The (Lieben)GOOD LIFE

Psalm 130 Ezekiel 37.1-14 Romans 8.6-11 John 11.1-45 What Are We Waiting For? What are we waiting for? That is a question we have all asked in the past several weeks! As we complain about, and perhaps even debate,  the shelter-in-place order and all the ways it has inconvenienced our lives and impacted our futures, we are left waiting. Waiting for the virus to run its course; waiting for the spread to end; waiting to get back to work; waiting for more bandwidth; waiting for the rain to stop so we can go outside; waiting for the day we can see our friends; waiting for the time when we can be together again and pass the peace after sharing in the life of God at the Eucharist table.  Our texts for this Fifth Sunday in Lent remind us of what we are ultimately waiting for: the restoration of all things; the defeat of death; the promises of God to become actualized. The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 remind us that we are still in the wilderness. (In the prosp...

Psalm 23 1 Samuel 16.1-13 Ephesians 5.8-14 John 9.1-41 Our Good Shepherd Sees for Us To say that these past few weeks have been unsettling, disruptive, and challenging would be an understatement. I've never experienced anything like this in my lifetime.  In the spirit of Lent, and in the presence of God I have asked-- What am I learning about myself in these times ? And, What are You, God,  teaching me in these circumstances ?  One of the more unsettling themes that has come up over and over again in the past few weeks is my inability, our inability,  to see.  Our modern self has been conditioned, trained and educated, to think that we have more control over things than we actually do--that we can see things more clearly than we actually can. And yet on occasions like this,   real reality breaks into our lives to remind us otherwise.  We can't see the Coronavirus. That is to say that we don't know exactly where it is, or w...

Dear Brothers and Sisters of One Hope Presbyterian, I am writing on behalf of the Session (church elders) to inform you that we will not be gathering for face-to-face worship this Sunday, March 15 at our Garfield campus. Instead, we will send out a liturgy that you can work through individually or with your family that will include prayers, songs for worship, Scripture readings, a short reflection on the Scriptures, and a benediction. The liturgy will be posted on the One Hope Facebook page, and will be sent to all the emails we have on our master list. We think it is important for you to understand the ethos and motive behind our decision to cancel the service this Sunday, March 15. We want to underscore that we are not afraid; our decision to call off our public gathering for this Sunday is not out of panic, nor is it out of fear for our own wellbeing. Rather, it is grounded in our calling as Christians to love our neighbors and to look out for the most vulnerable in our midst. L...

Dear Sisters and Brothers of One Hope Presbyterian, This Sunday, March 15, One Hope Presbyterian will gather to celebrate the life we share in God, and to encourage one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10.24). We hope that you will join us. With the ongoing developments in the spread of COVID-19, the Session thinks it is wise to follow these measure as we gather: If you feel sick (e.g. fever, cough, feeling under the weather, etc.), please stay home. If someone in your family has felt sick, we ask that your entire family stay home.  If you have a health condition that could leave you particularly vulnerable if you were to contract the virus (lung disease, high blood pressure, health disease, diabetes, etc.), we ask you to consider staying at home this Sunday. This Sunday we will not serve communion, nor will we pass the peace. This is not because we lack faith but because we feel this is the wisest, best way to love our neighbors--by assuring as best we can that...

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ at One Hope Presbyterian, By now you have probably heard about the Coronavirus or COVID-19. This is a respiratory illness that is like other influenza viruses, which spreads from person to person. Since it is a novel virus, that is to say a virus that has not been previously identified or detected, there is at this time no vaccine to weaken its effects and slow its spread. As you have probably heard, the virus is now spreading person to person in the United States. At the time of this post, there is one person in Texas (Fort Bend County) who has been contaminated  with COVID-19. He is quarantined in a hospital and seems to have contracted the virus while traveling aboard. If you would like to learn more about the virus --the symptoms, how it is spread, etc-- we encourage you to reference this page from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The elders of One Hope Presbyterian want you to know that we are monitoring the spread of this v...

Lent 1: Understanding the Architecture of Sin Psalm 32 Matthew 4.1-11 Gen 2.15-17; 3.1-7 Rom 5.12-19 Prayer of Invocation Father, Your  blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Prayer of Illumination Good and loving Father, you have so made us that we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from your mouth. Give us a hunger for your Word, and in that food, satisfy our daily need, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7 Lent is a season in which we seek to become better at paying attention--paying attention to God, His word, His work in our lives, and the ways in which we are distracted from God and live contrary ...