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Every Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Focus Scripture

October 1, 2017
17th Sunday after Pentecost ~ God, Where Are You?
Exodus 17:1-7: The question in this week’s theme can be either a question of doubt or of faith – and perhaps both at the same time. It implies a belief that God is somewhere, a desire to find and understand God, and a struggle to discern God’s presence. The readings reflect various aspects of this question as people seek to understand the God they encounter. On this World(wide) Communion Sunday it seems appropriate to recognize God present in the many facets of our lives.

October 8, 2017
18th Sunday after Pentecost ~ Ground Rules
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20: What provides the foundation for our lives? What gives us the framework we need to live with God and one another? In various ways today’s readings look at what grounds us, what rules our lives, and how we are accountable within these “ground rules.”

October 15, 2017
19th Sunday after Pentecost ~ Invited to God’s Banquet
Matthew 22:1-14: We often speak of God’s way as if it were an easily definable thing, a road clearly seen, a journey already plotted. And yet our experience – and the experience of the people in the Bible – reminds us that often God’s way is known best in retrospect. In the present, filled with innumerable tasks and multiple choices, it is less clearly seen. How do we know when we are responding to God’s invitation to be alive in God’s way?

October 22, 2017
20th Sunday after Pentecost ~ Bearing God’s Image
Matthew 22:15-22: We live in very exciting and challenging times. So much in our world is changing while so much else is being discovered anew. There is an atmosphere of bold questioning of old and settled ideas. Even in the realm of biblical studies, many are taking a fresh look at the ancient texts.

This Sunday, in the Exodus passage we read stories of God’s great love and unfathomable mercy even in the face of the people’s disloyalty. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and in Matthew’s gospel we are reminded how we bear witness to God through our loyalties and allegiances. The choices God makes – and the choices we make – have a profound effect on our world.

October 29, 2017
21st Sunday after Pentecost ~ Gentle Among You
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8: On this day – known as Reformation Sunday or Saints of the Reformation Era – we reflect on ways in which our understandings change. Moses, the great lawgiver and leader of the Hebrew people, dies, and in the gospel, we read Jesus’ interpretation of the “greatest” of the commandments of Moses. Things are always changing.