Our worship on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost signaled a turn back to our program year which will next week. We offered a prayer to be gathered into a growing community, not separated by our differences but gathered under the umbrella of the Holy Spirit. Our lesson from First Kings was the basis for the sermon today and told the story of Solomon moving the Ark from the Tabernacle to the Temple. The reading began with a recounting of the truth about God – God is bigger than any place we try to stick God on earth yet offers a place for us to recharge. The Psalmist offered thanks for God’s dwelling place and the strength that is found there. Our Epistle from the letter to the Ephesians conveys the preparation we have had and need to depend upon to continue doing our God-given work to renew the world. The gospel from John was the conclusion of the “bread discourse” and reminds us that the word given by Jesus, no matter how challenging it might seem, is the way to real life. A message today was the reminder that the Church is not a place to hoard God but a place where we get recharged by community so we can carry on doing God’s work in ever evolving ways. How can you use your worship space to empower yourself and your community for bringing the gospel to the world?
I invite your comments,
Les+
Readings: 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/pentecost-14-sermon
