Scriptures and Prayer for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a or Jeremiah 23:1-6

Psalter: Psalm 89:20-37 or Psalm 23

Epistle: Ephesians 2:11-22

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
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Holy God of Israel, ever present and moving among your people, draw us near to you, that in place of hostility there may be peace; in place of loneliness, compassion; in place of aimlessness, direction; and in place of sickness, healing; through Christ Jesus, in whom you draw near to us. Amen.

Scriptures and Prayer for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 or Amos 7:7-15

Psalter: Psalm 24 or Psalm 85:8-13

Epistle: Ephesians 1:3-14

Gospel: Mark 6:14-29
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Steadfast God, your prophets set the plumb line of your righteousness and truth in the midst of your people. Grant us the courage to judge ourselves against it. Straighten all that is crooked or warped within us until our hearts and souls stretch upright, blameless and holy, to meet the glory of Christ. Amen.

Scriptures and Prayer for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 or Ezekiel 2:1-5

Psalter: Psalm 48 or Psalm 123

Epistle:2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13
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 God of grace and powerful weakness, at times your prophets were ignored, rejected, belittled, and unwelcome. Trusting that we, too, are called to be prophets, fill us with your Spirit, and support us by your gentle hands, that we may persevere in speaking your word and living our faith. Amen.

Scriptures and Prayer for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 or Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15, 2:23-24 or Lamentations 3:22-33

Psalter: Psalm 130 or Psalm 30

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43
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God of hope, you are ruler of night as well as day, guardian of those who wander in the shadows. Be new light and life for those who live in the darkness of despair, for prisoners of guilt and grief, for victims of fantasy and depression, that even where death's cold grip tightens, we may know the power of the one  who conquered fear and death. Amen.

Saturday at the Cinema: Continuity between the Old and New Testaments

Scriptures and Prayer for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 18:10-16 or Job 38:1-11

Psalter: Psalm 9:9-20 or Psalm 133 or Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
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Keeper of our lives, you know the hardness and gentleness of human hearts. You call your people to faithful living. Through the storms of life that bring suffering and fear, joy and laughter, teach us to turn to you for all we need, so that we may come to know your presence even in the midst of the trials that surround us. Amen.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: When Robbing a Bank Remember to Bring Identification

Bank robbery suspect gives ID, easily tracked by police

From Associated Press
June 22, 2018 5:56 AM EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police say a quick-thinking bank teller in Ohio convinced a suspected robber to hand over his own license.

Authorities say the man walked into a Huntington Bank in Columbus on June 4 and gave the teller a note saying he was armed and demanding money.

The teller gave the man a stack of cash, but then he demanded more money from the electronic cash recycle machine in the bank's lobby.

Police say the teller told the man the machine needed a driver's license to dispense cash, so the man handed his own license over.

The license led police to the 51-year-old man who was arrested June 15 and charged with aggravated robbery and threatening with a deadly weapon.
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Source

How Much Diversity Can Unity Tolerate? The United Methodist Church Will Soon Find Out

Unity in diversity is a common rallying cry for all kinds of institutions and organizations including the church. I love the idea of unity in diversity. One cannot look at our one creation in all of its differences and not see a God who relishes diversity. In Paul's image of the church as the one Body of Christ with different parts, he puts forward the idea that the diversity of the church is essential for the unity of its mission (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

Scriptures and Prayer for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13 or Ezekiel 17:22-24

Psalter: Psalm 20 or Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
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Creating God, your reign of love makes all things new. Plant seeds of confidence and gladness in our hearts, so that, trusting your word, we may live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and was raised for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.