Pivotal
Pivotal
Every part of Holy Scripture, being divinely inspired and infallible and inerrant, is equally important. But some passages of Scripture may be regarded as especially significant and pivotal given what they reveal to us. We’re well acquainted with John 3:16 for example, but I’m betting not many of us can quote John 3:15 off the top of our heads.
I consider this week’s Gospel reading from Luke 9, like John 3:16, to be one of these especially important and pivotal texts for two reasons:
For one, it definitively and emphatically answers a question that’s been thus far unanswered in Luke. A question I consider to be the most important eternally existential question that can be asked.
And two, it clearly reveals—despite prevailing assumptions—what kind of Messiah Jesus would be and how he would go about accomplishing the work he’d set out to do.
See you Sunday.
Steve+
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Membership Sundays—June 29 and August 31
5th Sunday Potluck—June 29 following worship. Bring an entree to share and (if possible) a side dish or dessert. We’ll take care table service and bottled water. If you’d like something else to drink, bring it.
Pause on Evening Prayer—we will pause our gatherings for Evening Prayer for the month of July.
Summer Compline—During the summer pause in Redeemer’s Evening Prayer, you are warmly invited to join The Maryland State Boychoir for compline at The MSB Center for the Arts, 3400 Norman Avenue, in the charming Mayfield neighborhood of Baltimore.
Compline is a service of prayer and reflection that originated in the daily “offices” of the monastic tradition, offered when work is complete in the quietness of evening. It provides an opportunity to give thanks for the day’s blessings and anticipate God’s gift of a new day.
A chamber group of Boychoir alumni and current young adult choristers sing the service’s responses and anthems, illuminated by candles and light from the church’s stained-glass windows, with a guest clergy member officiating. A wine and cake reception follows on the patio (weather permitting).
Flyers with the full schedule of the Maryland State Boychoir’s Summer Series, including compline, are available Sunday on the table at the rear of the Sanctuary. All events are free and open to the public.
Morning Prayer—Tuesday-Friday mornings, 8AM on Zoom
Men’s Bible Study—Thursdays, 7PM @ 1309
Chesapeake Baysox Baseball and Fireworks (all 6:35PM)—
· Saturday, July 12
· Friday, August 22
Photo Credit: Getty Images
