Heralds

John 7:40-53

Martina Goss

It is usually very difficult to encourage people to listen to God’s Word. As a child, I found it much easier -- perhaps because children haven’t yet been too burdened by life experiences, politics, prejudices, and the like. I had childhood friends of many backgrounds: Buddhist, Muslim, Shinto, and Jewish, to name a few. I invited friends often to attend church with me, hoping that if they heard the word of God spoken at church and Sunday School, and if they knew what I knew about Jesus, we could all be united as Christians. Many times these childhood friends would attend with me, and I hope they were able to understand some of God’s works, even if they didn’t become lifelong Christians.

As I became an adult, I still invited people to come to church. They declined more frequently, which was not surprising. Regardless, it is our responsibility to take every opportunity, through our thoughts, words, and actions, to model God’s Word for ourselves, our children, our community and the world. In the spirit of being “first on our streets to proclaim the mighty works of God” invite a friend -- and encourage your child to invite a friend -- to attend church with your family. Then watch with joy as God works in their hearts and yours.

PRAYER: Dear God, Help us to be the heralds of Your good works. Thank you for reminding us that our words and actions should reflect Your goodness and mercy for all people. In Your name we pray, Amen.

Redeemer of the World

Psalm 34:17-21, 23

Emily Sweet

I remember a time when I was tired and fed-up with school. We got our report cards that day, so we went out to eat (a reward for getting good grades). I was still grumpy from school, so I took it all out on my parents and sister. As usual, they tried to cheer me up with some jokes. After a while, I snapped out of it and we had a great time. This just shows how God (through my parents and sister not getting mad at me) is slow to anger, and never gives up on you.

PRAYER: God, please help us not to turn against you and sin.

Proof

John 5:31-47

Bill Wagner

In this reading, Jesus is attempting to convince his audience that He has been sent by God and is to deliver the message of salvation from God. For the Jewish community, a single witness was not sufficient in any legal matter; there had to be two witnesses. So Jesus refers to John the Baptist as confirmation of His true self. If one goes back to Deuteronomy 18:17-18, Moses states: “And the Lord said to me ……I will raise up a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth”. It was unfortunate that many in the Jewish population, especially their leaders, did not see Jesus as fulfilling this prophecy, did not believe His message and would not accept Him as the Messiah.

How much proof do we need? Why do people struggle to believe that God and Jesus are real and that having faith in His grace and mercy can lead us to the fulfillment and contentment that we all are seeking? As a trained scientist, I look for proof of certain facts that can lead to confirming a possible hypothesis and eventually a solution. In this case, the proof was there in the scriptures that had predicted this prophet was going to appear and should have been apparent to anyone who was open to what was taking place. However, we also have to have faith, an allegiance to God. Faith is believing in something even when we do not have any proof of what we believe in.

PRAYER: Gracious God, help us to see your presence in our lives and recognize that Jesus was sent to us as our Savior. We thank you for your many blessings and ask that you continue to strengthen our faith and help us to live our lives as Jesus demonstrated in his life. Amen.

Like Father

John 5:17-30

Michael Brock

Who is your role model? Maybe it is your mother or father, or a teacher or coach. Who was Jesus’ role model? In John 5 (and throughout the Bible), we see that it was absolutely God, His Father. In these verses of John, we see Jesus working on the Sabbath – healing the sick. His words and acts would lead to grave consequences with the Jewish authorities, but he remained steadfast to his role model. His words read: “My Father is always working, and I too must work…The Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing.”

My role model was my father. Dad was a high school math teacher. He had high expectations of his students -- and even higher expectations of my two brothers and me. When the rules were broken, we were held accountable. When I was about seven years old, I remember having to serve time sitting in a corner chair for two weeks. Each day I’d come home from school, and instead of going outside to play, I found my way quickly to the chair to ponder my errant ways. I don’t even remember what I did wrong that time, but I certainly remember the lesson. Thereafter, I always worked hard to meet his complete expectations. But I always knew that he loved me unconditionally, even when I didn’t meet them.

Jesus said: “I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.” What a wonderful model for us to follow.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you have given to us. Thank you for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ, as a model of love. Please forgive us for not doing the good things we know we should do, and for doing the bad things we know we should not do. Please continue to guide us, guard us, and bless us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Wellspring

John 5:1-16

Liz Spoto

In these verses of John, a paralytic lies at the edge of healing waters, waiting as others push ahead to enter the pool before him and be cured. Jesus sees the man and heals him, saying “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Jesus provided the opportunity for healing; and, importantly, the man obeyed the command.

Throughout our lives, God gives us daily opportunities to improve our lives. But those chances rely on our willingness to listen, to obey, and to have faith that the “cure” will follow. He gives the water of baptism to all, for the forgiveness of our sins. We don’t need to wait our turn, as the paralytic had been doing. No one can step ahead of us. We simply need to ask for God’s holy baptism and believe that it will heal us.

I learned recently that I have never been baptized. I was “dedicated to God” as a baby, which my family and I mistook for baptism. But I was never given the sacrament of holy baptismal water. Interestingly enough, the same is true for my father. We both asked Jesus to come into our lives many, many years ago. And we’ve certainly felt His loving presence within us for as long as we can remember. But something still doesn’t feel complete without his holy baptism. So, together this spring, we plan to obey God’s command and accept his most precious gift of true healing and forgiveness.

I’ll admit that it may feel a little awkward to walk forward as adults, amidst a group of white-gowned children. But we both believe it’s time that we listen to God, obey his command and fully accept his most generous gift to us.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank you for the many blessings you give us freely every day. Please give us the wisdom, the courage and the faith to listen and obey when you speak, so that our lives may be as full and complete as you intend them to be.

Prophet

John 4:43-54

Bill Takis

In these verses of John, we learn of one of Jesus’ miracles – healing the son of a royal official. When one reads these passages – particularly where Jesus says “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” – one may think that Jesus is angry at us for requiring proof of his divineness. I believe Jesus is merely taking a deep sigh and a gentle laugh, and accepting us for our shortcomings.

We are surrounded by miracles every day – whether they are the unexpected healing of a sick loved one, the symmetrical beauty of a spring flower, or the sweet smile of a small child. I believe Jesus is telling us that we should rejoice in all His miracles – big and small – and remember that He is with us, whether we recognize those miracles or not.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Please grant us the clarity to recognize the many miracles you create and the wisdom to accept them in whatever form they take. Amen.

Light of Christ

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Linda Goglia

On good days, it’s easy to feel Christ’s light in my life. I see Him in the beauty of nature. I feel Him in the love I share with family and friends. I experience His mercy and compassion in the many joyful moments He sends my way. Then I really know that God is there for me.

It’s the bad days that can really get to me. When life is the hardest; when I feel overwhelmed by grief, pain, fear and/or suffering; when I feel lost and alone. That’s when I struggle the most to experience Christ’s light in my life.

As a child, I’d learned a song that comforted me in these times. It always warmed my heart and helped me feel God’s love and support. I would sing it quietly to myself whenever I felt sad or overwhelmed: “Be Still, My Soul; the Lord is by thy side… Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain…” I loved this song. I really wanted to learn to play it on the piano. But I’d never been able to find a copy of the song anywhere. Then, one Sunday when I was especially low, I arrived for the church service early. I wanted time that day to think and pray while it was still quiet. As I knelt in prayer, the organist began his musical prelude. I could hardly believe it! He was playing the music from “Be Still, My Soul”, exactly as I had remembered it! What a great reminder that God is always with me, even in my darkest moments.

PRAYER: Lord, even in those moments of darkness, keep me open to your guiding light. Lead me through the darkness so that, even as the Prodigal Son, I can see my way back home to you.