Notes for Sunday, June 27th, 2010

2 Kings 2:1-14

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."

But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"

"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."

4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho."

And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"

"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."

6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."

And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.

7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

Notes for Father's Day 2010...

Above, images of some of the donated items given in memory of Robert Lassiter, by his loving family; also given were new altar paraments, and a gorgeous funeral pall...

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 - Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

Psalm 103:13 - As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him…

Proverbs 23:22 - Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 23:24 - The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 - Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

To the faithful Believer, God is...

A Father's Father

"Father to the fatherless,

defender of widows -

this is God,

whose dwelling is holy.

God places the lonely in families;

He sets the prisoners free

and gives them joy.

But He makes the rebellious

live in a sun-scorched land."

(Psalm 68:5-6)

To the faithful Believer, God reveals to us...

A Father's Wisdom

"I guide you

in the way of wisdom,

and lead you along straight paths.

When you walk,

your steps will not be hampered;

when you run,

you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction,

do not let it go;

guard it well,

for it is your life."

(Proverbs 4:11-13)

To the faithful Believer, God shows us how to earn...

A Father's Blessing

"A righteous man

walks in his integrity -

How blessed are his sons

after him.

(Proverbs 20:7)

The Ultimate image of God the Father, however, comes from Luke 15, in the parable of the Prodigal Son...

Notes for Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Matthew 18

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

A Brother Who Sins Against You

15"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

1 Peter 5:5 - God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.

James 4:17 - To the one that knows to do good, to do it not is to commit sin.

1 Samuel 15:23 - Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Notes for Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Proverbs 18:24 - A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother…

Ephesians 3:6 - The mystery of the Gospel is that - through the gospel - Gentiles are spiritual heirs with Israel, members of one spiritual body, sharing together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8

Life Through the Spirit

1There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do (because it was weakened by the sinful nature), God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17And if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. This makes Christ our elder brother. He is to be our role model, and we are to treat one another like spiritual siblings…

God’s ideal for Christian relationships is best summed up here:


Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Romans 12:10 - Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Still, God is aware that we are sinful human beings, and we don’t always get along:

Romans 14:10 - You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.

Romans 14:13 - Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

1 Corinthians 8:12 - When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Hebrews 13:1 - Keep on loving each other as brothers.

1 Peter 3:8 - Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

1 John 2:9-11 - Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves their brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; they do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

1 John 3:10 - This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love their brother.

1 John 4:20 - If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates their brother, they are a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

1 John 4:21 - God the Father has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 3:16 - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, so we ought [to be willing] to lay down our lives for our brothers.

John 15:13 - There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends…