“Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other…” - Malachi 3:16

Psalm • Psalm 98

Old Testament • Malachi 3:13-4:6

Gospel • Luke 21:5-19

New Testament • 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

I love that first line from Malachi 3:16. Those who “feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.” Our communication with one another matters to God. When we gather together to share what God is doing in our lives, how we are responding to God and what we think God would have us do he listens. While the context in Malachi is a negative one, God is defending himself to his unfaithful accusers, the concept remains valid for us today.

God guides us through the midst of our interaction with one another. Look in Acts 15. This is the story of the Jerusalem Council. God’s people discussed and God’s people acted and then, God acted through them. God is a benevolent eavesdropper.

This weekend Wheatland has its first Fall Retreat. It is my hope that during this time we will “talk with each other” not about our disobedience (we can if we need to!) but more about how God is working in and through us. How we hope God will work and what we hope for our futures together. Come to pray and come to talk.

Psalm • Psalm 32

Old Testament • Isaiah 1:10-20

Gospel • Luke 19:1-10

New Testament • 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
May God bless you as you read and pray, pray and read. Amen.

This is the prayer that we have prayed for the last several weeks at the beginning of our worship time. Saturday night we concluded our service with it after we discussed the first chapter in The Good and Beautiful God called “What Are You Seeking?”. The prayer comes from Celtic Daily Prayer and is based upon Psalm 27.

Let me encourage you to begin your day with these words on your lips. Like most good prayers this one is aspirational. It includes a proclamation on our part that we are seeking the Lord all the while asking for God’s mercy in the search. Kyrie eliason, Lord have mercy.

One thing I have asked of the Lord, 
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.

Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.

For the Morning Prayer at CDP you can click here Northumbria Community. Or, you may click on the prayer tab above.

Every once in awhile someone enters into our life creating such an impact that we cannot really know ourselves apart from some memory of their presence. Parents perform this function, of course, as do siblings, grandparents, and other family. Seldom do people outside of family leave such positive, lasting marks in our lives. Cecil Beaver was one of these people in mine.

In almost thirty years of pastoral ministry Cecil impacted countless people. For each of the years he served our small congregation in West Texas he had at least one person enter into some kind of ministry. He was quiet, unassuming and constant. He will be laid to rest today a mere 80 years old. Godspeed!

“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet ye have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.” – I Corinthians 4:15

Psalm • Psalm 84

Old Testament • Jeremiah 14:7-22

Gospel • Luke 18:9-14

New Testament • 2 Timothy 4:6-18

This week’s Gospel reading contains within it the origin of one of the most celebrated and prayed prayer within the 2000 year history of Christianity, the Jesus Prayer.

Here it is in both Greek and English:

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλό or, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

This prayer is central to the Eastern Orthodox faith but is also prayed by people of all Christian tribes from Roman Catholic and Anglican to Evangelical and Charismatic. The Jesus Prayer is a simple expression of trust in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a simple affirmation of Christ’s Lordship and a simple request for mercy. It assumes that God is merciful and that he longs to share that with us through Jesus.

Let me encourage you to consider making this prayer a part of your everyday life. Relying upon Christ and seeking his assistance through words prayed by our brothers and sisters in Christ long, long ago.

This Saturday night James Bryan Smith, author of The Good and Beautiful God, will speak at Wheatland. Jim will share with us some of his ideas about spiritual formation and what motivated him to write the book.

Starting the week of October 23rd our congregation will slowly and deliberately make our way through material of The Good and Beautiful God. It is both my hope and my prayer that we will find this an experience of great learning and even greater growth.

Here is a paragraph from the book. It comes from a chapter about the trustworthiness of God. Many of us (dare I say all?) struggle with trusting God. It’s easy in the good times but it feels impossible in the tough times. This quote summarizes the heart of the book:

“All of us have to face pain and difficulty, sometimes even tragedy. As we come to know and draw close to the God Jesus knows, we find a new kind of strength to deal with our struggles. If we do not know God as our Abba Father, then we will never have the courage to face our problems. But as we come to know the good and beautiful God that Jesus knows, our struggles take on a whole new meaning. If God is truly good and is looking out for our good, then we can come to him with complete honesty. We can practice honesty when we pray—baring our soul and confronting those hurts that make us doubt God’s goodness by handing them over to him for healing.” (pg. 64)

Here are this week’s Lectionary readings. We’ll be using some of these during our worship time and I trust that they all bring nourishment to your souls this week as you pray and read, read and pray.

Psalm • Psalm 121

Old Testament • Genesis 32:3-30

Gospel • Luke 18:1-8

New Testament • 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

This past weekend I was able to hear Donald Miller speak on the subject of story. He discussed how stories work, why we live by story, and how there is a larger, more meaningful story that we are all called to live into.

We should read Scripture regularly, not for the sake of study, but for the sake of story. Study is important and we should read the Bible for that purpose too. But, what if we begin to read the Bible not to learn something new but to enter in, and become a part of, the story that God is telling. It’s true that Scripture was written to someone else first. However, the fact that the story comes to us second hand doesn’t mean that it’s not our story too. In fact, this story of recorded in the Bible lays claim to our lives. We belong to it.

Psalm • Psalm 137

Old Testament • Ruth 1:1-14; 2:1-4

Gospel • Luke 17:11-19

New Testament • 2 Timothy 2:3-15

For more info go to: Donald Miller in Wichita or go to amillionmiles.com. You won’t want to miss it!