I've had an Epiphany!

Artwork: The Punishment of Korah Artist: Botticelli Date: 1481 Gallery: The Sistine Chapel Worship Theme: Today’s lessons encourage us to take heart and trust in the Lord.  We also view numerous examples of people who lost their hold on eternal life because they gave in to their fears and doubts.  However, in his grace, God promises deliverance from whatever difficulty he may lovingly allow to come our way. Thank God! Old Testament: Numbers 16:23–40    23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the assembly, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’” 25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him. 26 He told the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins!” 27 So from every side, they moved away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the e...

John 13:31-35   31  After Judas left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him.  32  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.” 33  “Dear children, I am going to be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34  “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you are to love one another.  35  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I have a portion of a letter to read to you: Falsehood is not found among them; and they love one another, and they don’t hesitate to honor widows; and they rescue the orphans who are being abused. The one who has gives to the one who lacks, without bragging about it. And when they meet a stranger, they take him into their homes...

Artwork: Jerusalem, Jerusalem Artist: J.J. Tissot Worship Theme: "It is God's will that you should be sanctified" (I Thessalonians. 4:3). What if we have ignored God's call to holy living? God says to examine ourselves, repent of our failures, and ask for his forgiveness. Yet we never do any of those three perfectly. We must confess that, as an old prayer says, "we have no power to defend ourselves." So how can we not end up among those who permanently reject God's rescue? Only by God's constant grace in Christ. In his mercy God even used Jesus' rejection by his Jewish countrymen to put Jesus on the cross. Rejoice doubly, then: Christ did not reject his Father's will, he died for you. In Christ God will also keep you from rejecting him. Old Testament: Jeremiah 26:8-15 8 When Jeremiah had finished saying everything the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people, then the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized ...

Joshua 7:16-26 16 Joshua got up early in the morning, and he had Israel come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe of Judah was identified. 17 Then he had the tribe of Judah come forward, and he identified the clan of the Zerahites. Next, he had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by individual familes, and Zabdi’s family was identified. 18 Then he had Zabdi’s household come forward one man at a time, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was identified. 19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory now to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him praise. Now tell me what yo u did. Do not conceal it from me.” 20 Achan answered Joshua, “It is true. I am the one who has sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 Among the plunder I saw an expensive Mesopotamian robe, a fine one, and two hundred shekels of silver and one wedge of gold—it weighed fifty shekels. I coveted them and I took them. Now they ar...

Matthew 26:20-25 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” In Old Testament times, God summoned his people to Jerusalem three times a year, in pilgrimage. They were to appear before the Lord at the three high festivals—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. You know from the gospels that Jesus himself made that trip a few times, as well as one last time. Today we begin our annual pilgrimage of sorts. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our 40-day trek through ...