Beechfield United Methodist Church Baltimore, MD
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • LEADERSHIP
    • OUR HISTORY
  • MINISTRIES
  • PRESCHOOL
  • NEWS
  • PHOTO ALBUM
    • Grill and Greet
    • Holy Communion
  • LINKS
  • CONTACT US

Good News - Week of 1/29/2018

1/31/2018

0 Comments

 
PRAYER OF THE WEEK
Come, Holy Spirit, empower me again that I may serve faithfully as you call me to. Amen.

Picture of woman sitting cross-legged on a wooden floor. The room is dark except for sunlight streaming from two windows. She appears to be waiting or meditating.
"They that wait upon the Lord..."
NOTES ON THE SCRIPTURES

Isaiah 40:21-31: To whom can God be compared? God created the earth and human rulers are short lived. Why should God’s people complain that God has forgotten them? Those who wait on God will be renewed.

Psalm 147:1-11: An exhortation to praise God for the way God restores those who have been exiled and broken, for the way God provides for God’s people and for the creatures of earth, and for the way God treasures those who honor God.

1 Corinthians 9:16-23: In his preaching of the Gospel, Paul explains how he becomes all things to all people in order to win them for Christ.

Mark 1:29-39: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and then many sick and demonized people come to be healed. After that Jesus goes off alone to pray, but Simon and others track him down. Then Jesus leads them off to other towns to preach and heal.

​
REFLECTIONS:
This week the Lectionary offers us a message of great comfort and reassurance. All of the readings speak about God’s compassion and grace in healing, restoring and strengthening God’s people – those who wait on and honour God. In each reading there is a clear indication of the way God meets us at our point of need in order to transform and save us. In the famous song of Isaiah 40, God’s saving power is praised and the weary exiles are reminded that God will restore and strengthen them if they will just turn to God in hope. In the Psalm, God’s gracious restoration and provision for God’s people, and for all of creation, is praised. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he explains how he strives to meet every person where they are in order to bring them to Christ, becoming as they are so that he can share the Gospel with them. Finally, in one of those wonderful moments of particular care, Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law. But, then, immediately the Gospel moves to a wider focus, as Jesus heals and restores the many who come to him, and then, seeks to travel throughout Galilee to preach and heal. The amazing grace of the God who comes to us at our point of need and restores and calls us makes this week a truly celebratory one.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Communion
    Disaster Aid
    Holiday Baskets
    Holy Communion
    Preschool
    Psalm 137
    Psalms
    Remembering 9-11
    Scripture Notes
    UMCOR
    World Communion

541 S. Beechfield Avenue, Baltimore, MD  21229 - Tel: 410-644-7640 - beechfieldumc@yahoo.com 
​​​(c)  2016 Beechfield United Methodist Church
Website Manager: beechfieldumcwebmaster@gmail.com