I've had an Epiphany!

Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. The dark valley of death Death is an uninvited visitor in our homes. Death is unwelcome intruder in our lives. Yet death has barged in once again! A few years ago, Shirley was fairly healthy and living on her own. A few months ago, she was a little weaker, but enjoying life with Nancy and David. Then, all of a sudden, she’s gone. Death is our enemy. One by one it takes away...

Ephesians 5:21–6:4   21 … and by submitting to one another in reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he himself is the Savior. 24 Moreover, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word. 27 He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands have an obligation to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 To be sure, no one has ever hated his own body, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 bec...

Worship Theme: Next to the attachment to hearth and home, a person’s chief attachment is to his purse. So it is not out of order to consider what God has to say about his gifts of wealth and to let him put those gifts in a proper context for us. Old Testament: 2 Kings 5:14-27 14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said. Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small child, and he was clean. 15 Then he and his whole escort went back to the man of God. He stood in front of Elisha and said, “To be sure, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now accept a gift from your servant.” 16 But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, I will not take anything.” Even though Na'aman urged him to accept something, he refused. 17 Then Na'aman said, “If you do not want anything, please give me, your servant, as much dirt as two donkeys can carry, for your servant will ...

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Triune God, who comes to us today in love. Amen. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. Dear friends and family, and especially you, Robert and Jessica on this, your wedding day. You have chosen some beautiful words about love for your wedding text. Some of the most astute observers of what love is like - are children: One child for example said that “ Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. ” In our society love is often about - how each other smells, how each other looks, how each other kisses, how we “feel” about each other. And that’s O...

Philippians 1:12–18a 12 I want you to know, brothers, that the things which happened to me actually took place to advance the gospel. 13 And so it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And, through my chains, the majority of the brothers in the Lord have become much more confident about daring to speak the word of God fearlessly. 15 Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and others out of good will. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking they can cause trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 What does it matter? Only this, that in every way, whether for outward appearance or for the truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Barb started worshiping with us at Epiphany about two years ago. When Barb came for Wednesday night worship, she brought her ...

Artwork: Paradise Artist: Jan the Elder Brueghel Date: 1615 Worship Theme: God’s plan for man was perfect. He created woman for man. They were to “become one flesh”. Sin entered the world and separation replaced union—separation from God and from one another. Bitter marriages and divorces are two examples.  But thanks be to God, Jesus even suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone and create new life and new promise of union. Old Testament: Genesis 2:18–24    18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.” 19 Out of the soil the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam no helper w...