The (Lieben)GOOD LIFE

Lent Is about Paying Attention to Your Treasures! Matt 6.19-21 2 Cor 5.20-6.13 Last season as we approached Lent, I encouraged us to think of Lent as a season of paying attention!  I reminded us that as helpful as giving things up may be, that can still distract us from the reason for Lent. Lent is about paying attention--to God and to ourselves! We just reflected upon the Transfiguration of Jesus last Sunday (Matt 17). The last words that the Father spoke to us were: "This is my beloved Son in who I am well pleased. Listen to Him!: Lent is a time to pay attention to those words, and to pay attention to our attentiveness to those words. Are we taking the time to listen to Jesus--what He says about who we are, what He says about what life is all about?  It is a time when we are more intentional about what keeps us from listening to his words? What distracts us from knowing who we are and what God wants for our lives? What else garners our attention? What are...

Epiphany 7: Transfiguration Matt 17.1-9 Psalm 2 Exod 24.12-18 2 Pet 1.16-21 Prayer of Invocation Father, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; As we gather before You to be empowered to do Your will and participate in Your mission, pour into our hearts by Your Spirit the the greatest gift, which is love, that we might bear witness in our shared life together Your goodness, beauty, and truthfulness. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who loved us, and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen . Prayer of Illumination Father, before the suffering and crucifixion  of your Beloved Son, You revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the glory of His being, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,...

Hebrews 12.18-29             Luke 13.10-17             Psalm 103:1-8 Prayer of Invocation Father, grant that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power and goodness among all peoples, to the glory of your Name through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. INTRODUCTION Two high profile cases have reminded us that faith in Jesus Christ requires endurance. I’m speaking of Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson. Joshua Harris has divorced his wife and renounced his faith. Marty Sampson, a song writer for Hillsong, has said that he is "struggling with many parts of the belief system that seem so incoherent with common human morality." Hold on to that thought for a moment. This is a sober reminder that being a disc...