Wednesday Words for June 11, 2014
From Pastor Carrie Smith
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Thought for the Day:
Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.
Put things in order, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace;
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11
***
Tonight at Bethany: Wow! It’s a sure sign of summer when there is exactly ONE THING on the church calendar on a Wednesday. There’s a VBS planning session from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Come one, come all! J
Friday and Saturday: This is Synod Assembly weekend for the Northern Illinois Synod. You can read more about what your delegates will be doing here:
Sunday at Bethany: Yes, it’s true—my last Sunday as Sr. Pastor at Bethany has arrived. I can hardly believe it’s true. I want to say THANK YOU to all for the lovely reception last Sunday in my honor. It was overwhelming to hear of the things you appreciated about my ministry here, especially in light of the short time I am able to stay. I’m especially thankful for the thoughtful gifts (gift cards, quilt, a very generous check, and one of my favorite wines!) Your hugs, tears, kind words and blessings are even more meaningful. Words cannot adequately express how loved I feel. Thank you, thank you.
We’re not going to end our time together in tears, however! I’m so pleased that my last Sunday will include three baptisms. This feels so appropriate and hopeful! Together with the Sowka, Ramsbottom, and Goodman families, we will look to the future as we baptize Evan, Evan, and Avery! Even though we are grieving, we know that we are held in the hands of a loving God, who watches over our going out and our coming in, from this time forth and forevermore.
Last summer we sang many of your “favorite hymns”. Guess whose favorites we’re singing this Sunday? Here’s a hint: Her name rhymes with Fairy Myth. J
We’ll be singing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”, “Come Join the Dance of Trinity”, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (my all-time favorite!), “Taste and See”, and we’ll exit singing “Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name.” I can’t think of a better sending song, as we all go out into the world as part of God’s mission.
This Week’s Texts: Holy Trinity Sunday
Prayer of the Day
God of heaven and earth,
before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time
you are the triune God:
Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.
Guide us to all truth by your Spirit,
that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed
and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.
Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING Genesis 1:1—2:4a
This first creation story reached its current form during the crisis of the Babylonian exile of the people of Israel. God, not their captors' god Marduk, was responsible for their existence. God created women and men as rulers over creation, to preserve and protect it. God also rested on the seventh day, hallowing that day forever as the Sabbath.
Chapter 1
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
27So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Chapter 2
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
PSALM Psalm 8
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]
You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 13:11–13
Paul closes a challenging letter to the Corinthians with an appeal to Christian fellowship grounded in the triune harmony of Christ's grace, God's love, the Spirit's partnership.
11Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
GOSPEL Matthew 28:16–20
After his resurrection, Jesus summons his remaining disciples and commissions them to baptize and teach all nations in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Peace,
Pastor Carrie
