Abiding Love Sermons

click here to listen to the evening lenten service

╬ Blind in Bethsaida!

Blindness takes many forms in life. There is a physical blindness that robs the eyes of sight, that keeps light from travelling to the brain. Then there’s a blindness that robs the spirit, that keeps the realities of life from travelling to the heart. This blindness often stems from habituation. The mundane familiarity of daily living, over time, can reduce our awareness of the vibrance of life around us. The cure for this blindness is found in the wilderness … out, away from the usual and predictable, out into the wildness of desert places and unknown spaces.

Below are the Prayer of the Day and Readings.

We pray, Lord, lead us into the wilderness, minister to us there, open our eyes to truly see!

- Pr. Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org

PRAYER OF THE DAY ------------------
Creating God, in the ebb and flow of life we can become blind to the realities around us. Lead us into the wilderness and restore our vision. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. Amen.

READINGS -----------------------------------
First Reading: Isaiah 38:10-11,13-16
10 I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living; I shall look upon mortals no more among the inhabitants of the world. 13 I cry for help until morning; from day to night you bring me to an end. 14 Like a swallow or a crane I clamor, I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security! 15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. All my sleep has fled because of the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things people live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh, restore me to health and make me live!

Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Second Reading: Acts 7:30-34
30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'

Gospel: Mark 8:22-26
22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?" 24 And the man looked up and said, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even go into the village."

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Lenten Service March 27, 2019

Lenten Service
Wednesday March 27, 2019

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Trials and Temptations March 24,2019

Worship on Sunday, March 24 …

We continue on our Wilderness Journeys! as we go with Jesus into the trials and temptations of the desert!

click here to listen to the service

╬ Trials and Temptations!

Testing and trials come for us all. The witness of the Gospel shows that it is no different for Jesus, himself. The wilderness is a place where these trials and temptations are brought into bold relief. Jesus’ wilderness experience challenges him with archetypal tests and temptations that come to each of us in different ways, in different guises. It is a part of the reductive and refining work that takes place in the desert places of life. Yet Jesus shows us that it is possible to meet these challenges without allowing them to separate us from the Source of life and all goodness. The One who goes before us shows us a way and a truth that leads like a pathway through desert places.

Below are the Prayer of the Day and Readings.

Christ be our light, shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness!

- Pr. Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org

PRAYER OF THE DAY ----------------
Creating God, in the wilderness we are confronted with all that seeks to separate us from you. Save us in the time of trial, by the power of your Spirit, the living witness of your Son, and the love and compassion that is you. Amen.

READINGS --------------------------
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:16-25
16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test. 17 You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his decrees, and his statutes that he has commanded you. 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you, 19 thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised. 20 When your children ask you in time to come, "What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?" 21 then you shall say to your children, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case. 25 If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right."

Psalm 91:1-2,11-16
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. 14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Lenten Service March 20, 2019

Wednesday Lenten Service
March 20, 2019

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Exodus 3-17-2019

Worship on Sunday, March 17 …

As we move forward into our exploration of Wilderness Journeys! we look at the Exodus as an overarching narrative that frames both Hebrew and Christian Testaments.

click here to listen to the evening lenten service

╬ Exodus!

The Wilderness Journey is a primary motif – a meta-narrative – that threads its way through both Testaments. One of its foundational stories is the Exodus. God delivers the people from bondage and guides them to a new place of freedom and prosperity. This age-old tale frames so much of life throughout the spiritual history of humankind and resonates in our own time. It’s not a single step. Rather, the passage from slavery to freedom, from darkness to light, from death through re-birth to new life, is a “roundabout way” … a journey through the wilderness in which we experience the transforming work of God. As we enter into the Season of Lent, we embark on this journey together!

Below are the Prayer of the Day and Readings.

We make our way together, in the presence of God!

- Pr. Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org

PRAYER OF THE DAY ------------------------

Creating God, lead us out into the wilderness and minister to us there. Form us and shape us according to your will. Call forth our true identity and prepare us for the time to come. Amen.

READINGS ---------------------------------------

First Reading: Exodus 19:1-9
19 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites." 7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: "Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after."

Psalm Ps 78:12-20,56-58
12 In the sight of their ancestors God worked marvels in the land of Egypt.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks open in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?"
56 They tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe his decrees.
57 They turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a treacherous bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

Second Reading: Hebrews 3:7-19
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works 10 for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.' 11 As in my anger I swore, 'They will not enter my rest.'" 12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." 16 Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? 17 But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Gospel: Luke 12:22-31
22 He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! 29 And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Lenten Service March 13,2019

Wisdom lies

on the far side

of the desert.

Ash Wednesday

click here to listen to the service

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Wilderness Journeys Mar 10, 2019

Worship on Sunday, March 10 …

As we enter into the Season of Lent, we begin our new series – Wilderness Journeys!

╬ Lent!
Throughout the history of the church, Lent has been a time of reflection and preparation for the passion and the glory of the Eastertide. For centuries, Lent was a time to separate from the habits of daily life and to focus on things of the spirit in preparation for baptism on Easter Sunday. This season, we will embrace Lent as a wilderness journey. The wilderness is a powerful motif throughout Scripture, a place where we are cut loose from the distractions and artificial supports of life. It is a place of trial and testing, where illusions are stripped away and true identity is revealed, God’s and our own.

Below are the Prayer of the Day and Readings.

I look forward to our shared journey, and destination!

- Pr. Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org

PRAYER OF THE DAY --------------------
Creating God, in this blessed season call us forth from the usual, the mundane and habitual courses of our lives. Call us into the wilderness and be at work in us there, shaping us as your people for the time to come. Amen.

READINGS ----------------------------------
First Reading: Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1,5-6
12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 5 The Lord brought Abram outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Psalm 107:31-38
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly.

Second Reading: Acts 22:17-21
17 Paul said, "After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw Jesus saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.' 21 Then he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

Gospel: Luke 9:1-6
1 Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money — not even an extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. 5 Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." 6 They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Transfiguration Mar 3, 2019

Worship on Sunday, March 3 …

Our Epiphany Series – The Light of the World! – culminates in this Festival Sunday … Transfiguration!