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Listening is the Heart of Our Ministry
Listening is the heart of our ministry here at The Upper Room. In July, I traveled Read More
Heather Murray Elkins | Read Psalm 146:5-10
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Sign Up TodayCould you repeat that?” If you’ve ever had the experience of going for snacks just as a game-winning basket occurs, you know the importance of repetition. When we miss out, we want to hit the replay button. A really significant experience fosters our desire to hear or see it again...
Let a song come to mind that reminds you of God’s faithfulness.
These readings convey that God’s coming, or the coming of the Messiah, will be profoundly transforma- tive. The promises of messianic possibility work against our exhaustion, our despair, and our sense of being subject to fate. The psalm provides a comprehensive summary of the miracles wrought by God in the past to make new life possible. Jesus’ life and ministry embodied these large expectations of Israel. The prophetic oracle, psalm, and Gospel reading all move toward the practicality of the epistle reading, which demands that we allow this claim of new human possibility to permeate all of life. Our life is directed to the reality of God, the very God whom we dis- cern in our present and to whom we entrust our future.
• Read Isaiah 35:1-10. Where in your life do you feel that you have gone astray? After you realize you are lost, how do you return to the way that is God?
• Read Luke 1:47-55. When have you spoken fearlessly about a situation in your life?
• Read James 5:7-10. For what do you thirst?
• Read Matthew 11:2-11. What characteristics draw you to a
spiritual leader?
Respond by posting a prayer.
"A few years ago, my sister, Anna, and I had a club called the Awesome Club.We had short meetings in a walk-in closet with stuffed animals and dolls. It was fun,but it didn’t have a real purpose. One day we decided that it would really make the club awesome if we followed the Golden Rule and did something to help others."
To read more about this awesome story, click here!
