Sunday Worship
Lesson:Genesis 18:1-15
Message: Why Did You Laugh
Dear friends,
I am excited to be back with you this Sunday July 2nd! This past Sunday was the last weekend for my Sabbatical Pastor commitment in Natick. I’m glad to be back! Last week I was at a week-long work camp down in Cabell and Lincoln counties, West Virginia. It was a powerful experience that I look forward to sharing more about!
This weekend as we explore a text about Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis, we wrestle with questions about how we make meaning in our faith, particularly with scripture passages that don’t make sense, or passages that seem to portray a judgmental, vindictive God. How do we know what is inspired by the divine, and what are our own human biases, reflected in scripture?
I have wrestled with these questions for years. There was a point in my life prior to entering seminary when I realized how urgent it was for me to get clarity around some of these questions. For indeed, Christians use the Bible as a foundational part of their faith life. And of course, all Christians believe that we are made in the image and likeness of God. So what happens when the Bible seems to portray a God that doesn’t look anything like the God of agape love that Jesus taught and modeled? How do we know when we have made God in our own image? What is the polestar for our faith and our scriptural interpretation? We have all seen in the world how faith can be misused in the service of violence, fear, and bigotry.
Join me as we wrestle with these essential questions of faith together. I look forward to being back with you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can be a support in any of your life or spiritual questions, or if you’d just like a pastoral ear to lean on. I’m grateful to walk this journey with you.
In love and gratitude,
Matt
Music:
Prelude: “God of the Sparrow” Carl Schalk
Meditation: “Endless Song” trad. Appalachian melody
Postlude: “Earth and All Stars” David Johnson
Live Stream Information
We will continue streaming our worship on both Zoom and Facebook Live. Please share these links with your friends. Bear in mind that we cannot share the Zoom links publicly (to keep from being Zoom bombed), so please share it person to person rather than posting it on Facebook/Twitter, or other public social media. It’s fine to share the Facebook link broadly and publicly. For Zoom login information please reach out to Rev. Matt at matt@newtonchurch.org.
Note: that we continue to work on streaming as we make improvements to the sanctuary sound system.
Zoom Link: UPA Sunday Morning Worship
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81334929545?pwd=S1lsRlRmSnlkTUE0cHRlWWQwWUJndz09
Facebook Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/upanewtonma/live