Reading: Acts 17: 22-31 Verse 28: “For in him we live and move and have our being. We are his offspring”. Arriving in Athens Paul familiarizes himself with his surroundings. Athens is filled with philosophers and the people love to learn and to discuss ideas. Paul also notices a high level of religiosity. He senses fertile ground for sharing the gospel. In his opening statement, Paul shares that he found an altar “to an unknown god”. Although most of their many gods had names

Reading: 1st Peter 2: 2-3 Verse 2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”. Today’s short passage is a powerful metaphor that is packed with meaning. On the surface level our faith must be fed if we are to grow in our faith. We must nourish our faith with practices such as worship, prayer, meditation, and study. Investing in our relationship with God leads us to “grow up into our salvation”. There are two roles in toda

Reading: John 14: 5-14 Verse 12: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”. The opening verses of our passage center around the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus’ statement that “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” is very clear to us but is outside the understanding of the disciples at this point. From our vantage point, we do not get how the disciples don’t get it. Jesus explains how the amazing words that he speaks a

Reading: Psalm 31: 1-5 and 15-16 Verse 5: “Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth”. When David wrote today’s Psalm he must have been at a difficult point in his life. We do not know what was challenging him at this point, but we do get a sense of his trust in the Lord. For David, this trust has been built on many experiences where God has proven trustworthy. As David seeks refuge and lifts his voice to God, he is counting on God to once again

Reading: Psalm 23 Verse 1: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want”. Psalm 23 is probably the best known Psalm. Simply reading verse one triggers our memories and, for some, we can recite the remaining words. It is like saying, “Our Father who art…”. Like the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23 is a powerful reminder of God’s love and care for us. David uses a metaphor that was very familiar to his audience: God as shepherd and us as sheep. As this metaphor is used throughout th

Reading: Acts 2: 42-47 Verse 44: “All the believers were together and had everything in common”. The book of Acts records the early history of the church. In our passage today Luke writes about what makes the church the church. It remains true today. The early Christians learned about Jesus and God. They spent time together in fellowship meals (that included what we call communion) and in times of prayer. The Holy Spirit was present, filling them with awe and empowering the a

Reading: Psalm 116: 12-19 Verse 14: “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people”. Today’s reading begins with a question: “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me”? It is a good question to consider. The psalmist’s answer is the fulfillment of his vows to the Lord. Like the psalmist, we too are in relationship with God. And like all relationships, this relationship with God involves a commitment and some expectations. In verse thirteen t