I hope you are having a fantastic Valentine's Day and that you are able to spend at least part of the day with the ones that you love.
A few quick announcements:
- With joy yesterday, we welcomed Helosia as a new member of Bethlehem! Thanks be to God.
- Seniors lunch is Thursday at noon. We are meeting at the East Ridge Cafe in Ridgefield. Let me or Lillian Johnson know that you are coming so we get the appropriate size table.
- An informational meeting about the mission trip to Virgina is being held at St. Michael's in New Canaan on Thursday at 7:30pm. Hope to see you there.
- This Sunday is the baptism of Adele Kristina, daughter of Monika and Tyler, granddaughter of Sune and Ringa.
Book of Faith Puzzler:
Last week's question was: In the gospel for that Sunday, Jesus calls us the light of the world. In what gospel does Jesus say "I am the light of the world"? The verse, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’” is found in John 8:12. Congratulations to Karin for winning the puzzler.
This week's question is: What book are the Ten Commandments found in? A) Genesis B) Exodus C) Leviticus D) Deuteronomy E) Genesis and Exodus F) Leviticus and Deuteronomy G) Exodus and Deuteronomy. If you know the answer, send me an email by noon on Wednesday to be entered into this week's drawing. And as a side note, I already had one person hand me his/her answer and put in a request for what type of bread I should bake if he/she wins.
Yesterday's Sermon
If you would like to read it, it can be found here. Sorry, chocolates do not come with the written version. I didn't directly address the issue of divorce in my sermon mainly because to explain the cultural context of divorce, that alone would take the majority of the sermon. Did it bother you that I did not preach on divorce? How do you explain such difficult text to people who ask about it in regards to your faith? For those at worship yesterday, was all the treats a help or a hindrance to you in hearing God's Word?
Sunday's Text
The first lesson is Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18. This portion of Leviticus (really most of Leviticus) consist of laws that the Israelites were to follow which includes laws about how you are reap your harvest, not stealing, not dealing falsely, not lying, not swear falsely, not defrauding, not revile the deaf or trick the blind, not render unjust judgement, not be partial to the poor, not slander, and not hate in your heart. And yet at the end of all these laws about what not to do, it ends with "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Which law is harder to follow, the ones clear about what not to do or th the one that is vague about how to love?
The second lesson is 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23. Verse 16 states "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" You have probably heard someone call their body a temple before, but what does it mean that your body is God's temple? And what does it especially mean that God's Spirit dwells within you?
The gospel is Matthew 5:38-48. This is a continuation of yesterday's gospel on murder, adultery, divorce and false promises. In the first paragraph, Jesus is telling his followers that if someone insults them, they should use the customs of the day so that the insulter is the ones insulted instead. And in the second paragraph Jesus tells his followers that they should expand the circle of who they love. How does Jesus teaching help you turn the other cheek and yet also love more people?
Hope you have a great week and enjoy the heat wave that we are having!
Pastor Becca
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