Bethlehem Lutheran Church

From Psalm 139:1-14:

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night’, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Consider:

• Have you ever hid this way? What happened?
• What do you think of that time now?
• Was God there?

Read the full takeout and sermon.

When you pray on your own, what are the things you pray for? 

Look at the Lord’s prayer: What are the main things that we pray for?

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.  For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.  Amen.

I see them nearly every day on the corner of 46th Street as I exit 35W – single men, holding signs that say “Homeless” or “Single Dad” or “Need Rent.” And I have to decide: Will I stop today and hand them a couple of dollars? I have singles tucked away, easily accessible, specifically for them. But even though I'm ready, sometimes I still don’t stop. Sometimes traffic is too thick or too fast. Or I think, “I got him already.” Sometimes, I just don’t feel like it.

I forget that God speaks in the present tense in Isaiah 43:10:  “You are my witnesses."

He doesn’t say:

• “You might someday be my witnesses,” or
• “If you’re good, you may become my witnesses.”  

Our witnessing is going on, ready or not! 

During this sermon series, we'll be discussing learning the story, living the story, and loving the story. Come and participate, ready or not!

Oh my, how I related to the opening of Pastor Ben’s sermon! When I have a cold, it’spneumonia; a skin irritation is certain to be skin cancer. Death is the ultimate fear.

• Talk about your own fears; what scares you the most?
• Where do you find your strength in your everyday life? 
• On what or on whom do you rely when faced with difficult situations?

“Go ahead -- you deserve it.” This is a common refrain in our society. Why?

• What are the things you think you deserve? 
• What is the life you think you deserve?

When I was 11 my parents divorced…gulp. I was already at an awkward stage: I’d recently gotten glasses and a clumsy haircut, and to top it off, I was in one of the only “ethnic”families in town. I so valued what “the popular kids” thought, but feared being rejected for all my differences. 

Consider:

“Which commandment iis the first of all?" the scribes asked, sure they would trip Jesus up in the parsing of more than 600 on the list. But Jesus answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…and you shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” Isn’t that just like Jesus? We ask him to reassure us we’re getting
it right while others have it all wrong. Instead, he teaches us that all the hundreds of dos and don’ts can be reduced down to “Love God and love your neighbor."

I am a recovering selfish person. Sharing was difficult for me as a child -- I had so little, I was certain I could never replace anything that was lost or broken. In the early years of marriage, wondering how we’d pay rent and buy groceries caused me to grab onto things.

Consider:

We’re hoping to move this spring, so I recently made a list of a few houses for sale that fit our needs and emailed it to my spouse. Not a week later, I was shocked to see that three of them had already sold. “How dare someone buy my houses!” I thought. Rationally, of course, I knew this reaction was absurd. But disappointment over my own helplessness – my inability to control “the market” – was still surprisingly hard to shake.

Consider: