Scriptures and Prayer for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: Genesis 28:10-19 or Isaiah 44:6-8

Psalter: Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 or Psalm 86:11-17

Epistle: Romans 8:12-25

Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
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Steadfast God, teach us your way and your truth. Root us in you alone, help us to grow in grace and love, that we may fulfill our role and our work in the reign of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saturday at the Cinema: On Doing Without a Soul: A New Testament Perspective

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: Am I Blue? Am I Blue?

Man beats odds of catching blue lobster, donates to science

From Associated Press
July 19, 2017 8:58 AM EST

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire lobsterman has joined an elite club after catching a rare blue lobster.

The Portsmouth Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2uBKn8X ) Greg Ward initially thought he had snagged an albino lobster when he examined his catch off the coast Monday where New Hampshire borders Maine. The Rye lobsterman quickly realized his hard-shell lobster was a unique blue and cream color.

The oft-cited odds of catching a blue lobster are 1 in 2 million. But no one knows for sure.

Ward says the lobster is unlike anything he's ever seen.

He gave the rare crustacean to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye to study and put on display.

Center aquarist Rob Royer says Ward's blue lobster will go on display in the "exotic" lobster tank once it acclimates to the water.
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Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

Scriptures and Prayer for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: Genesis 25:19-34 or Isaiah 55:10-13

Psalter: Psalm 119:105-112 or Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

Epistle: Romans 8:1-11

Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
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O God of mercy, in Jesus Christ you freed us from sin and death, and by your Holy Spirit you nourish our mortal bodies with life. Plant us now in good soil, that our lives may flower in righteousness and peace. Amen.

Saturday at the Cinema: Is Belief in God Irrational? A Philosophy Professor's Perspective

The Age-Old Question Remains Unanswered

The Brave Person Knows Fear the Coward Never Will

I love the Book of Esther. I realize the climax of the story (9:1-17) is morally problematic, but I think the character of Esther generally is to be admired. Here was a young woman who had no say-so over her life, as most women in that time and place; and yet, for Esther it was even more so. Choices were made for her all her life and now she was faced, for the first time, with a monumental decision, one that was a matter of life and death for her. And yet, she realized that while she had a choice, honor and character demanded that once again there was no option before her. She must go to the king, and risk herself for others. There were no other options and she knew that as she uttered her last words to her uncle before going to see the king, "If I die, I die."

Let's Not Diss the Church in the Name of the Kingdom.

Scot McKnight's book, Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church, is a much needed corrective to much current understanding of the kingdom of God as it relates (or for all too many, doesn't relate) to the church. In a post that he writes over at his blog, Jesus Creed, Scot speaks of what he calls "the biggest mistake in kingdom talk." He writes,

Giving Life to Mortal Bodies: A Lectionary Reflection on Romans 8:1-11

Romans 8:1-11

Human beings have two problems that are related. First, we are mortal. We will die.... as the adage goes, "Not one of us will get out of life alive." Second, we are flesh and for Paul that does not mean physical flesh covering bones, but living life that is not in character with God's will and desires for human beings. For Paul, life in the Spirit means that flesh and blood human beings can live a life that is not according to the flesh.