Sunday will be the fifth installment of this year’s Lenten series, “For Tough Cleaning Problems – Do Not Dilute”: Blood Stains? No Problem! This sermon will focus on our personal demonstrations of our repentance. The scripture readings offer two rituals, one Jewish and one Christian, that have been used to physically demonstrate such repentance.
Leviticus 4:27-31 provides a description of the Jewish “sin offering,” which was a sacrifice of a female goat upon the Temple altar. This is one of several types of atonement offerings that are described throughout the Torah (Jewish law).
Matthew 3:1-6, (7-10), 11-17 tells the story of the baptism of Jesus by John (the Baptist) and, evidently, the Holy Spirit. It offers a vision of baptism not by water, but by fire. Baptism by fire is probably an echo of offerings and sacrifices in Judaism, where the burning of the animal flesh (in the “sin offering” it is the fat of the goat) creates an aroma pleasing to God.
And, as a reminder, please remember that the organizational meeting and read-through of the Easter play, “The Second Day,” will occur immediately following the service this Sunday in the sanctuary. It should not take more than 20-30 minutes. If you are curious, or willing, or both, please plan to attend. It should be fun.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday Worship, February 24, Reflections
On the whole, I've been pleased with worship thus far. I find that I'm still trying to internalize the order of the worship service, which means that I have to consistently remind myself to see what's coming next in the service, but this will get better.
I was mostly satisfied with the sermon. Frankly, I'm the wrong person to ask about how I feel about a given sermon. Per usual, listening to it, I would have added a couple of brief things (mostly emphasizing comparisons I was making).
But I was thrilled to see the response of people willing to help with our Holy Week worship services. I am being ambitious with our Holy Week calendar, but I think that it is important for us, as Christians, to live through Holy Week. It's not very helpful to go straight from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday because we tend to minimize the significant things that happened in between. This takes time and effort, but I think that those who participate will find it spiritually meaningful. And I'm just so glad that so many of you are willing to participate in this.
I was mostly satisfied with the sermon. Frankly, I'm the wrong person to ask about how I feel about a given sermon. Per usual, listening to it, I would have added a couple of brief things (mostly emphasizing comparisons I was making).
But I was thrilled to see the response of people willing to help with our Holy Week worship services. I am being ambitious with our Holy Week calendar, but I think that it is important for us, as Christians, to live through Holy Week. It's not very helpful to go straight from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday because we tend to minimize the significant things that happened in between. This takes time and effort, but I think that those who participate will find it spiritually meaningful. And I'm just so glad that so many of you are willing to participate in this.
A-Blogging, A-Blogging
Welcome to "Along This Pilgrim's Journey..." This is a Pastor's Blog, which I will use to provide mid-week updates on upcoming worship services, Bible Study, church news, and other hopefully interesting information.
Questions
What's a Blog? A Blog, which is a shortened version of web-log, is sort of a public Internet diary or newspaper. It is an easy way of posting information to share with others. All of the entries are automatically archived (you can access previous entries on the side of the page, sorted by date). Each blog is a unique website, with a specific Internet address.
What should I expect? I hope to provide updates on this blog on a regular basis -- some will be announcements of upcoming events at the church, some will be personal reflections based on my activities, some will just be other things I think people might find interesting. These updates should occur at least once per week, but probably more often than that.
Does the pastor expect me to read his blog? No. This is not homework. You will not be tested. You will not be barred from worship services or Bible Study for failing to read this blog. BUT, this is another way to increase communication throughout the congregation, especially with the pastor. So you might just want to read it.
Anything else I should know? You can talk back. At the end of each entry, there is a link where you can post a comment. There is also a link where you can view "comments" that others have made. If you wish to make a private comment to the pastor, you should NOT use this site to do so. But you may use this site to have a public discussion, with the pastor and others (and discussion is a healthy thing for the church). You may post anonymous comments, but I hope you choose not to do so. [By the way, since this is a public site and a site specifically for a church, I will moderate comments, which means that I will ensure that no inappropriate comments appear.]
Enjoy!
Questions
What's a Blog? A Blog, which is a shortened version of web-log, is sort of a public Internet diary or newspaper. It is an easy way of posting information to share with others. All of the entries are automatically archived (you can access previous entries on the side of the page, sorted by date). Each blog is a unique website, with a specific Internet address.
What should I expect? I hope to provide updates on this blog on a regular basis -- some will be announcements of upcoming events at the church, some will be personal reflections based on my activities, some will just be other things I think people might find interesting. These updates should occur at least once per week, but probably more often than that.
Does the pastor expect me to read his blog? No. This is not homework. You will not be tested. You will not be barred from worship services or Bible Study for failing to read this blog. BUT, this is another way to increase communication throughout the congregation, especially with the pastor. So you might just want to read it.
Anything else I should know? You can talk back. At the end of each entry, there is a link where you can post a comment. There is also a link where you can view "comments" that others have made. If you wish to make a private comment to the pastor, you should NOT use this site to do so. But you may use this site to have a public discussion, with the pastor and others (and discussion is a healthy thing for the church). You may post anonymous comments, but I hope you choose not to do so. [By the way, since this is a public site and a site specifically for a church, I will moderate comments, which means that I will ensure that no inappropriate comments appear.]
Enjoy!
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