Last Sunday, June 30, 2013 (full size gallery)
We had 14 at the 9am service and 35 at the 11am with several visitors with weather that was very changeable – overhead clouds and then sunny with puffy clouds by 1pm. The day was increasingly muggy but not bad for this time of year. The day lilies are still blooming but clearly past their prime as well as the Easter lilies. The Butterfly bush was out.
Our special guest with the sermon was Warrington Tripp. Warrington had visited earlier in April and we scheduled him in June to explain about the Gideons of which he is a member with Alex. Little did we know that the scripture for this week was from Luke where Jesus "sets his face to Jerusalem" and is seeking disciples. Very appropriate.
This is what the Gideons do – bringing people to Christ. Warrington explained the Gideons are a world wide phenomenon in 95 countries. They distribute 84 million Bibles a year and have distributed 1.7 billion since they began in 1908. These Bibles go not only to hotels, but colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and other public facilities. Each year they replace many Bibles taken. The Bibles are paid through donations not through their membership dues which pays for the organization expenses. They also sell cards. They are not a church since their members belong to a separate church but they meet weekly for prayer in King George.
In the scripture, Jesus reaches a turning point, on the road to Jerusalem for the rest of Luke and is seeking disciples. On the way there are teaching opportunities but he is challenged both those, such as the Samaritans who don’t accept him and others that do but have pressing other needs. He meets three potential disciples who are diverted- burying their parent, plowing the fields, saying farewell to a parent.
These sound like reasonable tasks but Jesus demands a higher standard. It is easier not to follow him than to follow Are we willing to follow a disciplined life for the sake of our own spiritual journey and for the good of our congregations? We can easily become diverted by our own past. We can neither wallow in our past sins nor boast of our past successes if we are to be fit for the kingdom of God. We cannot be diverted.
The sermon is here and the readings. The sermon suggests taking one gradual step at a time toward discipleship. Paul’s Galatians provides the type of qualities to which we should aspire -"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." His conclusion is "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."
We also celebrated the wedding anniversary of Bill and Phyllis Sue Carpenter, married 45 years and the birthday of Ken Pogue. We welcomed Rev. Ken Harvey and his aunt Molley who were both friends of Catherine. She cared for Harvey’s father when she was in hospice.
Coming up next week is the ECM coffee hour (a cookout) after the service. It is also the last day to return the form for attendance at the August 10 family dinner at 4pm with crabs and barbecue.