Readings for tomorrow, January 28, 2018

Hello Everyone,

I just realized that I hadn't sent out my weekly Lectionary Readings email to you this week. I apologize. If every I miss, you can head to my blog, ruralminnesotaministry.blogspot.com, and on the right side there is a list of the previous months and years I have posted something. If you go back three or six years you should be able to find the relevant commentary.

The following is a combination of what I wrote in 2012 and 2015.

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 – This passage actually finishes with verses 21 and 22 which concerns discerning true and false prophets. Who is speaking here (the majority of the book is essentially his last will and testament)? Why is it necessary for the people of Israel to have prophets? What should the people do when they hear the words of a prophet and what will happen if they don’t? What will happen to a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods? What will happen if they speak false words claimed to be God’s? (2012)

Psalm 111 – Where will the psalmist give thanks for the Lord? Describe the “Works of the Lord”. What has the Lord done? In verse 4, how is the Lord described? In verse 9, what did the Lord do? (2012)

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 – Is it OK to eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol, Apollo in this case? Some say “yes” and some say “no”. Paul says it is OK only if it doesn’t hurt someone else who may be weaker in faith. This doesn’t mean much to us today unless we substitute something in for meat. What about the use of “cuss” words, swearing? Is it OK to swear in church? For me, words only have the emotional content that we attach to them. I can hurt someone without swearing and I can swear without hurting someone. But I think Paul would caution us that if the use of swear words causes offense to someone who ends up leaving the fellowship of the church then it is best if we don’t swear. By the way, if you swear while in my company, I will NOT be offended. Remember, I worked in the meat (nice connection) packing industry for 12 years. (2015)

Mark 1:21-28 – Where does Jesus and the first disciples go? What did they do on the Sabbath? What did Jesus do first and why was the congregation amazed? Who interrupts the proceedings and what does he say? What was the response of Jesus? Again, what was the congregation’s response? What are the demons of our times? How should we respond?

In addition, in 2015 I wrote the following about church attendance and it is still relevant today.

Over the last couple of days I have read three or four articles online about worship. Worship is the time when the Body of Christ comes together each week to praise God, to offer up our prayers, to sing a new song together, seek to be more like Jesus in love for others, and to be refreshed with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is a time when, in fellowship with others, we give back to God what God has first given us. Oswald Chambers, in his book “My Utmost for His Highest”, wrote:

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.

One article said that without worship we loose Christianity and cited an example of Sudan in the 1500’s. When they were overrun by the Muslims and the Christian pastors were killed or driven off, some people went to the head of the church in Ethiopia and asked him to send pastors to lead worship. He refused and the church was gone from Sudan within 100 years.

Another article said that successful churches do a lot of planning for their worship services and evaluate what went right and what didn’t. Another commentator wrote:

Perhaps that is why it makes me sad when people take church attendance so lightly. It isn't that we will go to hell if we attend church only once a month or so, but something is definitely lost. Well, maybe hell isn't far off the mark. I think life without community, hope, light, or meaning is close to hell. Oh, we can have those things without church, but I wonder if the world can? (Michael Piazza, Liberating Word email received 1/28/2015)

If you are not regularly attending church, why not? What is missing from your life? How can being a part of a worship community bring you closer to God? If you live near Peace United Church in Long Prairie or Grey Eagle United Methodist Church, will I see you this weekend? If you don’t live nearby, will you find a church you can attend regularly?

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Gary Taylor