September 6, 2021 — Acts 13:32–52

“As Paul and Barnabaswere going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
    so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.” Acts 13:42-49

The reaction of the Jews in verse 45 raises a question for us: How should the church respond to those who make it their public business to reject the Gospel or speak against the church? It is clear to me that our society is becoming more and more secular – more and more people do not believe in Jesus, or even believe that a G-d exists. And, to address a more immediate experience, how should the church respond when a group comes into our area, in the name of the Gospel, and publicly denounces certain races or cultures?

We will encounter times and situations where the church must lift their voices in protest and respond – and in so doing, will put us squarely into the public arena and the public eye. It is always safer to write our congress people or to write a letter to the editor of the local paper than it is to state our views, openly, publicly, and with the opportunity for others to reject us. But shouldn’t we become more vocal and visible when the message of the Gospel is at stake?

Let Us Pray,

Lord give us the voice to speak up for you, and against those who denounce the church. Help us to spread the word with fire and the spirt. Amen.

Pastor Dave

September 5, 2021 – Pentecost +15B         Mark 7:24-37 

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” Mark 7:31-37

The church should always be in the business of doing the work of Jesus Christ. And looking at the work of Jesus in this Gospel, and many of the Gospel stories, Jesus was about rolling up his sleeves, spitting on his hands, and saying “I need to get to work helping the people who need my help”. As such, so do we. We need to spend time every year looking at what kinds of ministries we are doing well, and what we are not doing well — not only in terms of ministry but also in our worship. We also need to always be thinking about what we “Should be doing”. And that includes inviting the leaders of our community, and the people from these demographic groups from our neighborhoods, we need to invite them in to sit with us and talk about their needs, wants and desires. And, let me say this, we also need to consider that it may take “Un-roofing the Roof” of our pre-conceptions about the community and the needs of the community — which requires sitting and listening. And after we listen to them, we need to decide if we are willing to provide the ministry opportunities to meet their needs. 

We should be doing more to let our neighbors know what Zion is doing, and we should be doing more feeding, more outreach, and more social opportunities. My friends, there is work to be done. And Zion is right in the middle of Hummelstown — right in the middle of so many opportunities for getting our hands dirty in doing the ministry of Jesus Christ. There is work to be done. I hope and pray you are ready to get busy — for the Holy Spirit is alive in this place. 

Pastor Dave