Kontakion

Central Verse: "The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem." Micah 1:1 Central Truth: God doesn't just chose anyone or nobody to serve him. God calls specific people for a specific time and place. God has call everyone! Food For Thought:(Questions about the text) Take note of who the kings are and what the prophet is seeing. For more information on these kings you can read their stories in the book of 1 & 2 Kings. Connections: (time with our society) Like many of you I've encountered ministers who try to be more than they are. We have a perception in our churches and unfortunately often in the ministry that pastors must be perfect or appear to be like minister x,y or z. This opening scripture is very specific about Micah's time and his ministry. This is important to understand because God calls us to specific times and places. God works through eac

Why: Why? Why is a question that must be answered of a lot of biblical books. This question is especially important for us when we encounter prophetic books, like Micah, that are rarely used in worship, much less quoted from on a fairly regular basis. It is my position that through the power of the Holy Spirit we have been given scripture. The book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church states "the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice." (Discipline 2008, 2008). We believe that all scripture contains direction from God and to ignore one part of scripture because it makes us uncomfortable or, because we can't bother to learn more about its context and meaning, is not an acceptable way to live out our salvation in Christ. If we are to learn about how God would have us act with one another and how to live l

“Gonna leave the city put my troubles behind People in the city goin' out of their minds Goin' to the country just to feel like gold People in the country really let themselves go” - Steve Miller Band Training: Training for the Philadelphia half marathon was far less stressful than when I was training for my first marathon. This was largely because I knew I could complete the distance. Let’s face it I ran a full marathon the spring before. Even with that there were some marked differences in the way I trained and of course my expectations were different. For this race I used the Nike Intermediate level one training program for the half-marathon. Over all I’d say I was quite pleased with the program. The addition of speed work for me greatly helped and I have already decided that I’ll use the same program for my next half. All though from a training stand point I didn’t complete the highest mileage that it had me shoot for. I changed things as I felt my body needed and

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 NRSV This is the first opportunity I’ve taken to write a reflection on my first Marathon experience. The process for reflections has begun at various times and it has peaked through several sermons and bible study lessons but I wanted to take the time to write of my experience and my thoughts on the race as I’m beginning to prepare for my second big race the Philadelphia half-marathon. The Beginning: The Gardenspot Marathon was quite literally the culmination of a long journey which began in the winter and spring of 2010. In the winter of 2010 Katie and I realized that we needed to lose weight and we set out to do just that. The previous year we had joined Retro Fitness gym which was a good gym but after two months our schedules exploded to a point where we couldn’t make time for the gym as easily so we stopped going. For Christmas in 2009 we bought a Wii and I purchased the Wii fit gam

Closing Reflection: My first United Methodist pastor would end every bible study, Sunday school even confirmation class with, “So what?” This is our “so what” time. How do we reconcile the themes that Qoheleth writes about with our Christian faith? And what difference does taking these themes into account make in our lives? I believe the primary binding theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is that we can discern little about our world and our lives, therefore we are to enjoy life because life is a gift from God. “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die,” could be the claim that Ecclesiastes is boiled down to. That idea alone is clearly rejected by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians. The church has always rejected the idea that we are created to satisfy only our physical needs and desires. As Christians we do believe that this life isn’t all there is; we believe that when we die we are with Christ for all eternity. This belief is beyond Qoheleth, and not referred to within the bo

Central Verse: “Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vain. Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.” Eccl. 11:10-12:1 Central Truth: As Qoheleth brings the book to a close in 12:8, he does some summation of his entire work. Qoheleth brings us to a conclusion that is no surprise considering the general tenor of the book. He recommends banishing anxiety from our bodies by enjoying the life that we have. Yet he quickly tempers this idea, reminding us to remember our creator. How do we balance these two items. As with most things in this book, they seem contradictory; to engage in both would seem self-defeating. However, using Qoheleth as our guide, we can see that we need to enjoy life, because it is God who gives us the ability to enjoy it. God created the world as good, yet it is humanity that insists t

Central Verse: “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is not work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” Eccl. 9:7-10 Central Truth: Repeatedly in the book of Ecclesiastes Qoheleth reminds us to eat, drink, and enjoy life. Qoheleth is fairly clear that the enjoyment of life as such is a gift of God, for example in 6:2b, “Yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them.” A new and final component to this book is, “For God has long ago approved what you do.” This is not a divine stamp of approval on every aspect of hum

Central Verse: “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.” Eccl 8:14-15 Central Truth: Our lives are plagued by the question, “Why do the evil prosper?” In these two chapters, Qoheleth does his typical dance through such a weighty theme. He questions where true wisdom originates, whether it is in the house of laughter or the house of mourning. Then in verse 14 of chapter 7, he seems to allude to the idea that God is the author of all the bad things that happen in our lives. Qoheleth moves onto the topic of the righteous versus the wicked and reach