Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 20-25

The Great Commandment

6 Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, ² so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. ³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶ Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷ Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Reformation Sunday

 

John 8:31-36

³¹Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

A couple went up in a hot air balloon. Soon, things went awry and they were way off course. They were TOTALLY lost and had no idea where they were when they finally came down in the middle of an open field. A man was standing at the edge of the field and had watched the balloon land. The woman called out to him, “Sir, can you tell us where we are?”

Deuteronomy 32:44-47

Pastor Jay and I had the honor and privilege of delivering Bibles to our third graders. We usually do this in a worship setting, but in case you haven’t heard, we are in the middle of a pandemic. So, we decided to deliver them in person.

 

I want to tell you that it was the highlight of my week to see the joy on the faces of these children as they received a Bible from the church just for them. I also want to share that a small group from the church offered to purchase the Bibles for these youth.

 

Martin Luther said the Bible is like a cradle that holds Jesus Christ. These are the words that feed us, carry us, comfort us and share with us the promises of God.

(This is Moses speaking)

²⁵ Throughout the forty days and forty nights that I lay prostrate before the Lord when the Lord intended to destroy you, ²⁶ I prayed to the Lord and said, “Lord God, do not destroy the people who are your very own possession, whom you redeemed in your greatness, whom you brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²⁷ Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; pay no attention to the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin, ²⁸ otherwise the land from which you have brought us might say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to let them die in the wilderness.’ ²⁹ For they are the people of your very own possession, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.”

 

So, this is the second time God (Yahweh) gave the Ten Commandments to Moses to share with God’s people.

Psalm 118:14-24

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my might;

    he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

¹⁶     the right hand of the Lord is exalted;

    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”

¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live,

    and recount the deeds of the Lord.

¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely,

    but he did not give me over to death.

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness,

    that I may enter through them

    and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord;

    the righteous shall enter through it.

²¹ I thank you that you have answered me

    and have become my salvation.

²² The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the chief cornerstone.

²³ This is the Lord’s doing;

    it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made;

Matthew 17:22-27

²² As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, ²³ and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

I found this article on the internet. Let me first say that some of these statements are assumptions and not based on anything more than that. The type of coin, the type of fish, etc.

 

Psalm 98

Praise the Judge of the World

¹ O sing to the Lord a new song,

    for he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm

    have gotten him victory.

² The Lord has made known his victory;

    he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

³ He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness

    to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

    the victory of our God.

⁴ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

    break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

⁵ Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

    with the lyre and the sound of melody.

⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn

    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

⁷ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

    the world and those who live in it.

⁸ Let the floods clap their hands;

    let the hills sing together for joy

⁹ at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming

    to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

This past weekend, my wife and I traveled for the first time since February. We took a plane to Boston for our niece’s wedding. The outdoor setting proved to be ideal for the mid-October wedding. The park where the wedding took place has a pond with a fountain, a gazebo on the shore, and beautiful trees all around. The colors of the trees and the bright sunshine made for a lovely backdrop for a lovely wedding. The bride and groom, nervous and happy, and the families gathered filled with joy for these two. A small group of us gathered, due to, well, you know… But we were able to be present for a special day.

Psalm 63

Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

¹ O God, you are my God, I seek you,

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

³ Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live;

    I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

⁵ My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,

    and my mouth praises you with joyful lips

⁶ when I think of you on my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

⁷ for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

⁸ My soul clings to you;

Several years ago, the congregation I served participated annually in a program called the Appalachia Service Project (ASP). This organization was first established by the United Methodist Church and later expanded to other faith communities. ASP works in the counties that make up Appalachia in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia. The staff would work with local agencies to find where the greatest needs were that could be addressed by volunteers to make homes drier, safer and warmer.

Matthew 22:15-22

About six years ago, I led a group of 14 on a trip to the Holy Land, and in that group were my wife and my mother-in-law. Any time we talk about going on a trip, people will ask, “Is it safe?” On the one hand, we had the news reports of the unrest. On the other hand, we had the people who lived there and the travel company saying all was safe, including the contact we made with the pastor who served the Lutheran church in Jerusalem. I had a group that trusted me to make a wise decision about the trip. And while I was confident we were going to be safe, I was also aware of those who placed their trust in me. Some people decided not to go on the trip, because they were concerned about the unrest.

 

Where do you turn? Who can we trust?