Our Life Together

Worship Services
< and Church Activities>

10:30 a.m. Sunday Worship for July, 2008
(Scripture notes from “Seasons of the Spirit” and “Pulpit Resource”)

Sunday, July 6

(Bulletin)

Jesus beckons all in the community of disciples to seek moments of sacred rest. In Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, Jesus invites those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens to take his yoke upon them – a yoke that is easy and whose burden is light.

Sunday, July 13

Faith celebrates the abundant possibilities that God sows in our lives and the lives of all people each day. The Gospel lesson from Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, is Jesus’ telling of the Parable of the Sower. The parable in Matthew explores the underlying question of what makes for a life lived in relationship with God. The contract Paul makes in Romans 8:1-11 - between life according to the flesh and life according to the Spirit - parallels the varieties of soil in Matthew’s parable.

Sunday, July 20

Our passage from Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 is one of several parables of the kingdom in Matthew, which expand Jesus’ teaching about God’s reign as summarized in Matthew 5-7. Early Christians faced conflicts and disputes as church members struggled with what it meant to remain faithful to tradition while responding to the call to follow Christ in a changing world.
The apostle Paul, in Romans 8:12-25, calls on Christ’s disciples to practice Jesus’ teaching and live compassionate lives.

Sunday, July 27

Sometimes Jesus’ teaching used familiar images in unfamiliar ways to help disciples understand the extraordinary value and unexpected shape of the reign of God. Today’s Gospel lesson from Matthew 13:31-34, 44-52, includes short, sharp parables that expand Jesus’ teaching about God’s reign (the kingdom of heaven).
In Romans 8:26-39, Paul paints a picture of the love and compassion that comes in God’s time. Nothing can separate us from God’s love, even when the picture of present time includes difficult and challenging situations.

(Church Calendar)