“Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:24-28
After we celebrate the birthday of the church on the Day of Pentecost, June 5 and the unique name of the Holy Trinity we are given from our baptism to call on God on June 12, this coming month we’ll begin the long season after Pentecost and Trinity. Some churches call this Ordinary Time because the Sundays that follow are numbered after these festivals. But there is nothing ordinary about this time. This month begins the growing season of the church, when the hangings in the sanctuary turn green like the grass and trees outside and our color of the day will stay green into November. A welcome relief for altar guilds everywhere.
This is a time of the year when we can see that healthy churches flourish and grow like healthy crops and plants. The church of Jesus Christ grows like all living things, from its roots. To help our church grow we can begin this growing season by growing in our own faith, by tending to our roots, returning to the roots of our faith in words of the Bible.
During the pandemic I had time to read through the whole Bible again. Spending just 20 minutes a day, I managed to read the whole Bible in less than a year. I found God’s Word as inspiring, moving and timely as it ever has been for me.
There are many suggested reading plans available online and for your phone. But let me suggest you start where we’ll be reading together on Sundays later this month, as we continue reading through the gospel according to St. Luke and jump into Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Luke continues to tell the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry of Jesus with particular attention to the response of his followers, so we can picture ourselves among the crowds of listeners. In Galatians we hear Paul trying to unite a divided church, where some question his authority and want to rely on the old laws. Paul encourages them to work together to share the good news of God’s grace that makes us “one in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s listen to and live God’s good news to grow together in Faith this June.
Pastor Bruce +
Bridge Pastor Bruce T. Davis
After we celebrate the birthday of the church on the Day of Pentecost, June 5 and the unique name of the Holy Trinity we are given from our baptism to call on God on June 12, this coming month we’ll begin the long season after Pentecost and Trinity. Some churches call this Ordinary Time because the Sundays that follow are numbered after these festivals. But there is nothing ordinary about this time. This month begins the growing season of the church, when the hangings in the sanctuary turn green like the grass and trees outside and our color of the day will stay green into November. A welcome relief for altar guilds everywhere.
This is a time of the year when we can see that healthy churches flourish and grow like healthy crops and plants. The church of Jesus Christ grows like all living things, from its roots. To help our church grow we can begin this growing season by growing in our own faith, by tending to our roots, returning to the roots of our faith in words of the Bible.
During the pandemic I had time to read through the whole Bible again. Spending just 20 minutes a day, I managed to read the whole Bible in less than a year. I found God’s Word as inspiring, moving and timely as it ever has been for me.
There are many suggested reading plans available online and for your phone. But let me suggest you start where we’ll be reading together on Sundays later this month, as we continue reading through the gospel according to St. Luke and jump into Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Luke continues to tell the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry of Jesus with particular attention to the response of his followers, so we can picture ourselves among the crowds of listeners. In Galatians we hear Paul trying to unite a divided church, where some question his authority and want to rely on the old laws. Paul encourages them to work together to share the good news of God’s grace that makes us “one in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s listen to and live God’s good news to grow together in Faith this June.
Pastor Bruce +
Bridge Pastor Bruce T. Davis
