A PERSONAL PRAYER God, Whisper a word of kindness in my ear. When I see someone hurting, help me to be kind. When I am confronted by someone angry, help me to be kind. When I am frustrated, help me to be kind. When someone offends me, help me to be kind. When I seek to defend my opinions and point of view, help me to be kind. When I meet someone new, help me to be kind. When I speak to those closest to me, who will love me even when I am unkind, still help me [...]
Louise McEvoy, Women’s Ministry Coordinator Acts 1:2b-9 2 Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. 4 While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: 5 John baptized with water, but in only a [...]
Charity Autry, Member since 2008, Families in Faith Sunday School Leader, Starting Point Leader, VBS Chair (Children’s Ministry Council) Acts 9:36-43 (NIV Life Application Study Bible) 36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Reflection: [...]
By Dr. Tom PaceActs 1:6-86 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Reflection:Many years ago, I was the pastor of a small church in the city of South Houston. [...]
Rev. Michelle Manuel, Associate Director of Adult Ministries Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Reflection: Even though it’s the end of the month, let’s start at the beginning. I mean, the very beginning. God’s spirit was there, hovering over the dark waters. And then God spoke. These words didn’t simply echo into the darkness and bounce [...]
By Savannah Burch, Student Ministries-Middle School Luke 8:22-33 22 One day Jesus and his disciples boarded a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set sail. 23 While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger. 24 So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm. 25 He said to his disciples, “Where is [...]
My husband, Mark, and I met in Dallas in 1984 after graduating from college at Texas A&M University. We were engaged the following year and began the process of planning a wedding and joining our families and our lives. Mark was raised in a Southern Baptist church, and I was raised Lutheran. We both experienced the tradition of church on Sundays, every Sunday. Our families were entrenched in the lives of their respective churches, as were we. Choosing a church home was a challenge for us because we were loyal to our previous denominations, [...]
Michael Shook, Genesis Class Teacher, Member of St. Luke’s since 2014, and Small Group Leader Psalm 145:17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. Reflection: For most of my life I have had trouble understanding how God could be both “just” (judge us) and “kind” (forgive, when forgiveness is not justified). It always seemed to me that to be the perfect judge you could not be kind as it would undermine holding people accountable. Wouldn’t it? So how do we know that God is the perfect judge? How do we know that [...]
A PERSONAL PRAYER God, Today I thank you for my friends. I thank you for those friends to whom I talk often, and those I seldom see. I thank you for new friendships that keep life dynamic, and old friends, with whom I have shared so much. I thank you for the friends with whom I have lost touch, grateful for the time we shared together, and for friends in which a renewed relationship is a resurrection, remembering what brought us together in the first place. I thank you for the friends for whom friendship was easy and [...]
Pat Deckert - Member since 1987 Matthew 18:21-22, 35 (Read also 23-34) 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 35“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Luke 17:20-21 20Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See [...]
