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January 27

This week we continued in the season of Epiphany and Pastor Lindi spoke on Nehemiah 8 in which Ezra reads the book of Law out loud for all the people to hear. The people wept in response because they realized how far they had strayed from who God made them to be, just as King Josiah wept upon hearing the words of the Law read out loud for the first time. This is a pattern repeated throughout our faith history, and often catapults us Into reformation or revival. Here is the video we watched that talks more about this pattern:

Even though today we have the Bible literally at our fingertips 24/7, most Christians are biblically illiterate. Reformation/revival is already happening in American Christianity, but we must let God continue to clear away the dead bark so new life can sprout through.

Here are the questions we discussed:

Where do you see hypocrisy in the Church today?

How can we challenge other Christians to understand what’s in the Bible?

Where in your own life do you think there may be hypocrisy?

How are you being challenged by other Christians?

Here are the Bible passages from Sunday:

Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10

Luke 4:14-21

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Second Sunday of Epiphany- Jan 13

This past Sunday we celebrated the Second Sunday of Epiphany and Pastor Lindi taught from two of this week’s passages- Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 4:21-22. There are many parallels between these two passages including the affirmation of identity (“I formed you, I called you by name” and “You are my Son”), the image of water (“pass through the waters/rivers” and “Jordan River”), the image of fire (“walk through fire” and “He will baptize you with… fire”) and people gathering together (“from north, south, east, west” and “all the people were baptized”). 

Taken together we discover that the Lord’s declaration at Jesus’ baptism- “This is my Son, my Beloved. With him I am well pleased”- is meant to be declared over us as well. Dare we embark into this hopefully scandalous, radically inclusive proclamation of our identity as God’s children? When we do we discover how all of who we are is centered around knowing and experiencing that we are the Father’s Beloved; and we are indeed chosen. 

Henri Nouwen’s book Life of the Beloved captures this identity beautifully. Nouwen writes, “Becoming the Beloved means letting the truth of our Belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say, or do.” This has profound impact on how we view and relate to others. “When we… constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness.. That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well.”

Throughout this week reflect on a time when you felt like God’s Beloved. If you’ve never felt that, then take time to ask God to reveal this identity to you. Let us all focus on Nouwen’s words below, a “Prayer of the Beloved.”

“Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.”

Hear God declaring to you, “You are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased.”

You may also want to listen to the worship song we sang, “Who You Say I Am”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcC1Bp13n_4&t=0s&index=3&list=PLfo8LWMsZnedQ3iA4eUbkOuTBz6-cOm9z

Additional Scripture passages from Sunday:

Psalm 29

Acts 8:14-17

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First Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 6, 2019

We had a great gathering this week! I consider it a great joy to have the weekly opportunity to worship, study, and gather around the table with you all!

Our Gospel reading came from Matthew 2:1-12 this week. If you have an opportunity, reread the scripture and spend some time meditating on it. There is quite a bit of profound wisdom from such a short story!

Here were our group discussion question:

1. If you were Mary or Joseph, what would your reaction have been to the visit of the magi?

2. How is the quest of the magi different from Herod’s quest? Why is that surprising and even ironic?

3. The magi willingly traveled great distances and risked their safety in hopes of finding what the stars were pointing to. How do Jesus’ disciples also travel a similar journey?

If you would like to give of your tithes and offerings, feel free to use the PayPal link via our church website: breadoflifenazarene.org.

If you have found some of the good bread of Christ here this day, then don’t hesitate to share it with others. For this is bread that increases the more it is given away. Go and share! And may the grace of our Savior, the love of our Creator, and the friendship of our Helper, be with you. Amen.

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Third Sunday in Advent

For the third Sunday in Advent we light the pink candle which represents joy. Continuing in Luke’s gospel which tells us of John the Baptist, Pastor Lindi spoke on Luke 3:7-18 where John preaches to the Jewish religious leaders, to the tax collectors, and to the soldiers. His instructions about generosity may seem simple, but this particular “good fruit” can be extremely difficult to cultivate, particularly when we are held down by fear of not having enough. It is not coincidence that the “Joy” candle for Advent coincides with John’s words about generosity. 

Here are the questions we discussed:

What does generosity have to do with preparing for Jesus? Why does John chose generosity instead of practices like prayer, or Scripture study, or even piety, as “good fruit”?

Where in your life is it easy for you to express generosity? Where is it difficult?

Often our reluctance to be generous is related to our fear of not having enough. How do we overcome this fear?

Here are the other Scripture passages from Sunday:

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

This Advent season let’s reflect on how we can be free of our fear and give joyously and freely. 

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The Second Sunday of Advent

This week we lit the candle of peace. This is an eternal peace, the kind of peace that only comes from God.

I hope you are enjoying the daily Advent devotionals. I pray you will continue digging into these readings and meditations this week, as we continue to prepare our hearts for the gift of Christmas.

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December 2 Recap

Happy Advent! This past Sunday began the season of Advent and the beginning of the Christian New Year. Pastor Lindi spoke from Jeremiah 33 and talked about how sometimes God gives us hope in a single, simple line that cuts straight to our hearts versus page after page of poetic images. Amidst all the “doom and gloom” Jeremiah gets a vision of new life- a single branch that rises out of a dead stump. This Branch comes in a lowly baby who ends up bringing new life to the entire human race and all of creation. Here are the discussion questions we covered:

1)   What pain, suffering, or injustice are you holding back from acknowledging, either in your own life or in the world around you? In other words what are you “denying”?

2)   If God could say one line to you right now, what would it be? Take a moment to reflect in silence and then feel free to share.

3)   How do we respond to that one line, that “life line,” that God is giving us?

Take advantage of the A Thrill of Hope devotional books! If you don’t already have a daily time to pause and connect with God then explore what works best until it becomes a habit. These devotionals help us remember that we are part of a different kingdom- one that sees the hope that God has created in our world.

Here are the other Scripture passages from Sunday:

Psalm 25:1-10

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

Make you experience Christ’s hope in authentic and meaningful ways this week!

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Christ the King Sunday-Nov 25th

Today was Christ the King Sunday and the last Sunday of the Lectionary year B. Next week starts Advent, the season leading into Christmas. Can you believe it?!

Here are the scriptures from this Sunday: 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Revelation 1:4b-8, and John 18:33-37

Take time to reread, pray, and meditate on these scriptures this week.

As stated before, next week begins the Advent season. Advent is all about preparing our lives and our hearts to receive the gift of the Christ Child. We are doing a church study through this time. If you know of anyone who would like to join us in this devotional time, reach out to one of your pastors and we'll get them a book.

We are also adopting a family for Christmas. What a perfect way to share the abundance of what God has gifted us! When you give of your tithes and offerings, it helps support and sustain good holiness practices like this.

If you do choose to give to Bread of Life, you can do so through our website via PayPal-breadoflifenazarene.org.

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November 18th Recap

This past Sunday our Old Testament passage(s) came from 1 Samuel with the story of Hannah. We talked about this legendary narrative and its broader implications for the entire faith community, and ultimately, the world, as well as the three narrative layers to be explored with any Old Testament story (personal layer, faith community layer, and world layer). We explored ways in which God is bringing new life out of barrenness and providing hope and promise to the “lowly” and hopeless. Hannah’s story is a powerful one as we prepare for Advent and a new year in the Christian calendar. Here are the discussion questions:

Personal Layer: Has there ever been a time when simply praying about something completely changed how you felt about a situation?

Community Layer: As we reflect on current events, the church today in America, and what it means to be a Christian, what seems hopeless? What are we waiting for?

World Layer: Who is hopeless around us? Who are the “lowly”? How is God bringing hope? How can we be a part of that?

Here are this past Sunday’s Scripture passages:

1 Samuel 1:4-20;2:1-10

Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25

Mark 13:1-8

May you have a restful and re-creative week and Thanksgiving feast!

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November 4th Sermon Reflection

This Sunday we shifted to the study of the book of Ruth (1:1-18). This incredible story certainly gives us reason to strive to be like Ruth with her loyalty that forsakes self survival, but the true reminder is that we are all Naomi; we are all in need of redemption. God uses others to show us His hesed, His “loving kindness,” His “faithful love,” and ultimately redeems our unjust suffering and tragic circumstances. 

1)   Reflect on a situation that brought you “bitterness”, a time when you believed that God was dealing harshly with you. How did God show you hesed, loving kindness? Who did He use as a “kinsman redeemer”?

2)   How is God at work in the ordinary and mundane details of our lives, often in ways that are “behind the scenes”?

3)   When we are able to recognize God’s hesed in our lives, God’s redemption of horrible circumstances, then we are able to be used as “kinsman redeemers” to others. Have you ever experienced this?

Passages for this week:

Ruth 1:1-18

Psalm 146

Hebrews 9:11-14

Mark 12:28-34

Keep each other in prayer throughout the week. Blessings and peace.

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Oct 28th Sermon Reflection

This week we wrapped up our study on the book of Job. We ended with the "not so happy" ending found in Job 42. Feel free to reread these verses again this week.

This story in Job also got me thinking about the tragedy this last week in Pittsburgh with the violent act afflicted on a local synagogue there. Tragedies such as these never cease to break my heart. And as we have learned throughout Job, these acts of violence and hate also break the heart of God. May those who are still mourning be wrapped in the ever-present love of God this day.

Here is the question I would like us all to ponder on this week: "What does it mean for us to know God and to be known by God?"

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October 21

This past Sunday we continued our Job Journey by exploring Job 38:1-7, 34-41 in which God (finally) responds to Job’s questions and accusations. God’s response may surprise you. Here are the questions we discussed:

Viewing God as our Teacher/Parent and we as the students/children, what is God teaching us in this?

Feeding the lions and the ravens (vv.39-41) may remind us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” How do you think this relates to God’s response in Job 38?

How do you allow God to care for you and trust that He is your Perfect Parent, giving you exactly what you need and teaching you what you need to know?

Here are the other lectionary passages:

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c

Hebrews 5:1-10

Mark 10:35-45

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Continuing with Job

This week we continued with the book of Job. Man, this book is challenging! But we’re sticking with it!

Here are the passages we read from this week:

Job 23:1-9,16-17

Psalm 22:1-15

Hebrews 4:12-16

Mark 10:17-31

And here are the questions we disccussed together:

1. What experiences with people trying to comfort you in your time of grief? Were they good or bad experiences?

2. What place do you think laments have in worship? Have you ever experienced a time in a worship service where lament was intentionally placed?

We will continue our discussion on Job with Pastor Lindi next week. Have a great and restful week!

If you have found some of the good bread of Christ here this day, then don’t hesitate to share it with others.

For this is bread that increases the more it is given away.

Go and share! And may the grace of our Savior, the love of our Creator, and the friendship of our Helper, be with you.

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Sermon Refection-Sept 30

Hello, church people. As you start this new week, may you not start it alone, knowing that Christ is with you wherever you may go.

This week we focused on the last vereses found in the letter of James. You can read it once again, if you'd like: James 5:13-20

We also took some time exploring a form of prayer called Centering Prayer. If you felt this prayer practice was useful to you, and you'd like more information, make sure to check out at https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org

Have a great week and may the peace of Christ be with you!

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September 23

On Sunday we discussed the infamous Proverbs 31 passage and unpacked many of our assumptions and previous teachings to get to the heart of its message. We learned what this passage can teach us- both women and men- about work, vocation, and calling. Proverbs 31 shows us that we are not wise unless we are wise in our work.

Here are some resources we covered: 

Rachel Held Evans blog post: 

https://rachelheldevans.com/blog/3-things-you-might-not-know-about-proverbs-31

Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith who discussed some categories of tension regarding work and vocation. The categories we covered are:

Home Versus Marketplace, Religious Versus Secular, Our Hands Versus Our Heads, Waged Work Versus Volunteer Work, Mundane Versus Grand

We discussed these questions:

1) How would you describe your work? What word comes to mind?

2) How would you define vocation? How would you describe your vocation?

3) What category of tension (see above) are struggling the most with right now?

4) What does Proverbs 31 teach you about that tension?

Here are this past Sunday’s lectionary passages:

Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 1, James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37

May you sense the closeness of God’s presence this week as He seeks to give you wisdom!

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This week Pastor Lindi taught from 1 Kings 3:3-14; the story of King Solomon asking for “wisdom.” We discussed how the Hebrew word “leb” (or “lev”) is much more than “mind” or even “heart” (see video for how “lev” includes multiple facets). Wisdom involves have a discerning intuition (or “center”/”gut”) which causes us to see things from God’s perspective. Ask yourself this week, “Who, or what, does God want you to see that you’re not seeing?” 

Other lectionary passages from Sunday:

Psalm 111

Ephesians 5:15-20

John 6:51-58

You are encouraged to reflect on these passages this week as you seek God to guide you in wisdom.

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Sermon Discussion-Aug 12

This week we discussed John chapter 6. In John 6 we read about the first "I am" statement recorded in John's gospel – "I am the bread of life".

Take some time this week to find a place of silence and solitude.

Here are the scripture references from this week:

Exodus 16:2-15

Psalm 78:1-25

Ephesians 4:17-25

John 6:24-35

Consider this question this week:

What is the bread that you need right now?

Have a great week and we'll see you next week for service and a community meal together!

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Community Discussion-July 29

This Sunday Pastor Lindi taught from John 6 (our lectionary switched from Marks gospel to johns). Pastor Lindi introduced the book of John, giving background to the author, context, and audience.

A major emphasis for johns gospel is expressing both jesus’ full humanity as well as his full divinity. The feeding of the 5000 from John 6 truly captures both the human as well as the divine Jesus. Through this story, we, like the original readers, are told that jesus is the source- not only of miraculous signs, but also (and maybe even more importantly), the source of all our resources- physical, financial, and spiritual.

Jesus is waiting to be “the source” in our own lives as well. Are we partaking in the feast he has waiting for us?

Perhaps take a few minutes this week to reflect on our community questions for the week:

1. Has there been a time when you’ve needed to rest but outside circumstances kept that from happening?

2. When is a time when you tried to be “the source” and supply “provisions”?

3. When have you experienced an “abundance” that God provided?

4. What makes it hard for you to trust that God is who He says He is?

Have a restful week. And remember we won't be meeting this week for our regular service.