Month: March 2021

Our gospel lesson this week is John 3:1-21, taken today from the English Standard Version (ESV).

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

This passage teaches us two essential lessons – how much God loves us and the fact that we must be born again to be fully active in God’s plan for us. Jesus shares these truths with the Pharisee Nicodemus who comes to Him with questions just as we do. Through this exchange we are shown the need to change our hearts and lives as if we were being born again.

Nicodemus is unsure about this teaching, asking Jesus how this could occur. He looks at it from a worldly perspective, not the eternal view Jesus shares with us. If we are to understand we must let go of our self-centered way of living and treating each other.

Jesus calls us to see the blessing God offers and accept our responsibility in His kingdom. We must repent and live new lives. Only through this gift can we be saved.

Loving Lord, we are grateful for the gift of salvation through Your son. Help us to see the need to repent and change, living for You and sharing the Good News with the world. Amen.

Our Epistle this week is Ephesians 2:1-10.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Paul tells us that we were created for a purpose – “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v. 10). We have been part of His plan since the beginning, but our preoccupation with pleasing ourselves has led us into sin. Jesus came to teach us that even in our wrongdoing, God calls us back.

He wants us to know there is forgiveness when we fall. If we admit our error and turn to God, we can be restored. Nothing else can save us but His love.

This means giving up our own wants and seeing what God wants for us. God has a plan for each of us individually and all His creation together. Only by accepting His mercy can we be made whole again.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our disobedience and our lack of respect for Your creation. Help us to turn from evil and be the people You intend. Amen.

Our Old Testament reading is Numbers 21:4-9.

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Do you ever read a scripture passage and ask “why is this here?” I have that experience occasionally and ask what lesson we are intended to learn from the reading. God gave us scripture for a purpose but sometimes we must dig a little deeper to understand.

The children of Israel were led out of slavery into the wilderness in order to know God’s power and His provision for them. However, they were often unhappy with the situation and grumbled against Moses and God. In this story we hear of the punishment for speaking against our Creator.

It is a hard lesson, but that is the reason we must hear it. God wants us to know that even in adversity He is with us. We must keep our faith strong and believe that when the way is hard, He will continue to lead and care for us.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we grumble about our situation. Help us to share our pain with You but not waver in our beliefs. May we be made strong through Your love. Amen.

Our call to worship this week is Psalm 107:1-9.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

God’s people aren’t promised a life of ease and luxury here on earth. This Psalm speaks of danger and suffering, but when the people cry to God, He hears them. This passage is about our relationship with Him, and the fact that He listens.

God has communicated with us since the very beginning, walking with Adam and Eve in the garden. When we fell into sin, He was saddened by our disobedient action but He did not abandon us. He allowed us to choose through our free will and while that has often led us astray, God is still with us.

God waits for us to choose Him, ready to lead and bless us through His eternal love. Our own efforts can never make us truly happy, only our connection to God will fill our hearts. We may willfully go our own way and suffer due to our stubbornness, but He is always ready to forgive when we repent and welcome us back.

Gracious God, without Your love and care we are lost. Show us the way to be part of Your plan and Your kingdom, sharing the joy of our connection with all the world. Amen.

Our Gospel is John 2:13-22, taken today from the New International Version (NIV).

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

The reality of His death and resurrection was something Jesus shared with those who followed Him many times before it actually happened. He knew that this would be difficult for them (and us) to accept and understand. It was necessary for us to see that God is more powerful than that which we fear most, and that His promises are eternal.

Jesus told His disciples “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31) but they didn’t want to believe this would happen. This isn’t how earthly kingdoms worked. They wanted a different outcome and were afraid to lose their friend and teacher.

Jesus said these things to prepare us for the crucifixion and to help us believe that all He taught was true. Our knowledge and power are challenged by this and that is exactly what Jesus intended. Through His death and resurrection we are shown God’s power and love, and the offer of salvation given to us all.

Gracious God, we have a hard time giving up our expectations and our limited view. Help us to see the eternal gift You offer us through Jesus that we may be saved. Amen.

Our Gospel is John 2:13-22, taken today from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

People were always asking for a sign, some proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be. I’m sure He is disappointed in our lack of faith, wanting to see with our eyes rather than believe in our hearts. The bible records 34 miracles He performed during His time with us, but apparently it was not enough for some.

Jesus never did things for “show”, there was always a purpose behind His works. When He healed and blessed, He also taught us, showing how God’s love was part of everything He did. Nothing was for His own reputation, all was for the glory of God and our salvation.

Jesus tells those who are questioning Him in this passage “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). While He was protective of the place they worshipped, He teaches that God lives within us, an inseparable part of our being. Those who heard this remembered it after His resurrection, and that should be all the “proof” we need.

Loving Lord, we are fragile and forgetful, needing to be reminded of the blessing You give through our very being. Help us to be strong in our faith and believe not because we see miracles but because You choose to be part of us. Amen.

Our Gospel is John 2:13-22, taken today from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).

The Jewish Passover was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me. So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.

Did Jesus actually get angry? He was a human just like us so He experienced every emotion that we feel. The difference is that He didn’t sin in His anger as we often do.

The apostle Paul wrote “be angry but do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26) to warn us that what we do with our anger is the issue. It is when our anger leads us to seek retribution rather than justice that we hurt others and damage our relationship with God. Emotional decisions are often poor choices because we don’t consider the consequences.

Jesus cleared the temple to prevent further dishonor to God’s holy place, not to harm anyone. He wanted them to understand that those activities would distract people from the true worship that was intended there. Our connection to God and each other is the most important part of our human existence and a necessary part of our hope for eternal life through Christ.

Gracious God, help us to use our emotions as You intend, to lead us to correct action and not into sin. May we be energetic in our praise and thanks, and in our work for the kingdom. Amen.

Our Gospel this week is John 2:13-22, taken today from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

This passage causes confusion to many because it seems out of character for Jesus as we know Him. We remember “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”, not the agitated man we see here. Why is Jesus so angry about this?

The temple was supposed to be the place where people came to be with God, and make Him the focus of their lives. Instead, there are a variety of people making money from the process of worship. This is what has Jesus upset – these things are distracting people from offering their praise and thanks as well as dishonoring God’s house.

Jesus is saddened by this worldly intrusion in what should be a sacred space. He tells us that when we come to spend time with God, that should be all we think about. Anything that leads us away from worship is wrong.

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we are distracted and fail to devote time to You. Help us to know the blessing of being connected, giving You our full attention and receiving Your love. Amen.

Our epistle is 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Paul challenges the pride we have in our own wisdom and strength. He warns that all our accomplishments pale before the victory of the cross and only through our acceptance of the Messiah’s sacrifice can we be saved. God has a plan for us and we must trust in Him and not ourselves.

He speaks to the fact that while education and religious practices are not wrong, they are not what will save us. This passage states “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified” (v. 22-23), the New Covenant that God makes with us. God reaches out to us in the example Jesus brings.

He teaches us that through the apparent humiliation and weakness of the Crucifixion we find true glory and strength. We are called to trust God’s power and wisdom, not the false and temporary things we see here. Through Jesus, our connection to eternal life is assured.

Gracious God, though we are sinners, You love us anyway and call us to come back to the promise of salvation. Help us to put our trust in You, and go in faith to share the Good News. Amen.

Our Old Testament reading is Exodus 20:1-17.

And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

God gave us this guidance that we might live well with each other and with Him. This passage is very familiar to us, yet when asked most people can only recall a few of the Ten Commandments. Why do we find it so difficult to remember and follow these rules intended for our good?

While this wisdom was a gift to God’s children as they were led to the Promised Land, it applies equally to us today. These aren’t just good ideas or suggestions, they are called commandments for a reason – God specifically tells us to do and not to do these things for our own good. Just as we teach and protect our children through boundaries and rules for behavior, God guides and protects us through the laws He made and our relationship with Him.

We need to remember God’s law and apply it in our lives. Obeying is part of our connection and it is through obedience that we learn and grow. Ask for His guidance every day and we too will be led as He always has.

Loving Lord, our own way leads to death but Your love guides us to life eternal. Help us to follow the way You intend for us, loving You and each other under Your law. Amen.