Kontakion

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-13 Central Verse: “…but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” 1 Kings 19:14b-13 Central Truth: This is the second lesson in our stewardship series and it focuses on Prayer. This may seem like an odd verse to focus on prayer within our membership vows but we must take the time to begin to understand in the most basic elements what prayer is. Prayer is communication with God. With communication there are two important attributes to the conversation. The first is listening and the second is speaking. Most people would put speaking as the primary for conversation but it is just the opposite which is listening. When we speak about prayer in its most basic components we are talking about conversation. Most of the time it feels like we do all the talking. We fill up the silence of our lives with it. This relegates the ro

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20 Central Verse: “…And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b NRSV Central Truth: We are a distracted and distractible people. I have to be intentional about putting my phone down in the evenings. We are pressed to give attention to everything and everyone on an equal basis, the call apps like Facebook and Twitter are almost irresistible to some and while it is possible to have meaningful relationships over these apps the time spent is often wasteful rather than fruitful. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew we receive what is commonly known as the great commission. I’ve heard many sermons talking about the great commission and I’ve done more than a few sermons on it myself but the key part I want to focus on is the last verse. That Christ promises to be with us. Christ promises his presence in our lives all the way to the end of the world. Because of all the important things to talk about in this section I have noticed t

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Central Verse: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;” Exodus 20:2 NRSV Central Truth: There has always been a tension within the church in relation to the law and grace. As Christians we tend to swing too far one way or the other. We are constantly in danger of being legalistic, that is focusing primarily and exclusively on the letter of the law, then the flip side is we risk erring on the side of no personal responsibility for actions. The Decalogue has always had a special place in this conversation about law and grace. Even some of the biggest founders of Protestantism had divergent views on how to deal with the Decalogue. Martin Luther says, “The Ten Commandments have no right to condemn that conscience in which Jesus dwells, for Jesus has taken from the Ten Commandments the right and power to curse us.” . John Calvin states “We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us