Archive for November 2017

November 10, 2017 DAILY READING Proverbs 27:17 Luke 10:1-5 Psalm 36:5-10 This week’s sermon text: Romans 14:13-23 FIELD NOTESDo you remember the song that goes “The church is not a building . . . the church is a people”? Through God’s grace we are a people: “Once we were not a people, now we are…

November 9, 2017 DAILY READING Acts 16:16-40 Psalm 85:4-13 This week’s sermon text: Romans 14:13-23 FIELD NOTESActs 16 reminds us that relationships when one person has power over another are not healthy. Community cannot happen when one person uses another for monetary enrichment. Paul encounters a slave girl being exploited by her owners because she…

November 8, 2017 DAILY READING John 15:12-15 Psalm 82 This week’s sermon text: Romans 14:13-23 FIELD NOTESIn John’s Gospel, Jesus calls us his friends. This is astonishing! We talk about being disciples, but what does it mean to be Jesus’ friend? Many of us grew up singing “What a friend we have in Jesus,” but…

November 7, 2017 DAILY READING Romans 16:1-16 Psalm 27:1-5 Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 This week’s sermon text: Romans 14:13-23 FIELD NOTES Looking back at the list of people Paul greets in Rom 16:1-16, we know very little about them. Paul tells us what is essential: They were “chosen in the Lord” They were willing to “risk their…

November 6, 2017 DAILY READING Romans 16:1-16 Psalm 118:21-29 This week’s sermon text: Romans 14:13-23 FIELD NOTESMy father was a medical missionary in Korea from 1921-1928, some years before I was born, but I grew up knowing that the friends he made in Korea were the best friends anyone could have. We often visited missionaries…

November 4, 2017 DAILY READING Zechariah 7:9-10 This week’s sermon text: Romans 16:3-16 FIELD NOTESEach of our daily readings this week focused on how to live out our Christian faith. We’ve learned that our faith grows hands and feet when we: Respect legitimate authority Include voices from all sides when we settle a dispute —…

November 3, 2017 DAILY READING Isaiah 1:17 This week’s sermon text: Romans 16:3-16 FIELD NOTESOur reading for today is one short verse: “learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” In ancient times orphans and widows were among the most vulnerable members of society. Without a male…

November 2, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 72:12-14 This week’s sermon text: Romans 16:3-16 FIELD NOTESPsalm 72 describes the reign of an ideal king and may have been originally used at a coronation or at the annual commemoration of a coronation. What are some characteristics of an ideal leader that this psalm describes? He or she…

November 1, 2017 DAILY READING Matthew 22:15-22 This week’s sermon text: Romans 16:3-16 FIELD NOTESIn today’s reading, Jesus’ enemies sought to trip him up with a trick question, a question designed to make Jesus offend someone with his answer — either the supporters of Jewish independence or the Romans themselves. They cunningly asked him if…