Posts by tablemanna (Page 44)

Worship this Sunday will be rooted in Matthew 15.21-28.  Writing about this passage, David Lose calls our attention to this summary by Jim Boyce: So stretch your imaginations to entertain the scene. Gathered in one corner are those familiar disciples, for Matthew the true blue representatives of the faithful lost sheep of Israel, now leaping into the fray like so many ravenous beasts, as it were self-styled guarantors of the holy tradition, on their guard lest the mercies of God…

The following is adapted from Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner (page 78): When Jesus said to “love your neighbor” he was asked by an attorney for clarification.  This attorney wanted a legal definition for neighbor in order to help him know exactly who Jesus wanted him to love.  This is the sort of answer he was expecting:  “A neighbor (hereinafter referred to as the party of the first part) is to be construed as meaning a person of Jewish descent whose legal…

Reaching in Love an August Remix continues this Sunday. Our worship will be rooted in Matthew 15.22-28.  Here is a link to the text. This story falls in between 2 feeding stories in Matthew. Spend some time with the story today.  Then consider the following questions: When in your life, have you shifted a strongly held opinion? What prompted this shift in your thinking?  What action(s) did you take that reflected your new way of thinking? Jesus sets the highest of…

God of New Life, You reach to us in love and lure us toward peace with justice.  We pray this day for those who long for Sabbath amidst the rush of ordinary life, for those who long for healing & reconciliation with family and friends, for those who grieve the tragic loss of loved ones. We give thanks for the transformation taking place in our community, both physical and spiritual.  We give thanks for those who will take next steps…

We begin a new four-week worship series this Sunday called Reaching in Love (an August Remix). Our worship this Sunday will be rooted in Matthew 14.22-33.  Spend some time with the story this morning. Who in your life has embodied and modeled “courageous” faith? When have you found yourself “sinking” from all your commitments to reach in love?  Have you ever experienced God’s embrace in the midst of the “sinking” experience? For those in Kitchen Tables, what questions or concerns emerged in…

We begin a new four-week worship series, Reaching in Love (An August Remix), this Sunday. Reach in Love (an August Remix) will revisit themes from our July worship series. We’ll go deeper in discernment and continue reflecting on how we reach in love to our neighbors far and near. August 7:  The Standard | Jesus August 14:  Solo | Reaching in Love as Individuals August 21:  Combo| Reaching in Love as Kitchen Tables August 28:  Big Band | Reaching in…

Barbara Brown Taylor writes, One thing that all four writers included in their gospels is the story about the miraculous feeding of the five thousand.  It was too important a story to leave out – too important in the life of Jesus and too important in the life of the church.  It was a story about Jesus’ ability to provide for their needs, and not only for their spiritual needs but for their human needs as well.  When they were…

Jesus looked at things “differently.”  Where the disciples saw scarcity, Jesus saw abundance.  Where they saw not enough, he saw plenty.  He saw plenty of time, plenty of food and plenty of possibilities with the resources at hand.  Not that he knew how it was going to work out exactly —-but what Jesus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that wherever there was plenty of God there would be plenty of everything else. How do you feel that…

Worship this Sunday will be rooted in the story of loaves and fishes in Matthew 14.13-21.  Here is a link to the text. Think of a time in your life when you were surrounded by human need.  Invite each person to share as they feel led about the experience.  You might ask them to consider:  Describe the context in which you encountered the need.  How did you feel?  How did others respond?  How did you respond? If someone were to…

Our worship series, Reaching in Love, ended on Sunday with a powerful message on the parable of the treasure in the field.  The podcast should be up on the website later today. God of Healing and Hope, We pray for the families who lost loved ones in Norway.  May your tears wash over those who grieve.  Hold them in your love and enfold them in your healing.  We pray for those in our own community who have experienced hurt and…

In John 1:38 Jesus asks two of John’s disciples what they are looking for and invites them to come and see where and how he lives. The desire to know and be near to God has been placed within us as an invitation to a lifelong quest. Sometimes we search in the wrong places. Jesus directed the disciples to follow me. Where are the places you have searched for Jesus and come up short? Where are the places you have…

What has your attention at this very moment?  This blog? Maybe, but we all know our skills at multi-tasking.  We eat, read, listen for our phones all at the same time.  When our search for something consumes all our energy and all our faculties, everything else fades away and disappears.  Even a ringing phone goes unanswered when we are seeking to give our attention to something deep and important.  What are you searching for that consumes all your energy and…