6/27/22 - Inspiration to Help you GROW in Faith
Because Inspiration isn't just for Sundays...
This week we offer the following resources
to help you build spiritual strength and live a more fulfilling life.
Start your week off with a prayer, a blessing and some encouragement to help you along the way...
Blessing of the Week:
Incorporate Spiritual Practices to enhance our spiritual life...
Spiritual Practice Suggestion of the Week:
Enjoy some peace along the way...
This Week's Peace Project is Episode 27 - Springtime Flowers:
This Week's ASL Minute:
Scripture Readings for Coming Sundays:
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, 7/3
Help make a difference by putting your Faith in Action
Faith in Action Suggestion for the Month of June:
We are called to pray, AND we are called to put our faith into action. We are called to follow Jesus which means we need to love and serve our neighbors in the name of Christ. It’s also our job to stand up to injustice and respect the dignity of every human being.
This month, we encourage you to sign up for Action Alerts from the Episcopal Policy Network – a grassroots network of Episcopalians across the country dedicated to carrying out the Baptismal Covenant call to “strive for justice and peace” through the active ministry of public policy advocacy.
Help serve the world in the name of Christ...
Outreach Project for June & July
It's time to fill up the red REACH bags, again!
This time we're REACHING for Back-to-School Supplies for Children in Foster Care
We invite you to take a red REACH bag and fill it with school supplies, and/or offer your prayers for this project and the people we are reaching out to serve. REACH bags are available for your convenience. Take one with you when you go shopping and bring it back with your gifts of love and care to help support God’s children. Kids in foster care need to feel loved and supported. They deserve to go back to school with all the supplies they’ll need to succeed. Thank you so much for your support!
Do your part to help spread the Good News...
E-vangelism Suggestion:
This month's suggestion is to find us on YouTube. Visiting our YouTube channel is a great way to get inspired and brush up on what you've learned. Find something there that you're excited about or inspired by. Share it with a brief comment about what about it that speaks to you.
Click HERE for St. Paul's YouTube Channel
Love social media? Join our Digital Disciple team! See Drew or Rose after church, or contact the Church Office to be put in touch with a team member.
Consider what you've learned and apply it in your life...
From Sunday's Service:
In this week's sermon, Drew Darby explained that the sayings in Luke are famously challenging. Perhaps the church needs to hear these hard texts at these hard times. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the direct route, through the region of Samaria. The Samaritans and the Jews did not like each other very much. They had a long history of religious rivalry. The Samaritans believed that God's holy mountain, where God should properly be worshiped was Mount Gerizim in Samaria. The Jews, of course, believed it was Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Since Jesus was headed for Jerusalem, the Samaritans would not welcome him.
James and John came to Jesus and asked if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans. Here Luke shows us a type of disciple so confident in their own righteousness that they are comfortable contemplating the destruction of others and even bringing about that destruction themselves. Unfortunately, this type of Christian is still very much with us today. And what is Jesus response to their question? Luke simply says in verse 55 that he turned and rebuked them.
If we are really interested in this Jesus person, we have a real challenge before us. Can we put Christ first in our lives. Can you love your enemy? Are you able to truly love someone with whom you vehemently disagree? What about the fruits of the spirit we read about today - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? Do you exhibit these fruits when you interact with opponents in your life?
Drew challenged us to surround our thinking and our outlook with the ways of God. "Our mental states are formed by what we constantly feed our brains. Maybe give up some of your doom scrolling and replace it with some form of meditation on scripture. Take Psalm 16 verse 8 and make it our mantra to say throughout the day. 'I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.' Say this to yourself throughout the day and I promise you that your outlook on things and people will begin to change. Room will be made for the Spirit in your life. Love will miraculously be there. There are other great options in Psalm 16 as well such as verse 1, 5 or 11. Spend time throughout the day just allowing your mind to briefly be filled with any of these verses and I think you'll begin to make room for God to work in you to do the impossible, something perhaps more miraculous than calling fire down from heaven - to love others as Christ loves us."
In case you didn't see it yet...
Here's last Sunday's service:
In case you'd like to hear it again...
Here's the Sermon:
Make coming to church a priority...
Here's what you can Look Forward to Next Sunday:
This Sunday, July 3rd at 10:15amJoin us in-person or online
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few..." Join us for church this Sunday and learn how Jesus sent his disciples out with no purse, no bag and no sandals. In the places they were welcomed, they stayed, healed the sick and shared a message of love from the Lord. In places they were not welcome, they shook off the dust from their feet and moved on but still shared the message that the Kingdom of God had come near. Come and learn that you are welcome here. Come and learn that you are loved by God. Come and get inspired!
Lots of great things are happening!
Keeping Up with Everything Offered at St. Paul's:
This is an overview of this week's resources to help you GROW in faith. To learn about everything going on at St. Paul’s, please see our E-newsletter. If you don’t receive it, please let us know. We’d be happy to add you to the list!
Click HERE to Subscribe to our Enews
Finally, I welcome you to reach out to share your spiritual journey. Next week, we’ll have new ideas and resources for you. And week after week we’ll get stronger, go deeper and offer ourselves to be transformed more and more into the people God is calling us to be.
God bless you this week and always,
Rev. Susan+
Tags: Growing in Faith - Sunday and Everyday / St. Paul's Latest Updates & Blog
