Sunday, November 3, 2024

REMINDER: Set back your clocks on Saturday Night!

Theme

This week we are not going to be gathering at the South Carolina Inn at the Montreat Conference Center. The cleanup in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene continues, and we do not want to get in their way. Instead we will gather at the church for fellowship and reflection on God’s call in our lives. The theme this year is the Matthew 25 Initiative, coordinated by the Presbyterian Mission Agency. There will be a wonderful breakfast at 9 AM (Register here, if you have not already). and Bible Study at 9:30am on the Matthew 25 Initiative. After Worship we will have Lunch (Register here, if you have not done so) and experience a learning simulation on the Racial Wealth Gap.

Our worship service will be a casual outdoor service at the cross, and will focus on the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25, and our Narrative Lectionary reading for this week, Elijah and the Tishbite Widow. Both texts clearly highlight God’s preferential option for the poor and the ‘least of these,’ and our call as God’s people to care for them.

Questions

–  Who are the kinds of people that God pays attention to in our scriptures?

–  Who are ‘the least of these’ in our world today?

–  How well do you do in seeing, feeding, visiting, etc. those who are ‘the least’?

Reflections:

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Each of the hymns were chosen specifically to follow the theme of justice, mercy, and caring for the least of these.

Opening Hymn: We sing again a hymn we used a few weeks ago, the test of which is based on Mary’s ‘magnificat’, “My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout”. We will sing verses 2 and 3, which speak most directly to the theme.

Hymn: Instead of a special music selection, we will sing another hymn, “What Does the Lord Require of You?”, which is a slight paraphrase of the latter part of Micah 6:8.

Sending Hymn: “Come! Live in the Light!”; the refrain is a paraphrase of Micah 6:8 as well; we’ll sing the first 2 verses.

Benediction: “The Lord Now Sends Us Forth”, our benediction for the month of November. The text, originally from a Cuban pastor, is a call to action in the world.