faith and hope.

I feel blessed!  I am blessed!  I have faith, hope, and joy in my life.  I will follow what God has asked of me and live my life accordingly.  Read the Beatitudes and take care of yourself and others.

Have a blessed day!  Have a blessed life!
See you in church.

Kay Lewis

Devotional 1-24-14

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

WHAT NEW BLESSINGS DOES GOD HAVE FOR ME TODAY?

Truly God's blessings are new every morning although sometimes when we roll out of bed we feel more like "same old, same old" possibly because we have a certain routine we follow each day. Don't misunderstand me, I find "routine" to be good in many ways.

Morning routine for me is pick up the Herald-Dispatch from the doorstep (no, I don't want to read it online), pour a glass of orange juice, make a big cup of English breakfast tea (Twinings, absolutely the best, although Lipton's is good too) and toast an English muffin.  By the time I get to the editorial page of the H-D I'm feeling human).

Now it's time for the daily reading from The Upper Room. What a blessing those devotionals and scriptures are each day. Fit them into your morning prayer time and then the words of one of my favorite hymns have new meaning.

     Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness,
          Morning by morning new mercies I see.
     All I have needed They hand hath provided,
          Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Have a good day!

Jean Dean

Devotional 1-19-14

I Corinthians 1:1-9

In the lectionary for this week is this introduction of Paul to what is called his first letter to the church at Corinth.  Paul, and those who mimicked his style, open their letters with gracious remembrances of people in the churches and express thanksgiving for them and the work they are doing to advance the causes of Christ where they are.  Later in First Corinthians comes the "love chapter" (I Cor. 13), known and loved by many.

I close my eyes and imagine the congregation, gathered, perhaps in someone's home, to hear someone read aloud Paul's letter.  In my mind's eye, I see those gathered sitting up straighter -- perhaps standing more erectly -- as the graceful compliments and good wishes from Paul are read.   "I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you  so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ," wrote Paul.

John Wesley commented on the last verse of this section that Paul is assuring the folk at Corinth that God is faithful to all his promises.  Wesley's commentary says that God's promise is that through Christ, they (and we) will be found guiltless before God, "a pledge," says Wesley, "of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost."

Is it arrogant of me to say that I love to stand with Paul in giving thanks for the people of my congregation and in thanking God for the grace which God has given us all in Jesus Christ?  Can you say that you give thanks to God for the folk that make up the congregation of which you are a part?  Are you a vital part of the body of Christ that has the task of bearing witness to him in a crazy world?  When was the last time you offered God thanks for the gift of Jesus Christ who erases our sin and presents us faultless before God? Pray for your congregation today.  Pray for your pastors and other leaders across the Church.  Pray -- and work -- for God's mercy and hospitality in a hostile world.  Pray that we all would be evidence to the world of the grace of God offered through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Holy Lord, thank you for my church.  Thank you for those who labor with me in the fields of your kingdom. Thank you for your promises of eternal life with you.  In Christ I pray.  Amen.

Rev. Jack Lipphardt