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Jesus Christmas What A Celebration

We stepped out of the cold into the foyer of my grandparent's raised-ranch on 104 Washburn Drive.  Kicking the snow off our boots we lined them up while hanging our coats in the front closet with the sliding natural wood doors.  There was a little hole in each of the doors where you could grab onto to start it moving, and I swear on more than one occasion if I looked closely I could see a penny in there.  On the side table my grandmother's small Church figurine sat proudly, lit up from the single bulb inside.  Every year it was the same, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.  We were first greeted by smell of tobacco lined walls, and the sound of Nat King Cole's Christmas album scratching away on the record player upstairs.  "Hey come on up!" my grandfather bellowed from his easy chair in the living room.  Even though it was a mere 15 minute drive from our house to his, his face always lit up when he saw us as if he hadn't seen us for years. My father

Exegetical Notes for Exodus 32:1-14

Exegetical Notes: Exodus 32:1-14 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt !” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to reve

Exegetical Notes on Romans 14:1-12

Exegetical Notes on Romans 14:1-12 Romans 14:1-12 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; s

Lectio Divina for Proper 8 Year A

This is an exercise in Sacred Reading, or Lectio Divina on Matthew 10:40-42.   It is an excellent preparation for Sunday, June 28, 2020 Instructions on Lectio Divina http://www.congregationaldevelopment.com/means-of-grace-hope-of-glory/2019/10/8/lectio-divina.html Readings for Sunday https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp6_RCL.html Join our Facebook Page to keep up with the latest videos Sacred Reading. https://www.facebook.com/WeeklyLectio Join our sister site for regular videos featuring the Way of Prayer https://www.facebook.com/The-Way-of-Prayer-109508320461235

Advanced Work for Order of the Ascension Novitiate

Ongoing Work Common project on inviting others to become associates of religious orders June 23 Read Survey-Feedback In Parishes article twice - one time focusing on A, the other time focusing on B. Read Fill All Things pp 107-121 Read, "Engaging four examples of Survey-Feedback" and develop a question for each example (June 16 email) Complete listening process from June 9, paying attention to elements of Survey-Feedback Be Prepared for the Exam (June 16 email) The steps of the process The use of theory and frameworks in relation to developing a survey and/or doing the analysis of the data The common benefits of survey feedback For more details see emails from Robert on June 14 and June 16 July 14 Demand System exercise See email from Michelle on June 9 http://www.orderoftheascension.org/

Weekly Lectio for June 14, 2020 Proper 6A

Sacred Reading with Weekly Lectio for March 1, 2020 - Lent 1 Year A

Good afternoon, and welcome to Sacred Reading with Weekly Lectio, where we practice a prayerful reading of scripture.   Today we will be doing our exercise on Matthew 4:1-11 – the temptation of Christ, which is the Gospel for this coming Sunday.   As usual, I will be leading you through the four steps of reading, reflecting, responding, and resting – and observing some silence in between each step. The first step is reading.   I will read the passage slowly twice.   Notice what captures your attention – it could be a phrase or even a single word.   Afterwards we will observe a minute of silence. ”I will read the passage again.   This time reflect on the Word of God.   Ponder what you have just heard and think about what this may mean for your life.   Afterwards we will observe another minute of silence. I will read the passage another time.   Now respond spontaneously to the Word of God.   What has your reading and reflecting stirred up in you?   Share these with God e

Lectio Divina for Last Epiphany Year A

This is an exercise in Sacred Reading, or Lectio Divina on Matthew 17:1-9.   It is an excellent preparation for Eucharist on Sunday, February 23, 2020 Instructions on Lectio Divina http://www.congregationaldevelopment.com/means-of-grace-hope-of-glory/2019/10/8/lectio-divina.html Readings for Sunday http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Epiphany/AEpiLast_RCL.html Join our Facebook Page to keep up with the latest videos Sacred Reading. https://www.facebook.com/WeeklyLectio Join our sister site for regular videos featuring the Way of Prayer https://www.facebook.com/The-Way-of-Prayer-109508320461235

Exegetical Notes on Matthew 17:1-9

Exegetical Notes: Matthew 17:1-9 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until aft

Exegetical Notes on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Exegetical Notes on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (NRSV) Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are G

Lectio Divina for Epiphany 6 Year A

Good evening, and welcome to Sacred Reading with Weekly Lectio, where we practice a prayerful reading of scripture.   Today we will be doing our exercise on Matthew 5:21-37, which is a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, and the Gospel for this coming Sunday.   As usual, I will be leading you through the four steps of reading, reflecting, responding, and resting – and observing some silence in between each step. The first step is reading.   I will read the passage slowly twice.   Notice what captures your attention – it could be a phrase or even a single word.   Afterwards we will observe a minute of silence. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable t

Exegetical Notes on 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Exegetical Notes on 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,  nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love h