Finding Gifts of Peace in November
This month, most of us celebrate Thanksgiving. There is rich history on this day, which should never be forgotten or taken for granted.
Here is what comes to my mind regarding Thanksgiving that I want to share with my church family. I cherish memories of recent and also childhood Thanksgiving gatherings with family, friends, and extended family. Such a sweet memory of smelling the turkey roasting all day when I was a child at home with my parents and
two older brothers. Such anticipation of a glorious meal! My mom was a great cook!
I hope and pray for my church family (all of YOU) and my own intimate family that you are able to find some Peace in the Gifts of Thanksgiving:
❖ Being with Loved ones
❖ Sharing a meal
❖ Remembering those who are no longer with us
❖ Appreciating the gift of this life from our Heavenly Father
On the corner of Court and Fifth Street in Marysville Ohio, proudly stands a beautiful church building jammed packed full of memories of fellowship, praise and worship past, present, and future! So many wonderful people have come and gone and are currently serving and worshiping our Lord together! We are all connected by the Gift of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I am honored to express my humble and simple thoughts about Thanksgiving to all of you.
Come to church next Sunday and you will witness so many joys of peace! Our precious children of the church, led by Molly, will be singing, there will be a baptism (Dad always told me he felt the presence of extra angels filling the sanctuary during baptisms), new members will be welcomed into our FPC Family, and Communion will be served! Thanks to Rev. Mrs Weiss for agreeing to help us and guide us while we look forward to a new pastor. Thank you to everyone “behind the scenes” that contribute their time and talents in the name of Love.
Everyone at FPC… enjoy the peaceful gifts of this season!
Peace Be Still
Mark 4:35-41 We know the Bible Story of Jesus rebuking the Winds and the Sea. His disciples thought they were surely going to drown. They were filled with anxiety and despair. "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Of course he cared. But He was still, He knew. He then rebuked the storm. And yes, the storm ceased. Are we listening? How many times is your boat tossed and turned in your sea? The anxiety of...
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 30The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest awhile.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had...
Acts 10:1-17
Acts 10: 1-8, 17 1 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 3One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ 4He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a...
1 Samuel 12:1-25
1 Samuel 12:1-25 “Here I am…” (1 Samuel 12:3) For those familiar with the story of the prophet Samuel – who read his own nativity story in the opening chapters of 1 Samuel – you will know that this refrain – “Here I am” – is significant. It is the refrain that Samuel’s mentor, Eli, teaches him to say when the Lord is calling to him. It is his own ordination vows, so to speak. The hymn based on his life – “Here I Am, Lord” – is a popular one with many Christians for just this reason. Samuel is...
1 Samuel 7:2-17
1 Samuel 7:2-17 “From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:2) Biblical time is often confusing. At times we hear of people living well into their hundreds (or more!) and we just can’t believe it. We rationalize it by saying things like, “They didn’t have clocks and calendars the way we do” or “Maybe ‘a year’ means something different to them.” (Though, let’s be honest, these...
Luke 20:27-40
Luke 20:27-40 It is rare that a passage from a previous Sunday’s sermon pops back up for this midweek devotion, but such is our good fortune this week. Luke 20:27-40 tells of Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees; the one in which they challenge Jesus using Levirate marriage. (If you missed last Sunday’s sermon, it could be helpful to go back to it before reading the rest of this devotion). As I noted on Sunday, this is a disingenuous question because it focuses on the resurrection and...
2 Corinthians 11:21b-33
2 Corinthians 11:21b-33 “And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28) Paul was clearly a pastor. Obviously, he was more than a pastor. A missionary, an apostle, prophetic in his writings, but he was definitely, certainly, even in the midst of all these other things, a pastor. The litany of hardships that precede 2 Corinthians 11:28 is hardly fathomable. Whipped, spanked, stoned, washed out to sea; sleepless, naked, and...
Luke 17:20-37
Luke 17:20-37 “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’ Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, 'Look there!' or 'Look here!' Do not go, do not set off in...
Deuteronomy 4:25-31
Deuteronomy 4:25-31 “When you have had children and children's children, and become complacent in the land…” (Deuteronomy 4:25) The Lord speaks to His people just on the wrong side of the Jordan – just as they’re about to cross onto the right side – and is compelled to issue a warning about complacency. Complacency is interesting. It almost never happens with things we are actively working for or toward. One cannot be complacent and active at the same time. No, complacency comes about in two...
Ezekiel 11:14-25
Ezekiel 11:14-25 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone” (Ezekiel 11:16) Another week of lectionary readings and another selection from the people of God’s Exodus/exile/diaspora narratives; this time from Ezekiel, who also writes during the time of Babylonian exile. By now, the reflection for our times is obvious: Just...
