Scripture
– NIV
Acts
3:11-21 –
While
the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came
running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this,
he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare
at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant
Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate,
though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life,
but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the
name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’
name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as
you can all see.
“Now,
fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But
this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying
that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins
may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he
may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must
receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised
long ago through his holy prophets.
Psalm
4 –
Answer
me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have
mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How
long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions
and seek false gods, Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for
himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Tremble
and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.
Many,
Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face
shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.
In
peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
John
21:1-14 –
Afterward
Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this
way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus ), Nathanael from Cana in
Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going
out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So
they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early
in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize
that it was Jesus.
He
called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He
said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When
they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of
fish.
Then
the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon
Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him
(for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples
followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from
shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning
coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus
said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter
climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large
fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them,
“Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?”
They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and
did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his
disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Bob’s
thoughts:
A
year or two ago, a woman who was a rep for some medical equipment I was trying
to use mentioned the church she attended and today it popped up in our file. Too
often I have seen God’s hand in leading us to worship to ever doubt His guidance,
and today that was the case again.
We
were greeted and welcomed from when we came in the door. The church has stepped
out in faith and is replacing their sanctuary, so we worshiped in the pleasant
social hall.
I
appreciated the wooden cross on the wall and the 4 x 4 cross draped in white.
There
is a distinct friendliness to the congregation. We were pleased to enjoy the
hand bell choir and, for me, it was particularly special to hear a song I was
familiar with.
Something
happened here that has never happened before: a gentleman nearby noticed my
pain in standing and offered that it would be fine to sit. I appreciated his
compassion.
Some
of the hymns displayed at the front were copied from the hymnal and tiny to
read from where we sat.
The
pastor put his heart into the children’s message of Christ feeding the
disciples on the beach after His resurrection. He was reminded by one of the
children that they didn’t have salmon. He was quick to recover and adapt, and
the children got the message. The same with the sermon and with application in
easy-to-follow format.
I
think we do feel lost often and when we consider the mission God is calling us
to, we feel called to an impossible task. When we step out in faith, Jesus
continues to provide the resources we think we don’t have.
Communion
was offered with wine or juice although we had to ask someone which was juice. It
was special that there was a young girl with a bowl of treats for the children who
came forward with their parents.
We appreciated
the time after the service with the pastor and others, including some prior
military, and I was pleased to have a copy of the prayer list.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
did not realize this church was in the midst of a huge construction project, so
worship was held in the social hall. This was a long-term project, though, so the
comfort level was high.
Nearly
everyone we saw or were near took the time to greet us, and though we routinely
seek out a pastor after worship, today he kindly sought us out.
We
were handed bulletins and informed Communion would be celebrated and both juice
and wine would be available. We found seats at the back and met some of the
folks sitting around us before worship began.
I
was grateful the bulletin was the only reference during worship and the words
to hymns were displayed at the front. This makes it much easier in a service
containing a fair amount of liturgy.
I
thought the Children’s Message reenactment of the focus Scripture passage was
excellent…the children were engaged and enthusiastic participants.
The
untitled sermon focused on God’s constant, abundant provision as told in the
story of the Miraculous Catch of Fish in John 21. I found his point fascinating
that the questions for the disciples between Christ’s resurrection and the
first Pentecost are the same questions we face in the time between the first
Pentecost and His Second Coming. Christ offers His Presence and provision in
the midst of the confusion, just as He did for the disciples. And like the
disciples, we need to obey, trusting Him in spite of our “disqualifications.”
We
were able to take Communion and appreciated both wine and grape juice being
available as well as the instructions of our friends sitting nearby as to which
was which.
We
stayed for an informational meeting of the congregation and learned more about
the construction plans, then stayed longer to speak with some of the folks.
Our
prayer for this church:
Thank
You, God, for entrusting this congregation to build for Your church. We trust
You to continue to provide abundantly for their every need. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment