Daily Lesson for November 30, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verses 1 through 8:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends.

There is a line from "O Holy Night" I keep thinking of this morning: "His Law is Love and His Gospel is Peace."

The Law of Love is what allowed Joseph to reach out and embrace Mary and her son Jesus.

It is what allowed Jesus to renounce power, refuse to call down the angels to help, and accept his fate as the will of God.

It is what allows the merciful to extend mercy.

It is what allows the annoyed to extend grace.

It is what compels the just to fight for change.

It is what keeps us from giving up on our nation and -- sometimes more difficultly -- our neighbors.

Love believes.

Love bears.

Love endures.

Love wins.

Love always, in the end, wins.

So let us learn to love one another, even as God has loved us -- even as God has loved this whole, heartbreaking world.

For Love really is the end; and it is the way to the end also.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from 2 Corinthians chapters 1 through 4.

Daily Lesson for November 27, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 4 through 13:

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Many years ago I was involved pretty heavily in a weekly soup kitchen run by our church and several others in the community. One week we received some ritually sacralized meat from the Mosque in town. One of the more conservative churches in the group refused to serve the "Muslim meat". A group from our more liberal church took offense. They said if they didn't want to a part of an outfit that treated Muslims with such contempt. One of them said that if the others were going to be consistent they needed to quit drinking Starbucks coffee because the then-Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz was Jewish. It pretty near fell apart there, and the whole operation was soon in question.

Eventually saner heads prevailed. We worked out a solution that the Muslim meat would be served on the liberal church nights. Nobody went hungry. And to my knowledge, nobody became a Muslim -- or Jewish.

The point being, try to work it out. Some will be more conscientious than others. Some will be more conservative than others -- sometimes a lot more. But try to work it out with each other.

"For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rev. 14:17).

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we will read through the rest of 1 Corinthians chapters 9 through 16.

Daily Lesson for November 26, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 4 through 8:

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Over and over again as we read the Epistles in the New Testament we see thanksgiving. It is a hallmark of Paul's letters; and it is meant to be a hallmark of the community itself.

As Christian people we give thanks. Of course, others do also; and we give thanks for that! We join in giving thanks for all of the abundance with which we all have been blessed. For we know, all good gifts come from above.

Todays is Thanksgiving; and of course this has been a difficult year. But that makes practicing gratitude even more important. Let us remember that Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came amidst mounting casualties from the scourge of war and draft riots that threatened the integrity of the Union itself. And let us remember that when these epistles were first written they were read by people living under constant turmoil, uncertainty, and even persecution. Yet; they gave thanks.

And we are called to give thanks too. We are called to be a thankful people.

So come, ye thankful people come into this day of thanksgiving with gratitude for all God's gifts great and small.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapters 5-8.

Daily Lesson for November 25, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 18 verses 9 and 10:

One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.”

I love this Scripture; and I can hardly begin to tell you what it has meant to me over the years.

In a very challenging time, when things seemed very much to be going poorly at my previous Church Second B as a Sunday School class full of young families was imploding because of LGBTQ affirmation, I read this text from when Paul was in Corinth, was kicked out of the synagogue, and had this vision telling him to press on, trusting in the hope that there while many were rejecting him, there would be many others to come who would not. "There are many of my people in this city," -- I have clung to that hope time and time again over the years.

It was a Saturday that I read this Scripture and took such hope in its promise. I know that because I remember the next day a young couple walked forward to join the church. I didn't recognize them but they said they had been visiting us and some other churches in the area but kept coming back to Second B.

In fact, they said that very Sunday morning they had gone to another Church and sat down and opened the worship guide to see the sermon title: "Homosexuality and the Bible".

The husband turned to the wife. "What do you think this means?"

"I don't know," she said, "but I don't think we're going to like it."

"Well, there's still time to make it to Second B . . ."

They did make it. And they made my day also.

And come to find out, there were many more in the city also. Many, many more.

And there still are . . .

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow we will start by reading the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians -- the book Paul wrote to that church in the city where there were many of God's people.

Daily Lesson for November 24, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 through 22:

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13 esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. 15 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

This is a beautiful and admonishing word this morning for all the believers. This is how we are to live as the community of Christ as we await the coming Christ.

So let us dedicate ourselves to these things in hope an in perseverance:

1. A decent respect for all pastors and bishops and deacons and other church leaders trying to do their best to hold a community together in these very difficult days.

2. Live at peace with one another in the fellowship -- making peace first in our hearts, and then with one another, and ultimately with all the world.

3. Serve and give to the Church and to one another as able.

4. Be encouragers.

5. Be a helper.

6. Be patient!

7. Do not return evil with evil, but seek to overcome evil with good.

8. Practice joy!

9. Pray and keep praying.

10. Find something to be grateful for; find many things to be grateful for.

11. Live into the Spirit.

12. Let the prophetic speak.

13. Try it out.

14. Acknowledge and hold onto what is good.

15. Flee what is evil.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow we will be back in Acts, chapters 18 and 19.

Daily Lesson for November 23, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Galatians chapter 1 verses 6 through 9:

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

and Galatians chapter 3 verse 28:

28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

There is no other Gospel than the Gospel of equality. There is no other Gospel save the Gospel of inclusion. There is no other Gospel but the Gospel of oneness.

I don't know how things got twisted so badly. But from the very beginning it was seen clearly that the Gospel community was to make no distinctions as to gender, or class, ethnicity/race. For in Christ "there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for we are all one."

How did it go South so quickly? How did we surrender so suddenly? Why did we accommodate the culture so completely?

Hear this, friends: God is no respecter of distinctions among persons. That means race cannot segregate us, income does not qualify or disqualify us, and gender does not define us.

This is the Gospel truth; and anything other or less continues to miss the mark, damage the faith, and shut the door where it ought to be open.

In the beginning of the Church the door was wide open, but then somebody closed it. This generation ought to be the one to open it back up for good . . .

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson comes from 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Daily Lesson for November 20, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 16 verses 35 through 39:

35 When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; 39 so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

Read this chapter.

At first the apostles are content to preach the Gospel, even while the work of a slave-girl is abusively taken advantage of.

But the slave-girl compels the apostles to get involved. They cast out an evil spirit from her and her masters then conspire to have the apostles arrested and flogged. Their charges against the apostles are disturbing the peace and being Jews. That's right, the charges were racism and being "outside agitators".

The apostles are beaten and arrested. But that night while singing freedom songs and sharing the Gospel with the other prisoners, an earthquake strikes the prison, flinging open the prison doors. It is a sign of the shaking of the very foundation of the city's justice system.

Thinking the prisoners will riot and kill him, the guard almost kills himself, but is instead met with love and prospect of change. Soon he and his whole household are converted.

And at the end of the story, realizing the wrong, the magistrates want to send the apostles away quietly. But the apostles won't go quietly. They demand a public apology and public redress before they leave. They are not only content to themselves be set free; they demand that the whole city take responsibility and change.

This is a story for our times, friends; and it was in the Bible this whole time.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we'll read the book of Galatians, Acts 17, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Daily Lesson for November 19, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from James chapter 1 verses 2 through 4:

2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

Yesterday I was talking with some close friends about challenges we have come through and are in some sense still in. One of them said, "We have learned a lot through all this. We have had too much pain not to learn something."

Pain can be a great teacher if we allow it to be. We can learn from what it has to say to us. We can deepen and grow because of having to experience it.

James says pain, or what he calls "trials" are what mature us. We must go through them that we may be tested, endure, and truly grow up. It is painful, but necessary. So he tells us we should even learn to take "joy" when the trials come our way.

I honestly don't know that I'm ready to consider it ALL joy. But I do remember something Maya Angelou said which helps:

"I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it."

There is a certain kind of fierce joy that comes from knowing we have not been reduced. For we have endured. And we have learned. And we have grown along the way.

And for all this we can honestly thank God, for the mettle has been tested and tempered, and we are still here -- cracked, yet even more beautiful vessels with wisdom inside.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow we are back into the book of Acts, chapters 15 and 16.