Scripture
– NASB
Isaiah
25:1-9 –
O LORD, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
For You have made a city into a heap,
A fortified city into a ruin;
A palace of strangers is a city no more,
It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore a strong people will glorify You;
Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
For You have been a defense for the helpless,
A defense for the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
Like heat in drought, You subdue the uproar of aliens;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.
The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken.
And it will be said in that day,
"Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."
Psalm
23 –
The
LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths
of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness
and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in
the house of the LORD forever.
Philippians
4:1-9 –
Therefore,
my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand
firm in the Lord, my beloved.
I
urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true
companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in
the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow
workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice
in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known
to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any
excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things
you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you.
Matthew
22:1-14 –
Jesus
spoke to them again in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his
slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were
unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, 'Tell those who have
been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened
livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding
feast."' But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own
farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated
them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and
destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his
slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go
therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the
wedding feast.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together
all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner
guests.
"But
when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who
was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you
come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the
king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the
outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For
many are called, but few are chosen."
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
were welcomed by a number of people and it made me wonder what prompts folks to
say hello. In a church of 50 or so worshipers, visitors often stand out. I
frequently seek someone who looks busy to ask how to get my shut-in prayer information
letter to the right person. Today a woman took the time to engage us in
conversation, and in the course of it I learned she has a ministry to their
shut-in members. If God orchestrates something as simple as that for us, I wonder
what else He is doing in our lives every day.
She also
stopped by during the Passing of Christ’s Peace to let us know we would be welcome
to partake of Communion.
I
noted a cross on the chancel and an interesting pattern of the painted wood paneled
ceiling.
There
was a prayer of dedication for the new cross on the steeple.
The
congregation is searching for a new pastor and Pastor Susie was filling in. Her
message today was from the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22. The
sermon developed easily and included application. To God’s glory, believers’
names are now on the guest list.
She
interjected a story of a woman’s troubles with her VW Beetle and I was reminded
of a prank when I was young. VWs were still new to Pittsburgh when two women in
my church both bought one. There were few options then so they were the same
color but parked on opposite sides of the street. The challenge was too much
for some teenaged boys: we switched them and waited for the service to end. The
concept that a couple of teens could move their car was beyond comprehension.
Wish I could remember how it ended.
The
pastor told the congregation how she prays her way through the church
directory. What a powerful thing, to have the pastor praying for the
individuals of the church.
We
were addressed by name when we went up for Communion, a most friendly gesture.
We
had a great few minutes with the pastor and others after the service. I wish we
could have stayed for the social time after.
Jan’s
thoughts:
This
is one of the Lutheran churches that has been on our list for some time. It’s a
lovely building, but the treasure is its people.
We
were warmly greeted from the moment we entered the building, and a couple of
gentlemen struck up a conversation with Bob about military service. By the time
we entered the sanctuary, eight or 10 people had introduced themselves and
welcomed us. During the Passing of the Peace more folks greeted us, and this
continued even after worship ended.
Occasionally
when we visit a church we encounter someone who is especially welcoming,
someone with whom we just seem to click. Today we met a friend we had not met
before who was warm and gracious. She stopped prior to worship to introduce
herself and chat, and then again before Communion to let us know that theirs is
an open table and we were welcome to partake. This sort of hospitality can make
all the difference for first-time visitors, and we deeply appreciated her kindness.
The
church is between pastors at the moment, but as this is a Communion Sunday
here, Pastor Susie, who lives nearby and serves part-time, preached and administered
Communion. Physically Pastor Susie has several challenges, but her voice and
faith are strong, along with her sense of gratitude.
Pastor
Susie’s untitled message was a strong warning not to make excuses or put off
accepting the invitation of the King of Kings. I appreciated her reminder that “because
Jesus was snubbed, our names are on the guest list.”
We
were delighted to take part in Communion and I was touched when Pastor Susie
handed me the Bread, spoke to me and called me by name.
We
appreciated the time taken by these new friends to chat after worship and we
were overjoyed for the opportunity to lay hands on and pray for Pastor Susie.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray for this church as well as the spiritual leader You are preparing for
them. We trust Your care in this time of preparation and Your timing in
bringing them together. Amen.
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