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January 13, 2017

Called to Faithful Service

Cynthia B. Astle   |   Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

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Lectionary Week
January 9–15, 2017
Scripture Overview

The theme of God’s calling all believers to a life of ministry runs through all four of this week’s scripture passages. We discover that God’s call always requires a response! The Isaiah passage, one of the Servant Songs that points to Jesus, reminds us that God is the one who pursues and calls. The psalmist exemplifies the call to give witness when God shows up and is found to be faithful. In the opening of his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminds us of his own calling and then goes on to emphasize that all are called by God and set apart for ministry. And in John’s Gospel, we receive an example of testifying to God’s presence in our lives and the important calling of bringing others to Jesus.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Isaiah 49:1-7. How has God taken the initiative to work in your life and call you to faith? What mission has God given you?
• Read Psalm 40:1-11. List the ways that God has been faithful to you in showing up and answering your prayers. How have you given witness to God’s faithfulness?
• Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. What gifts has God given you to fulfill your calling to ministry?
• Read John 1:29-42. How might you cultivate the discipline of “mindfulness” in your spiritual life?

Respond by posting a prayer .

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

1 From Paul, called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and from Sosthenes our brother. 2 To God’s church that is in Corinth: To those who have been made holy to God in Christ Jesus, who are called to be God’s people. Together with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place he’s their Lord and ours! 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always for you, because of God’s grace that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 That is, you were made rich through him in everything: in all your communication and every kind of knowledge, 6 in the same way that the testimony about Christ was confirmed with you. 7 The result is that you aren’t missing any spiritual gift while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also confirm your testimony about Christ until the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, and you were called by him to partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

God often chooses “unworthy” people to fulfill holy tasks.
Moses killed an Egyptian. A younger son in a minor
Hebrew clan, Gideon lacked any social status. One of only four
women mentioned in Jesus’ ancestral lineage, Rahab was a
prostitute. As a Pharisee, Paul persecuted the early Christians. It
confounds...

Jesus, son of David, be merciful to me, a sinner. May I live as your saint, available to serve your holy purposes. Amen.


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