Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Growing up in the Reformed Church of America, an offshoot of the Dutch Reformed Church, our worship bulletins on Sundays were organized around The Word, which is to say that scripture lessons from the Bible were at the center of worship, in typically Reformed Protestant tradition. So, the three sections of the bulletin were The Approach to the Word,The Word of God, and The Response to the Word. I was reminded of this as I studied the lectionary texts for this weekend. James’ letter is one to which I have always looked for sound reason and loving suggestions of how one should be in response to one’s faith in a loving God. Jesus’s interactions with his followers and the Pharisees in our Gospel lesson from Mark similarly direct us, in no uncertain terms, not to simply talk about what we believe, but to do what Jesus would have us do.
Jesus was frustrated with the behavior of those who claimed to speak with authority about religion. I wonder if you have similar frustrations. Our response to that frustration mustn’t sound or look like more talking about religion, but more like living out our faith in God, who calls us to love–indiscriminately. James tells us what this looks like, and Jesus tells us what it doesn’t look like. So, how do we respond? With our annual meeting coming up in three weeks, we are looking at what may be called the more tedious aspects of being church together: we are going to talk about governance structure. Rather than regard this as tedious and superficial, I invite you this week to consider how our being church is the most explicit response to the Word there is. So, we will talk tomorrow about the church’s ministries and what role we each, individually, would like to play in them. In so doing, we will live to be doers of the Word of God.
Blessings and peace, Lisa.
P.S. Other things to note this weekend: Please do stop by Hannaford today in support of our church’s drive to collect canned goods for the Tree of Life! From 10:00-2:00 you may exchange cans for cookies there, but you also may bring them to church tomorrow for collection! You also cannot miss the remains of the 158-year-old Elm tree that is now lying on the ground at the edge of the parking lot. We have the opportunity to make use of 2.75″ cross sections of the trunk that are approximately 36″ in diameter. Please let me know if you are interested in one, as I have been speaking with Phil Norris (BH tree warden) about how we will obtain them as the wood is processed.
Worship at Home Materials: We will be offering worship in-person as well as on Zoom this coming Sunday. Coffee & tea are available after the church service. Masks are suggested in the sanctuary and required during the singing of hymns, as the virus spreads most easily with the projection of droplets.
Children’s Message
Psalm 15, p.627 NCH Psalm 15
A Reading from The Epistles James 1:17-27
A Reading from The Gospels Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Sermon “Doers of the Word” Pastor Lisa
Below you will find materials to accompany this week’s Sunday Morning Worship via Zoom. An order of service with scripture readings, to accompany the service, are available by clicking the following links.
Helpful Hint: If you are planning to join the Sunday morning worship Zoom call, you might wish to print the following documents prior to joining the call, if you have that capability.
*A link to the sermon will be shared on our website during the week following the service.
Worship Bulletin:
September 1, 2024
Service of Worship for Home
To join us for worship via Zoom, please use the following information.
Whether or not you choose to set up an account, when it’s time for the meeting, click the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89984000387
Meeting ID: 899 8400 0387
Passcode: 827935