Sunday's Scripture Reading

This week the New Testament lesson is from Luke 1:68-79:

 ⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
      because he has come and has redeemed his people.
 ⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
      in the house of his servant David
 ⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
 ⁷¹salvation from our enemies
      and from the hand of all who hate us—
 ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers
      and to remember his holy covenant,
 ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
 ⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
      and to enable us to serve him without fear
 ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
 ⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
 ⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
      through the forgiveness of their sins,
 ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
 ⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
      and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the path of peace."

This story is called the Benedictus. In it, the prophet Zechariah is thanking God for giving him a son.  His son is none other than John the Baptist.  Like Jesus, John's birth is miraculous because his parents were way past their childbearing and rearing years.  It's also miraculous because this is the first time in nine months Zechariah speaks.  You see, the angel Gabriel punished him to silence because he didn't believe him when the angel said he would have a son.  Zechariah's song exudes joy, which is pretty amazing because he was something of an old grump! 

There are lots of things that come to my mind when I read this passage, such as: are there things that happen to us that seem too good to believe?  Are there times when silence is best?  And what would it take for me to have a change of heart?

What about you?  What do you think about when you read Zechariah's song?

Gingerbread Houses

Chief Architect Leslie Barnes is once again hosting the gingerbread house-making party this Saturday, December 5, 10 am-noon at the church.  Cost is $10 and kids of all ages are invited.  You can RSVP to Leslie at lesliecee@sbcglobal.net or the church at 432-8029. 

Sunday Morning Worship, 10:30 am

Last week I asked on the blog if anyone would be interested in submitting thoughts about the upcoming Sunday reading.  Some people responded they would be interested in doing this.  My plan was to start this on November 29, but this week's readings are just to good to pass up.  I want to hear your thoughts.

The last Sunday of the church year is Christ the King Sunday.  I've said before I have some issues with Christ the King Sunday, because the image of "king" carries a lot of baggage and doesn't jive wive with my view of Jesus.  But don't let my opinion sway your opinion, because there's a lot we can learn from celebrating Christ the King Sunday.  For starters, we can learn about truth (with a capital T).  Pilate asks Jesus in this week's reading, "What is truth?"  What is truth for you?  What do you think of calling Christ "king"?  What is Pilate's goal?  And what is Jesus' goal?

These are just some questions to get you thinking.  Feel free to post your own thoughts.  It's really easy to do!

Here is the reading:

John 18:33-37

33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

And here's a video to watch.  It's to the song "Here Is Our King" by the David Crowder Band. It includes artists depictions of Jesus as a baby, different artistic ideas of Jesus as an adult, Jesus on the cross, etc.

See you in church!

This Sunday and next week . . .

The Adult Discussion will have its monthly roundtable, led by Will Ridley, this Sunday at 9:00 am.  Next week, the group will not meet because of the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Young Youth Cluster meets this Sunday at First Congregational Church in Clayton from 5-7 pm.  The theme is Thanksgiving.  If your child between grades 3-6 wants to attend, let Pat Cleeland, Parish Associate know at pat@milodesigns.com.

The church office will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.

Don't Forget

DUO (Do Unto Others) luncheon is this Sunday after church.  For more about DUO, scroll down further on the blog.  YOu can still make a reservation by e-mailing the church at adminasst@faithdesperes.org.  If you can't come but want to help a family, ornaments that indicate gifts wanted will be left on the tree the next 2 Sundays.  Just let Joanna Gerst know you took an ornament!  Thanks.