Within the culture of Jesus’ time, there were those who insisted that the ills of society were due to certain traditional religious laws not being observed rigorously enough. More specifically, some were trying to claim moral superiority (and some measure of power) by being hyper vigilant about what, how and
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1 Kings 19:9-18 • Elijah meets God. Matthew 14:22-33 • Jesus walks across stormy waters. What risks must we take as individuals and as a community? The United Church of Canada has a vision where as communities of faith we are committed to deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice.
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Isaiah 55:1-5, 12-13 • An invitation to Abundant Life. Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 • The goodness of God. We are in a covenant with God. God says “you are my people, I am your God.” The conclusion then is that we are in this together, not only with each other but
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Romans 8:26-27 • The Spirit intercedes. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 • Five parables. One drop of rain won’t really make a difference right? One rotten apple won’t ruin the bunch right? What about one small mustard seed? All of God’s creation is interconnected. More often then not we feel helpless and
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From the Book of Genesis, we hear the next part of the story of the people whom God has chosen and who have, in turn, chosen to follow God. Like most relationships, this relationship is complicated to say the least. On the run from a serious family rift, he has
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In the Genesis reading, we hear about how Isaac and his wife Rebekah engage with parenthood after fertility struggles. Sadly, even disappointingly, once children are born we hear how Isaac has not learned from his own family of origin about the importance of cultivating a good relationship between siblings. From
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Romans 7:15-25a • I do not do the good I want to do. Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 • My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Emilie M. Townes, a theologian, believes that the discipleship that Jesus is inviting us to in the passage from Matthew “requires that we stretch
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Romans 6:12-23 • The wages of sin is death; eternal life is free.Matthew 10:40-42 • Welcoming and offering a cup of water. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote “Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” This is the way
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One of the things that makes the scriptures of our faith so powerful is how they refuse to sugarcoat the history of the family of faith. Even the depths of humanity are remembered including Sarah’s demand that Abraham’s son Ishmael and his mother Hagar be banished. The reading from Matthew’s
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In his letter to a community of faith in Rome, Paul acknowledges that a life of faith in God will not be easy, but can be bearable and even, eventually, hopeful. Jesus began his work toward the renewed kin-dom of God and, even while he was still alive, he brought
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