Friday, January 17, 2025

Happy Friday, Friends!

Today’s scripture reading takes us into Matthew’s Gospel where we are taught to pray…
                   
                            “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
                                                  (Matthew 6:13   KJV)
 
Temptation. It comes in many forms, and often seemingly out of nowhere! We don’t intend or desire to be tempted. We make every effort to avoid temptations of all sorts – temptations to overindulge, get angry, speak negatively, or waste time – or any number of other bad habits we have struggled to overcome. The list sometimes seems endless.
  
The thing you’ve tried most to avoid is the one thing you stumble across time and time again. If it’s doughnuts, all of a sudden coworkers are bringing doughnuts into the office. And strength of will doesn’t always provide the answer, but I believe prayer does. Jesus taught his disciples when praying to not only ask God for daily protection, but also for protection from temptation. Ask the Lord to keep temptation far from you, to clear your path of the stones that might cause you to stumble.
  
So, when you are commuting to work, or you’re headed to meet with someone who often rubs you the wrong way, or thoughts come into your mind that you don’t want to give in to, join me in praying, Protect me from temptation, Lord. Amen.   
 
+++ Worship on Sunday is at 8:30am and 10:00am. This week we will hear about Jesus’ first miracle… turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana. I think there are several important messages for each of us in this story and I’d like to explore them with you on Sunday. At 10:00am the choir will hopefully be back, and we’ll also enjoy some wonderful special music at each service. At our 10:00 am service we will also be praying over some new worship tools in the Sanctuary, as well. If you can’t be in the Fireside Room or Sanctuary with us, you can find us on our Facebook “live-stream” at 10:00am. And, of course, we will upload the completed worship service to our YouTube channel when worship is completed. 

+++ On Sunday we will also receive our special Human Relations Day church-wide offering that supports the important work of community developers throughout the world. Look for the special  envelopes for this offering in the Narthex on Sunday and thanks for your support of this important mission work.
  
+++ Also, in the Narthex you will find your annual offering statements for the 2024 church year. Please pick yours up on Sunday, to help us avoid the cost of mailing them out. If you don’t need or want these statements, please let us know and we will send yours off the shredder.  Thanks! 

+++ The church office will be closed on Monday in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The office will reopen on Tuesday morning at 9:00am. 
 
Make this day a great day and remember to pray with me, Protect me from temptation, Lord. Amen. 
​Pastor Jack