This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Kingdomtide. During this liturgical season this year, our emphasis is on seeking ways we can help make “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.”
As a community of faith, we try to accomplish this though living out our church vision. The vision at Covenant is “To be an inclusive community of faith Offering Hope + Showing Faithfulness + Sharing Joy.” One of the main ways to makes our vision come to fruition comes from what we learn from the sacred writing of scripture. Often in scripture we learn what to do by noticing through a biblical story, a parable, or a teaching what not to do. Such is the case for this Sunday from the assigned sacred text that is portions of Genesis 50, Romans 14, and Matthew 18. In these passages, the prime motivation for “Offering Hope” is learning from opposite motivation; NOT following the example of others in the assigned sacred text.
Likewise, we can also learn from positive and negative from contemporary behaviors of others during this COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, we learn the lesson of ”Offering Hope” in stressful times by wearing a mask when going out in public to protect ourselves and others even when masks are not always comfortable. We learn the lesson of “Offering Hope” in challenging times by living out The Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And we learn the lesson of “Offering Hope” in challenging times by showing respect and kindness to each other, especially when we disagree.
So, join us in worship this Sunday by Zoom or Facebook livestream at 11:30 AM. Joyful Souls Ministry will provide a zoom skit and I will be preaching on “The Vision IS: OFFERING HOPE.” We will look at “Offering Hope” in stressful times, difficult times and challenging times using the assigned sacred text from Genesis 50:20-21, Romans 14:1-12, and Matthew 18:21-22.
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