Bethel United Church of Christ
  • Home
  • Church Info
    • Church History
    • Pastor's Page
    • Related Links
  • Get Involved
  • Photos
  • Contact
    • Submit a Prayer Request
    • Join Our Church Newsletter

WEEK OF MARCH 5 - 11, 2017                         MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR

3/7/2017

0 Comments

 
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 12 
GENESIS 12:1-4
PSALM 121
ROMANS 4:1-17
JOHN 3:1-17

On Sunday evening, March 26th, we will be hosting the Elkton community at Bethel for a light soup-and-sandwich meal and a program.  The theme which our Ministers’ Association has set forth for this year’s gatherings is “Sacrifice and Resurrection.”
If you think about it for a moment, for us followers of Jesus Christ, each of those words has a two-fold meaning.  “Sacrifice” refers to the ministry, passion, and death of Jesus himself, but it also evokes OUR sacrifice, as we obey Jesus’ call to “take up our crosses.”  Likewise, “Resurrection” is the word for the Father raising Jesus Christ from death, but it also means God’s new creation and eternal life for US as we faithfully follow Jesus.
For the program we offer at Bethel, I am inviting YOU to participate in planning our program on March 26th by naming three things:
>your favorite Bible verse (or two) related to
          either SACRIFICE or RESURRECTION
 
________________________________________________
>your favorite song related to SACRIFICE
 
________________________________________________
>your favorite song related to RESURRECTION
 
__________________________________________________
 
Please include your name, and turn in your responses by Sunday afternoon, March 19th.  We will provide some time to consider this during worship next Sunday, March 12th.  The Deacons will help me process your responses and identify the top two or three SACRIFICE song requests and the top two or three RESURRECTION song requests, so we can sing them on the 26th.  Also, we will invite you to publicly say your favorite verses in the program— but it will also be OK if you want to have someone else say it for you.
               †                      †                      †
Last evening, during a very nice time of fellowship over soup and sandwiches at Evangelical United Methodist Church in Elkton, the man sitting next to me asked me if I had heard about Pope Francis’ “tips on what to do for Lent.” 
You never know what God may have in store for you when you reach out and mingle with faithful neighbors !
So, this morning I googled “Pope Francis Lent,” and as far as I can tell, our neighbor was referring to a “Top Ten” list which was compiled from Pope Francis’ writings and addresses by Kevin Cotter of The Fellowship of Catholic University Students. 

https://focusoncampus.org/content/what-should-i-do-for-lent-pope-francis-10-tips
 
Here is the bottom half of the list, counting down from number ten.  I hope to share the other five in this space next week !
10.  Evangelize  “The Lord asks us to be joyous heralds of this message of mercy and hope!  It is thrilling to experience the joy of spreading this good news, sharing the treasure entrusted to us, consoling broken hearts and offering hope to our brothers and sisters experiencing darkness.”

9.  Help the Poor  “In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ.  Our efforts are also directed to ending violations of human dignity, discrimination and abuse in the world, for these are so often the cause of destitution.  When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of wealth.  Our consciences thus need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing."

8.  Almsgiving  “Today gratuitousness is often not part of daily life where everything is bought and sold.  Everything is calculated and measured.  Almsgiving helps us to experience giving freely, which leads to freedom from the obsession of possessing, from the fear of losing what we have, from the sadness of one who does not wish to share his wealth with others.”  
7.  Fasting  “We must be careful not to practice a formal fast, or one which in truth ‘satisfies’ us because it makes us feel good about ourselves.  Fasting makes sense if it questions our security, and if it also leads to some benefit for others, if it helps us to cultivate the style of the Good Samaritan, who bends down to his brother in need and takes care of him.”  
​
6.  Prayer  “In the face of so many wounds that hurt us and could harden our hearts, we are called to dive into the sea of prayer, which is the sea of God’s boundless love, to taste His tenderness.  Lent is a time of prayer, of more intense prayer, more prolonged, more assiduous, more able to take on the needs of the brethren; intercessory prayer, to intercede before God for the many situations of poverty and suffering.”  

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Contact info

    Rev. Dan Bassett
    Bethel United Church of Christ
    2451 Bethel Church Rd
    Elkton, Virginia 22827
    540-298-1197

    betheluccelktonva@outlook.com

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    February 2022
    June 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.