New Way to Be Human

The Lord's Prayer

We've spent some time in our Exploring Christian Faith class with the Lord's Prayer. Mostly we have simply prayed it and not talked about it very much. This, this past week in our Sabbath Morning Bible Study we talked about the LOrd's Prayer. Taron Hovsepyan, who is a part of both groups and getting baptized this Sabbath, emailed me this very good poem. I wanted you all to see it.

I cannot say 'our' if I live only for myself.
I cannot say 'Father' if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.
I cannot say 'who art in heaven' if I'm laying up no treasures there.
I cannot say 'hallowed be thy name' if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say 'thy kingdom come' if I'm not seeking to hasten the blessed hope.
I cannot say 'thy will be done' if I am disobedient.
I cannot say 'in earth as it is in heaven' if I'll not serve him here and now.
I cannot say 'give us this day our daily bread' if I am selfishly hoarding for the future.
I cannot say 'forgive us our debts' if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say 'lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say 'deliver us from evil' if I do not long for holiness.
I cannot say 'thine is the kingdom' if I do not give Jesus the throne of my heart.
I cannot attribute to him 'the power' if I fear what men may do.
I cannot ascribe to him 'the glory' if I'm seeking for my own honor.
I cannot say 'forever' if I'm living only for temporary earthly rewards.

Sabbath as Sign and Foretaste of God's Shalom

This week in our class, Exploring Christian Faith, we are talking about Sabbath. You can download the lesson by clicking the link on the left side of the page. One of the central parts of this lesson asks us to consider what the practice of Sabbath looks like in a postmoden world. So, I want to invite you to spend some time dwelling in the text of Isaiah 58 and then come back here and post a comment in answer to the following question:

“If we were to take these ideas found in Isaiah 58 seriously - if we were to really enter into this narrative, as a congregation - what would we have to do differently?” For example, how would your views of "going to church" change? How would you spend the hours of the Sabbath day?

Sermon on the Mount

This week we've been spending some time in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). For those of you in the group I hope this has been a rich experience for you. If you haven't spent much time in these chapters this week, you still have time before Thursday!

I'd like to invite you (anyone) to click "Comments" below and reflect on this question, after reading Matthew 5-7.

Matthew 4 ends by saying that "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people." Then Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount. What are you learning about "the gospel (or, good news) of the kingdom" from the Sermon on the Mount?