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Judy and Watson
I believe in God the Father whose love breaks our bounds to sin and pours out grace beyond measure so that we might be God’s instruments of love and reconciliation. This God is revealed in the Word written in Scripture, the Word proclaimed and prophesied by human instruments, and the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. The Word of God calls us to shape our priorities around worship and within communities of faith. The Bible addresses our deepest need for salvation and redemption, and helps us to move beyond ourselves to work for wholeness and freedom for all.
I affirm the one triune God. I am in awe of God’s presence which transforms us and shapes our history. Our history reveals that justice does triumph to lift up the powerless and to cast down the power hungry. I affirm the Creeds and thank God for their power to make me feel one with Christians and God’s people in every time and place. I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord of this Kingdom on earth and the one in heaven. I serve a risen Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, who is fully God and yet born of Mary. I celebrate
Continue reading Statement of Faith
What’s faith? Faith is that belief that God is with us even when the mast of our sailboat breaks in two and we are holding the hand of a beloved who is dying. Faith is a gift from God that helps us to continue on our journeys even when our hearts are broken.
Faith is the hope for a better world even when war or turmoil seems to have an upper hand in our world.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11: 1, RSV, Thomas Nelson & Sons, Toronto, 1952.)
What’s a cup? The obvious answer is a cup is either 8 ounces or 225ml of something.
A cup for me is that coffee with God while I conduct my morning devotions and prayers. A cup is a wonderful remembrance of a beloved friend with whom I would talk and visit. A cup filled with tea is an afternoon event, or a measure of sugar to a neighbor in need.
A cup of faith is whatever needed that helps us be the friends of God to the people of God. A cup of faith is both given and received as we share our faith stories
Continue reading 12 Cups of Faith: Devotions for everyday
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew what time it was, a time of saying Good-Bye and Returning to the Father. Having loved his own, disciples, strangers, from the tax collectors to the Pharisees and from women who knew all too well the world’s rejection and demon-possessed and near death souls, and to each he was about to show them the full extent of His Love.
The Evening Meal was ready and at the Table, Jesus knowing full well the powers He possessed, also knew the extent of Judas’ betrayal and the disciples in ability to stay with him through thick and thin. He entered fully into the table conversation, his last meal on earth.
He took a towel, and wrapped it around his waist, and washed the feet of Peter, Judas, James and John, taking the role of a servant, a Father, a Mother, all of the above wrapped into One. He showed the Love of God for the people of God. As only he could do, as the Perfect Savior for all time,
Towel
Basin, A sign of Jesus, How many Kings…
Sandals, How many Kings went to where their subjects lived…
Staff, How many Kings saw their kingdom without walls…
And with
Continue reading Signs of Jesus
Sometimes you ask God for things and God’s response is to wait.
To respond in some way different than you could ever imagine.
In November, 2004 I lost a beloved friend my cat Bagel, who never woke up from his slumbers.
This was huge for me, Bagel had accompanied me through good times and sad.
Ministered to me when no one else even knew I was hurting.
So after his death and burial, friends would call and tell me about this kitten or cat they had found or knew about…
I waited, Bagel the cat had been so good, so true, living half of his life with three legs, he epitomized faith to me, at least, one really good example of it. He seemed part feline,and part Sphinx and part human.
Then, I asked God to put the cat he wanted me to have, put that critter right in my life. How direct may one be in one’s prayer life?
One day God did just that, I was walking on a brisk October day in Williamsport through one of the oldest sections of town. Something came propelling out of nowhere and I caught it mid-air. A bone thin kitten, grey-stripped nondescript, an ordinary cat, in an ordinary predicament,
Continue reading Sammy’s Tale
Dear Church Family,
Repentance is…
1. Desire to turn away from past negative behaviors
2. The condition of being filled with remorse for some wrongdoing
3. The short story by Leo Tolstoy, on the human condition.
4. All of the above
The answer is “d: all of the above.” We are fast approaching Ash Wednesday, February 17th, 2010. This is a service that may be unfamiliar to some, especially as a service offered in a Presbyterian Church. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, and a day where you receive a cross on your forehead from ashes and water. The minister proclaims to you: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In the days of the first disciples of Jesus, ashes were used along with sackcloth to express mourning. Wearing funeral garb and dusting oneself with ashes, was a common way to express grief and remorse for feeling alienated from God by behavior or circumstances. During Lent, we spend forty days in reflection and special services and devote additional time to prayers, to fasting and to almsgiving.
Why forty days? This is a symbolic number, and is analogous to Jesus time of withdrawal and temptation in the desert. Many people give something up
Continue reading Repentance Is…
January is a month that usually lends itself to staying indoors and perhaps doing some in-depth reading. Let me suggest five of our spiritual Presbyterian ancestors to study. Here are five that I commend to your reading list.
Martin Bucer (1491-1551)
A native of Strassburg,Martin Bucer championed protestant unity and fostered ecumenical goodwill. Bucer impacted many lives and profoundly influenced John Calvin. Martin Bucer stressed the importance of love and church discipline in his writings.
Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575)
Heinrich Bullinger was a famous theologian who emphasized the essential place of Christ in the doctrines of election and predestination. According to Bullinger, preaching should focus on Christ. Finally, while seriously ill with the plague he penned the Second Helvitic Confession, still considered a classic theological statement.
John Calvin (1509-1564)
Calvin was and still is the most renown of the Reformed leaders. His Institutes of the Christian Religion contained the most comprehensive of Christian beliefs.
It s required reading for most seminarians, and a wonderful addition to any library. Calvin never ceased extolling God s greatness and God s electing love in Jesus Christ. We would do well to follow his example and witness.
John Knox (ca.1514-1572)
Born in Scotland, John Knox encountered John Calvin in Geneva, and was deeply
Continue reading Faith Trek: From the Pastor’s Window
As I write this, I have the recent Super Bowl in my mind. Watching the Bears and the Colts playing the game in pouring rain, I was quite intrigued. These rugged athletes train in all types of weather, and here was their chance to prove themselves! The game started out with the dazzling 92 yard run, and then it was a mudbath! Both teams struggled to complete passes and to keep their footing. In the end, the Colts won. Peyton Manning was able to prove that he’s a man for all seasons and a quarterback who can handle the clutch! The high point for me was the faith statement made by both Coach Smith and Coach Dungy.
Jesus was God’s chosen one, and the One who in all seasons preached the Kingdom of God, available to all who can perceive it unfolding around us. Even in the dead of winter, as snow falls and the sun melts the snow, we will observe Lent. Despite our concerns about weather, we can’t alter it in the least! Only God can. I read Psalm 147: 15-16, which accurately proclaims:
“He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like
Continue reading Super Bowl
Writing this note, I am ever grateful for travelers who share with us incredible diary notes and allow us to be an armchair traveler with them.
Also, I am reminded of God’s great providential care as I am reflecting on this week’s event of Resurrection and Renewal in every moment. A hymn worth reflecting upon this month would be “All Creatures of our God and King.”
Reading the poems of Grace O’Malley, I rediscover from Grace’s observations the wonder and majesty of God’s masterpiece: our world and all creatures, this planet and all other planets. As we experience the wonder of each day, let us take time deeply ponder God’s greatness and care for us. Reflect on the life King Jesus led; so that we all might live fully and deeply in God’s will and witness.
The Source
When e’er I need
A moment’s peace
I bow my head
And find release.
Beyond the sun’s glaring light
Oft I cringe in shade of night.
Only he can lift the veil
That clouds the view
And course unease
On thoughts anew;
Erase the frown
Upon the worried face,
The healing touch
Of God’s embrace.
May you experience the embrace of God, in your daily time with Him! Reflect on Psalm 91, and see how King David experienced God and
Continue reading Armchair Travelers
Interesting, isn’t it? NASA &The Bible
Thought this was pretty amazing and interesting!
For all the scientists out there, and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible, here’s something that shows God’s awesome creation, and that He is still in control.
Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called “myth” in the Bible is true?
Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland, and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development.
I think one of the most amazing things that God has done for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Green Belt, Maryland.
They were checking out where the positions of the sun, moon, and planets would be 100 years and 1,000 years from now. We have to know this so we won’t send up a satellite and have it bump into something later on in its orbits.
We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.
They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries,
Continue reading NASA and the Bible
“Just meowing is praying,” so meowed one June afternoon the truly Independent in God creature called Peace Girl by her human.
Here’s Peace in her own domestic, short-hair North Carolinian dialect: “Now you all needs to know that I am God’s and God’s first and last, an alpha and omega cat. God made me and my purrrfect independence, purrfectly displayed each and every day, is from Him. God loves all creatures and cats especially because most of our day is spent in prayer and meditation. We pray as we rise up from deep slumbers in the first watch of the day. We meditate over the water bowls, and as we tackle the first catch of the day. We pray as we stroll, and we pray as we play with one another in the garden. We love solitude and we love the community of other four-legged or two-legged creatures and we especially delight in winged things to catch for fun, for food and for sport.
God is Good, God is great,
We thank Him now for our plate
Great is God, and life a test
To think ourselves much like the rest
As God’s great will makes all things blest.
Blessings,
First Samuel
P.S. Peace’s Final Words Independent for life!
Continue reading Independence in God
Hot Dog!
On the first day God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years.”
The dog said, “That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten.” So God agreed.
On the second day God created the cow. God said, “You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years.”
The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty.” And God agreed.
On the third day God created the monkey. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.”
The monkey said, “How boring, monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?” And God agreed again.
On the fourth day God created man. God said,
Continue reading Life Explained
One of the basic Christian doctrines of the Reformed Faith is the declaration that you and I are creatures. In the Old Testament this is stated early on:
“The Lord God formed a human being from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, so that he became a living creature.”
Gen. 2:7, from the Revised English Bible, Oxford Univ. Press, 1989)
So what does being a creature mean to you in this day and during these times?
I turn to C.S. Lewis and John H. Leith for help with understanding my creature-like nature and to my experiences.
I believe that humans are made by God in the very image of God and for God’s purposes under heaven. A human being from our first cry and first raised fist is a child of God. Scriptures allude to our coming from God and returning to God with the average lifespan being defined as four score and ten. We are on this planet for the time being (sometimes longer than seventy years (Fourscore and ten) and sometimes shorter). And we are here for some mission uniquely ours, and for some challenges uniquely our own.
We Presbyterians say we are here to glorify
Continue reading Independence in God Day
Scripture reading: Please read Matthew 1:18-25.
Matthew’s account of the birth of Christ focuses on the miracle of our Savior’s birth and the crucial role of Joseph in this event. While Joseph planned to divorce a pregnant Mary, an angel appeared to him in a dream and convinced him otherwise.
Praise God for divine interventions and for the way the Holy Spirit gives us perspective beyond our limited perceptions. Matthew quotes that stirring familiar words of prophecy and hope:
“Watch for this-a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for God is with us.”)
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Trans. By Eugene Peterson, Zondervan, Grand Rapids.2002)
What a powerful life-changing revelation and announcement for Joseph and Mary!
What so important about a name anyway? The meaning of a name is fascinating to me, I like reading the meaning behind our birth names. The Hebrew parent chose a name for it s meaning in relation to God-to acknowledge God s gift and to express a Godly destiny for the child.
The name Emmanuel means God with us. One commentator suggests that it echoes that time long ago when the Ark of the Covenant was the center of the huddled tents
Continue reading God is With Us
Dear Friends,
I am finally getting to feel “settled in” to my new house, and it feels good. Two meals a day, many spots to catnap! Outside in the yard, it’s a veritable zoo! But I kinda like it that way, with birds and squirrels, and chipmunks, deer, and skunks and camouflaged people (in greens or oranges with talking sticks)!
While Judy writes about people conflicts and church conflicts, I have a piece on cat fights!
I have bided my time, and now my elder cat (Peace Girl) is my favorite target. I dive bomb her while she naps, wrestling her until she cries “Stop it!” I eat her portion and drink her cream. She gives me “the dickens” and then we purr and make up!
We are happier than humans; humans should take note of the ways of the Cat!
Peace,
First Samuel
Many people of all ages like to follow soap operas, routinely watching who’s going to do what to whom next!
The Biblical question for this month is: “What has God done in the lives of all of humankind to bring a Savior for all times and places into center stage? The second pertinent question is “What is God doing center stage, back stage or in the wings of your life? Is your life a soap opera?
Consider the rendition of the courtship of Joseph and Mary, and the birth of Jesus with all the fine detail as recounted by Luke. Read Luke chapters one and two. Mary was an exceedingly young girl, recently betrothed to Joseph, and both were trying to understand what was happening to their love and future plans with an unexpected pregnancy. They lived in a time of turmoil, nations against nations, and heavy-handed governmental impositions. In the midst of a generally bleak time, Caesar Augustus commanded all citizens to enroll with their local governments (the first census) in order to be further taxed. The people were already groaning under a heavy Roman yoke, and then an added burden! We can identify with that!
In this Gospel narrative, Mary and
Continue reading A Biblical Opera: Luke 2:1-20
Blessed is she who suffers with the very young, the very old,
And the very lonely, for she has compassion.
Blessed is she who greets the world with joy,
Laughter and anticipation, for she has courage.
Blessed is she who speaks gently, lives humbly, and chooses to give freely, for she has dignity.
Blessed is she who listens and hears, and extends her hands as a friend, for she has understanding.
Blessed is she who gives simply, loves deeply, and walks joyfully in life, for she has sincerity.
Blessed is she who lives intensely and sings life’s alleluias, for she has awareness.
Blessed is she who has compassion and courage, freedom and dignity, understanding, sincerity, and awareness, for she is a woman, a gift, a blessing.
The little drop of the Father
On Thy little forehead, beloved One.
The little drop of the Son,
On Thy little forehead, beloved One.
The little drop of the Spirit
On thy little forehead, beloved One,
To aid thee with thy fay (faith)
To guard thee from the host,
To aid thee from the gnome,
To shield thee from the spectre;
To keep thee for the Three,
To shield thee, to surround thee;
To save thee for the Three,
To fill thee with the graces,
To lave wash thee with the graces.
Oh, precious little son or daughter.
The autumn leaves float by my window.
The autumn leaves of red and gold,
Landing they make a patchwork carpet
A mantle for the earth and
Padding for paws and feet
Packing down all fallen things into
A runway for the butterflies
taking off and touching down.
Legend has it that the Apostles’ wrote this short creed, twelve days after Jesus ascended into heaven.
Traced back to ancient Roman baptismal creeds and used to teach converts the rudiments of faith the Apostles Creed is still one of the most effective tools for faith formation. It’s used frequently by liturgical churches to enhance worship and for church members who want to join with a church at Easter or whenever the Holy Spirit moves them. It’s a good confessional statement for group or individual prayer services and meditations.
Somewhere between 180 A.D., Church leaders developed an early form of this creed to refute the church started by Marcion, a wealthy Roman business man and church founder, who held unorthodox views of Holy Scriptures and did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He did teach Jesus as a herald and teacher pointing the way to God’s Love and mercy.
The role of the Creed was that candidates for membership in the Early Church went through a lengthy catechism class where this creed helped them learn the rudiments of faith and worship.
The Apostles Creed has two versions: Traditional and Ecumenical.
Both are easily committed to memory with three, short paragraphs which affirm the Lordship
Continue reading The Apostles Creed
Scripture reading: Please read Matthew 1:18-25.
Matthew’s account of the birth of Christ focuses on the miracle of our Savior’s birth and the crucial role of Joseph in this event. While Joseph planned to divorce a pregnant Mary, an angel appeared to him in a dream and convinced him otherwise.
Praise God for divine interventions and for the way the Holy Spirit gives us perspective beyond our limited perceptions. Matthew quotes that stirring familiar words of prophecy and hope:
“Watch for this-a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for God is with us.”)
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Trans. By Eugene Peterson, Zondervan, Grand Rapids.2002)
What a powerful life-changing revelation and announcement for Joseph and Mary!
What so important about a name anyway? The meaning of a name is fascinating to me, I like reading the meaning behind our birth names. The Hebrew parent chose a name for it s meaning in relation to God-to acknowledge God s gift and to express a Godly destiny for the child.
The name Emmanuel means God with us. One commentator suggests that it echoes that time long ago when the Ark of the Covenant was the center of the huddled tents
Continue reading God is With Us
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