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9.29.20

pastor mike and nicole

LET'S PRAY TOGETHER Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us; Lord, You are our leader, lead us. You are our friend, help us. You are our defender, protect us. You died for us, help us to live as You did. may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm; may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us; may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors. Amen MEDITATION Let my friend Luke (4:14-30) tell you a story about Jesus…(After he was tempted in the desert) He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “(But) isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  Have you ever wondered why Jesus made them so mad? Read the above story carefully, they were quite pleased with him until he crossed a line in their minds when he pointed out that God cared not just for Israel but for foreign, non-Jewish, God-less nations like Sidon and Syria. And not only did He care but God sent some of the greatest prophets to minister to “those people”. If you read the Bible you will see from Genesis to revelation that God has a heart for the lost, the downtrodden and the undeserving, do you? DAILY SCRIPTURE READING Our daily scripture reading comes from the following link… http://listenersbible.com/devotionals/biy/ If you have any insights into our daily readings, please feel free to share them with me. I would encourage you to visit https://bibleproject.com/explore/zephaniah/ for an overview of Zephaniah and https://bibleproject.com/explore/philippians/ for an overview of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes. Zephaniah 1:1-3:20 In chapter 1 we see a description of the "Day of the Lord." Re-read verses 15-16. What is that Day described as? There are several reasons for God’s judgment. Verses 4-6 talk about false worship. Verse 9 talks about “violence and deceit” in the temples. Verse 12 speaks of complacency. There is wealth… it’s a dark chapter. It’s important to remember that these images are meant to evoke our feelings. They are not meant to be read literally. They are a form of poetry. Chapter 2 will offer a message of hope. Before the Day of the Lord, what are the people encouraged to do? (v 3) Isn't this the idea behind Jesus saying, be prepared. Think about the parables Jesus told about being ready. Like the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. It's amazing how much of Jesus' teachings are rooted in the Old Testament. Which is why all of scripture is important! Are Judah and Jerusalem the only locations to experience God’s judgment? Chapter 3 brings us back to the beginning. Back to where Zephaniah started. And yet beginning with verse 9 we catch a glimpse of hope for the remnant, those who have been faithful. How is this remnant described? Philippians 1:1-26 What has happened to Paul? (v 14) What is the result of his suffering? (v 13) Paul has this amazing way of seeing the proclamation of Christ as the only thing that matters. (v 18) It seems that Paul’s life is on the line. How does he respond to this situation? (v 20-26) Proverbs 23:29-24:1 Is alcohol a problem or is the abuse of it the problem? (v 30) Proverbs has repeatedly pointed out wise choices and un-wise choices, as an encouragement. But ultimately, who’s responsible for the choice? FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH of SHARPSVILLE LET'S PRAY TOGETHER Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us; Lord, You are our leader, lead us. You are our friend, help us. You are our defender, protect us. You died for us, help us to live as You did. may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm; may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us; may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors. Amen MEDITATION Let my friend Luke (4:14-30) tell you a story about Jesus…(After he was tempted in the desert) He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “(But) isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  Have you ever wondered why Jesus made them so mad? Read the above story carefully, they were quite pleased with him until he crossed a line in their minds when he pointed out that God cared not just for Israel but for foreign, non-Jewish, God-less nations like Sidon and Syria. And not only did He care but God sent some of the greatest prophets to minister to “those people”. If you read the Bible you will see from Genesis to revelation that God has a heart for the lost, the downtrodden and the undeserving, do you? DAILY SCRIPTURE READING Our daily scripture reading comes from the following link… http://listenersbible.com/devotionals/biy/ If you have any insights into our daily readings, please feel free to share them with me. I would encourage you to visit https://bibleproject.com/explore/zephaniah/ for an overview of Zephaniah and https://bibleproject.com/explore/philippians/ for an overview of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes. Zephaniah 1:1-3:20 In chapter 1 we see a description of the "Day of the Lord." Re-read verses 15-16. What is that Day described as? There are several reasons for God’s judgment. Verses 4-6 talk about false worship. Verse 9 talks about “violence and deceit” in the temples. Verse 12 speaks of complacency. There is wealth… it’s a dark chapter. It’s important to remember that these images are meant to evoke our feelings. They are not meant to be read literally. They are a form of poetry. Chapter 2 will offer a message of hope. Before the Day of the Lord, what are the people encouraged to do? (v 3) Isn't this the idea behind Jesus saying, be prepared. Think about the parables Jesus told about being ready. Like the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. It's amazing how much of Jesus' teachings are rooted in the Old Testament. Which is why all of scripture is important! Are Judah and Jerusalem the only locations to experience God’s judgment? Chapter 3 brings us back to the beginning. Back to where Zephaniah started. And yet beginning with verse 9 we catch a glimpse of hope for the remnant, those who have been faithful. How is this remnant described? Philippians 1:1-26 What has happened to Paul? (v 14) What is the result of his suffering? (v 13) Paul has this amazing way of seeing the proclamation of Christ as the only thing that matters. (v 18) It seems that Paul’s life is on the line. How does he respond to this situation? (v 20-26) Proverbs 23:29-24:1 Is alcohol a problem or is the abuse of it the problem? (v 30) Proverbs has repeatedly pointed out wise choices and un-wise choices, as an encouragement. But ultimately, who’s responsible for the choice?

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