Mark 6:39-40 Then Jesus ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
This is one part of the way Mark tells the story of Jesus feeding 5000 on the hillside with just five loaves and two fish. The story goes that the crowds were around Jesus and it was getting late - Jesus got worried about their nutrition and asked the disciples to feed them. The disciples objected that they couldn't see any Golden Arches and they'd lost the number for Domino's. Jesus told them to improvise. Gather what they had (5 loaves and 2 fish) and get the people to sit down in groups.
I think that's a big part of the key here: Jesus got the people to sit down in groups - in groups of 100 or 50... smaller than just the massive hungry crowd. Is it possible that the miracle here is that, when people sat down in smaller groups and saw one another as human beings, they opened their bags and shared some other food they'd been holding back before? Is it possible that the miracle is really a miracle of sharing and of trusting one another? What are you being called to share today?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Worship with us Saturday night at 5 pm and Sunday morning at 9 am.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
ASLC Devotions - Tuesday
Genesis 18:13-14 The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’
Have you ever laughed at the Lord? I mean, have you ever heard or felt what God has in store for your life and acted more like Sarah (laughing) than Mary (who said "Here I am Lord. Let it be with me according to your will.")? I know I've often felt more like Sarah than Mary. I've often laughed at the ridiculousness of God's plans rather than submitting peacefully and gently to God's will.
Laughter is a common (and rational) response when God says something like "Love your enemy," "Do good to those who hurt you." Laughter is really the only rational response to some of the ridiculous things that God says. And it's OK. God doesn't mind. Go ahead and laugh, God tells Sarah. But when I come back, what I've said will be true. And then God has the last laugh!
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us in worship Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 9 am
Have you ever laughed at the Lord? I mean, have you ever heard or felt what God has in store for your life and acted more like Sarah (laughing) than Mary (who said "Here I am Lord. Let it be with me according to your will.")? I know I've often felt more like Sarah than Mary. I've often laughed at the ridiculousness of God's plans rather than submitting peacefully and gently to God's will.
Laughter is a common (and rational) response when God says something like "Love your enemy," "Do good to those who hurt you." Laughter is really the only rational response to some of the ridiculous things that God says. And it's OK. God doesn't mind. Go ahead and laugh, God tells Sarah. But when I come back, what I've said will be true. And then God has the last laugh!
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us in worship Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 9 am
Friday, July 27, 2012
ASLC Devotions -- Friday, July 27
Psalm 145:14
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
This summer has been an exercise in both patience and futility for home gardeners (and in much more serious ways for farmers around the country). I have seen my plants droop day after day, desperate for water. Most recently I returned home with no time to water in the evening, and cast a pathetic glance at my flower bed of hostas, black-eyed susans, and coleus. Their leaves were sagging, and had no shine to them.
It rained that night, though, and the next morning I witnessed that the plants had been upheld and those that had been bowed down the night before were now raised up. It might seem silly to rejoice over plants that are simply decorative, but I imagine that this image is not unlike what happens to the people whom the Lord upholds and raises up. Indeed, we have been given the life-giving water that sustains us, upholds us and raises us up. Let us rejoice!
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday, July 25
Colossians 1:9-10
9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.
When we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism, the people gathered make promises to pray for the individual baptized. I love that part of the service, hearing the voices of everyone gathered respond to the question, “We will!” I love it because I love baptism, but I also love it because those voices represent folks who have been part of the congregation for years, and people who just happen to be in worship that morning visiting.
When people tell me they’re praying for me, it’s deeply moving and it gives me strength in the middle of difficult situations to know that I’m not alone. These words in the letter to the Colossians remind the people that people are praying for them. What a comfort, what a gift that message must have been. Please hear that message today: I am praying for you, and I have not ceased praying for you.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Friday, July 20, 2012
ASLC Devotions - Friday
Acts 17:28 For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
This is one line excerpted from a sermon that Paul gave in Athens. He was speaking to the very educated and high-society people of Athens to introduce to them the good news of God's redemption through Jesus. It's a very nice sermon - you should read it. But this line sticks with me in powerful ways. I love the sentence "In him we live and move and have our being."
In God we live... we live because God has given us life. In God we move... God gives us freedom to move and wiggle around and find our comfortable place. In God we have our being... everything we and everything we ever will be is because of God. In God we live and move and have our being. I try to remember this simple proclamation of faith when I'm intimidated, when I'm scared, when I don't know what's coming next. It's all going to be OK, because in him we live and move and have our being.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
“For we too are his offspring.”
This is one line excerpted from a sermon that Paul gave in Athens. He was speaking to the very educated and high-society people of Athens to introduce to them the good news of God's redemption through Jesus. It's a very nice sermon - you should read it. But this line sticks with me in powerful ways. I love the sentence "In him we live and move and have our being."
In God we live... we live because God has given us life. In God we move... God gives us freedom to move and wiggle around and find our comfortable place. In God we have our being... everything we and everything we ever will be is because of God. In God we live and move and have our being. I try to remember this simple proclamation of faith when I'm intimidated, when I'm scared, when I don't know what's coming next. It's all going to be OK, because in him we live and move and have our being.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
ASLC Devotions - Thursday
Colossians 1:15 Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
God is invisible: we cannot see God, we cannot know God directly. God is more mystery and impression than cold, hard, scientific fact. This has always been a problem for God's marketing department. How can people know and worship a God they cannot see and cannot speak with?
That is the gift of who Jesus is for us and for the sake of the world. Not only did God send Jesus to save us through the cross and empty tomb. As if that weren't enough! God also sent Jesus to be the "image of the invisible God." You want to know the character of God? Look at Jesus. Jesus walked and lived and spoke and taught on this Earth. His friends wrote it down. We can read about it. We know that God is love, because Jesus spoke of and lived love. We know that God is interested in healing, because Jesus healed. We know God because we know Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
God is invisible: we cannot see God, we cannot know God directly. God is more mystery and impression than cold, hard, scientific fact. This has always been a problem for God's marketing department. How can people know and worship a God they cannot see and cannot speak with?
That is the gift of who Jesus is for us and for the sake of the world. Not only did God send Jesus to save us through the cross and empty tomb. As if that weren't enough! God also sent Jesus to be the "image of the invisible God." You want to know the character of God? Look at Jesus. Jesus walked and lived and spoke and taught on this Earth. His friends wrote it down. We can read about it. We know that God is love, because Jesus spoke of and lived love. We know that God is interested in healing, because Jesus healed. We know God because we know Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
ASLC Devotions - Wednesday
Luke 7:33-35 Jesus said, 'For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’
Jesus knew that sometimes you just can't win. You can't please all the people all the time. Wait, I think that was Abraham Lincoln who said that, but I think Jesus knew it anyway. He knew that people would criticize him no matter what he did. They criticized John the Baptist because he abstained from eating and drinking. And then they criticized Jesus because he ate and drank. No way to win. People who want to criticize you and tear you down will do it.
Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children. In other words, you'll know wisdom when you see its fruits: its children. You'll know whether someone was wise (like Jesus) not by things on the outside like what they eat and drink, but by what kind of person he is - what kind of wisdom he lives and shares. Do not worry whether you are criticized or mocked. If you are on God's path, wisdom will be vindicated. Hold fast. Have faith. Be strong.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
Jesus knew that sometimes you just can't win. You can't please all the people all the time. Wait, I think that was Abraham Lincoln who said that, but I think Jesus knew it anyway. He knew that people would criticize him no matter what he did. They criticized John the Baptist because he abstained from eating and drinking. And then they criticized Jesus because he ate and drank. No way to win. People who want to criticize you and tear you down will do it.
Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children. In other words, you'll know wisdom when you see its fruits: its children. You'll know whether someone was wise (like Jesus) not by things on the outside like what they eat and drink, but by what kind of person he is - what kind of wisdom he lives and shares. Do not worry whether you are criticized or mocked. If you are on God's path, wisdom will be vindicated. Hold fast. Have faith. Be strong.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for updated information and calendar. Worship with us this Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 9. Remember to be praying for our 35 Youth Gathering participants this week!
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