First, thank you for your kind support and prayers for me an my family at the death of my father. Your prayers, cards, and gifts meant so much to us during this time. Dad lived a long, good life and he impacted many people through two separate long careers: as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in the Air Force and as a junior high school and alternative senior high school teacher.
Second, this week is both the low point and high point of the Christian Year. It started last Sunday with the celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and ends with the celebration of his resurrection. However, to use a geographical analogy, to get from the peak of one mountain to the peak of another mountain we must first go through the valley between. The valley between the peaks of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is Maundy Thursday and Good (or not so good) Friday.
I have two calendars in my office that contain scripture readings, one from the United Church of Christ and the other from the United Methodist Church. The UMC calendar has scripture readings for every day this week. The UCC calendar only has readings on Thursday through Sunday. I will list all of them and you can decide where to start. Since there are so many I will not make any detailed statements or ask many questions, just one sentence summaries.
Monday, April 2
*Isaiah 42:1-9 – The first servant song of Isaiah
*Psalm 36:5-11 – God’s love is endless and priceless
*Hebrews 9:11-15 – Jesus is the sacrifice whose blood cleans us so we can serve God
*John 12:1-11 – Jesus with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and Mary anoints Jesus’ feet.
Tuesday, April 3
*Isaiah 49:1-7 – The second servant song of Isaiah
*Psalm 71:1-14 – The attacked Psalmist hopes in the Lord
*1 Corinthians 1:18-31 – The wisdom of the cross is wiser than human wisdom
*John 12:20-36 – Jesus’ death is the judgment of this world
Wednesday, April 4
*Isaiah 50:4-9a – The third servant song of Isaiah
*Psalm 70 – The Psalmist seeks help from the Lord
*Hebrews 12:1-3 – Run the race and fix our eyes on Jesus who endured the cross.
*John 13:21-32 – Someone will betray Jesus and the Son of Man is glorified
Thursday, April 5 – Maundy Thursday
*Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 – God’s instructions for the first Passover
*Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 – Because God has been good, I’ll keep my promises
*1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – Paul’s instructions on Communion.
*John 13:1-17, 31b-35 – Jesus washes the disciples’ feet and Jesus commands them to love.
Friday, April 6 – Good Friday
*Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – The fourth and final servant song of Isaiah
*Psalm 22 – “My God, My God, why have you left me alone?”
*Hebrews 10:16-25 – We are have been made clean so we can serve our new High Priest, Jesus.
*or Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 – We have a new High Priest who has made the right sacrifice for us.
*John 18:1-19:42 – The passion of Jesus according to the Gospel of John.
Saturday, April 7
*Job 14:1-14 – The destiny of humanity
*or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 – The prophet blames God for what happened yet trusts God’s love
*Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16 – The Psalmist requests help from God
*1 Peter 4:1-8 – Love because love brings the forgiveness of many sins
*Matthew 27:57-66 – The burial of Jesus and the placement of the guards at the tomb
*or John 19:38-42 – The burial of Jesus
Sunday, April 8 – EASTER SUNDAY
*Acts 10:34-43 – Peter preaches the resurrection of Jesus
*or Isaiah 25:6-9 – The Lord will save all people and death will be eliminated
*Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 – The Lord is our deliverance.
*1 Corinthians 15:1-11 – We are being saved because Christ was crucified, died, buried and rose on the third day.
*John 20:1-18 – Mary Magdalene discovers the empty tomb, Peter checks it out, and then she encounters Jesus.
*or Mark 16:1-8 – Three women discover the empty tomb with a messenger but say nothing.
May the readings this week bless you through the salvation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Readings for March 18, 25, and April 1
Hello Everyone,
My father was in the hospital this weekend due to an infection. After consultation with doctors and providers, my mother and sister decided, and I concur, that the best place for Dad right now was in hospice care. Yesterday, he was moved back to the nursing home where he was staying but instead of being under rehabilitative care he is now under hospice care. The doctors believe that he has a couple of weeks to live. I will be flying to Boise next Monday and will be gone for at least a couple of weeks.
As a result, the following scheduled items will be changed:
*Wednesday Lenten Services – We will have our final service tomorrow night, March 14. The services on March 21 and 28 are cancelled.
*Bible Study on Wednesday afternoon – Bible Study tomorrow ( #4 for GE and #3 for PUC). PUC study on the 21st is cancelled.
*Sunday worship on March 25 and April 1 will be led by pulpit supply (which I am working on finding)
I hope to be back to Minnesota during Holy Week so that I can celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter with you.
Here are the Scripture Lessons for the next several weeks without comment.
Wednesday, March 14
Matthew 6:1-24, and we may finish out the Sermon on the Mount with 6:25-7:29
Sunday, March 18 (Baptisms at both churches have been postponed due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts within the families)
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21
Sunday, March 25
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
Sunday, April 1 – Palm and Passion Sunday
Liturgy of the Palms
Mark 11:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Passion
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1-15:47
Have a great couple of weeks as you prepare to celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary Taylor
My father was in the hospital this weekend due to an infection. After consultation with doctors and providers, my mother and sister decided, and I concur, that the best place for Dad right now was in hospice care. Yesterday, he was moved back to the nursing home where he was staying but instead of being under rehabilitative care he is now under hospice care. The doctors believe that he has a couple of weeks to live. I will be flying to Boise next Monday and will be gone for at least a couple of weeks.
As a result, the following scheduled items will be changed:
*Wednesday Lenten Services – We will have our final service tomorrow night, March 14. The services on March 21 and 28 are cancelled.
*Bible Study on Wednesday afternoon – Bible Study tomorrow ( #4 for GE and #3 for PUC). PUC study on the 21st is cancelled.
*Sunday worship on March 25 and April 1 will be led by pulpit supply (which I am working on finding)
I hope to be back to Minnesota during Holy Week so that I can celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter with you.
Here are the Scripture Lessons for the next several weeks without comment.
Wednesday, March 14
Matthew 6:1-24, and we may finish out the Sermon on the Mount with 6:25-7:29
Sunday, March 18 (Baptisms at both churches have been postponed due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts within the families)
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21
Sunday, March 25
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
Sunday, April 1 – Palm and Passion Sunday
Liturgy of the Palms
Mark 11:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Passion
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1-15:47
Have a great couple of weeks as you prepare to celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary Taylor
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Readings for Sunday, March 11, 2012
Hello Everyone,
I am sorry I had to miss worship with you this past Sunday. Food poisoning Friday night did me in all day Saturday. At around 6:00 PM I had to decide if I would feel well enough on Sunday morning and I just did not look good. Thanks to Rev. Alice Tobler for being willing to fill in for me.
Some announcements before I start. There will be Bible Study at GEUMC (1:00 PM) and PUC (3:00 PM) tomorrow afternoon and we will have Lenten Services tomorrow night (PUC at 6:30 and GEUMC at 8:00). We had a very light turn out at GE last week so I am hoping to see more of you there. Our scripture for tomorrow night is Matthew 5:21-48 and is part of my series on “Living the Sermon on the Mount”.
Don’t forget that this Saturday night we start Daylight Savings Time and we “Spring Forward” one hour.
Our lessons for this coming Sunday are:
Exodus 20:1-17 – The Ten Commandments; need I say more? Well, maybe. Who and what are the first four commandments about? What is the “Great Commandment” that would cover these four? What is the fifth commandment concerning? Who and what are the last five commandments about? What is the second “Great Commandment” that would cover these five? Which commandment contains a promise? Of the last five, why do you think the last one is the longest? What does it mean to “covet”? If you covet, which other commandments may come into play? In other words, if you covet something, what might you do to get it?
Psalm 19 – This psalm glorifies God for two things God give: Creation (verses 1-6) and Law (7-14). Who is speaking, or not speaking, about the glory of God in the first part? In verses 7-9, what are the six different ways the psalmists calls God’s Law good? What are the six things the Law does in these same verses? MEMORY VERSE: try memorizing verse 14.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – As you read this passage, what, in your opinion, is the message of the cross? Would your friends and neighbors think that was foolish? What is the wisdom of this world and how is that different then God’s wisdom? What do we want from God that would be analogous to signs and wisdom? Who is the power and wisdom of God?
John 2:13-22 – Why do you think the writer of the Gospel of John put this story at the front of the Gospel? At what point does it occur in the other Gospels? Read the other Gospel versions: Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-19; and Luke 19:45-46. What are the similarities and what are the differences? Is Jesus angry in these four versions? What do the versions say about Jesus’ emotions at this time? Do we really know or do we simply fill in what we think Jesus’ emotional state was? What was Jesus’ feelings on how the Temple should be used and operated?
Have a great week reading the Bible! May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer.
I am sorry I had to miss worship with you this past Sunday. Food poisoning Friday night did me in all day Saturday. At around 6:00 PM I had to decide if I would feel well enough on Sunday morning and I just did not look good. Thanks to Rev. Alice Tobler for being willing to fill in for me.
Some announcements before I start. There will be Bible Study at GEUMC (1:00 PM) and PUC (3:00 PM) tomorrow afternoon and we will have Lenten Services tomorrow night (PUC at 6:30 and GEUMC at 8:00). We had a very light turn out at GE last week so I am hoping to see more of you there. Our scripture for tomorrow night is Matthew 5:21-48 and is part of my series on “Living the Sermon on the Mount”.
Don’t forget that this Saturday night we start Daylight Savings Time and we “Spring Forward” one hour.
Our lessons for this coming Sunday are:
Exodus 20:1-17 – The Ten Commandments; need I say more? Well, maybe. Who and what are the first four commandments about? What is the “Great Commandment” that would cover these four? What is the fifth commandment concerning? Who and what are the last five commandments about? What is the second “Great Commandment” that would cover these five? Which commandment contains a promise? Of the last five, why do you think the last one is the longest? What does it mean to “covet”? If you covet, which other commandments may come into play? In other words, if you covet something, what might you do to get it?
Psalm 19 – This psalm glorifies God for two things God give: Creation (verses 1-6) and Law (7-14). Who is speaking, or not speaking, about the glory of God in the first part? In verses 7-9, what are the six different ways the psalmists calls God’s Law good? What are the six things the Law does in these same verses? MEMORY VERSE: try memorizing verse 14.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – As you read this passage, what, in your opinion, is the message of the cross? Would your friends and neighbors think that was foolish? What is the wisdom of this world and how is that different then God’s wisdom? What do we want from God that would be analogous to signs and wisdom? Who is the power and wisdom of God?
John 2:13-22 – Why do you think the writer of the Gospel of John put this story at the front of the Gospel? At what point does it occur in the other Gospels? Read the other Gospel versions: Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-19; and Luke 19:45-46. What are the similarities and what are the differences? Is Jesus angry in these four versions? What do the versions say about Jesus’ emotions at this time? Do we really know or do we simply fill in what we think Jesus’ emotional state was? What was Jesus’ feelings on how the Temple should be used and operated?
Have a great week reading the Bible! May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer.
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