Jeremiah 18:1-4 The Work of God's Hands

In this text, Jeremiah the prophet is called by God to go to the house of a potter. There he observes the potter at work - beginning a creation, finding it not to his liking, collapsing the vessel, compressing the clay, and beginning again. And the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, making the work of the potter a metaphor for the way God works with (in this case) communities and nations.

If we read a little further, we hear Jeremiah sharing both a word of warning and a word of encouragement. If Israel turns from evil, God "will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring upon it"; but then, if Israel does evil, God will again change course, and not bring about the intended good.

Usually, we hear this passage in an individual way - God is the potter, and we are the clay. Surely, that is true. But it is also true that in this case, the text really addresses the community - the nation of Israel. Thus we are invited to think about the sovereign power of God, the issue of free will, and the possibility that God might change course in mid-stream (in response to human action?).

So what do you think?
- Is God's "plan" a fixed and determined course of events?
Then what about our free will?

- How does this text speak to your life individually?
What about our life together as a church?

- What does this say about the covenant, the promise, God has made
to be God, and to claim the people as God's own?


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Hospitality - Jesus' Way!

This week, we are reading from Luke, chapter 14. Jesus is still with "those Pharisees" and they are watching him closely! Now they're at dinner ... Skip over the healing part, we covered that last week. This time, (see vs. 1, then 7-14), he's directing the seating ... and then the invitations ... offering his biblical world etiquette lessons, if you will. "Don't sit at the honored seat - then you won't be embarrassed! ... And don't invite people who can invite you back - invite those who can't pay you back!"

Just a few questions:

Are these just etiquette lessons, designed to keep us from being embarrassed, or do they say something about life lived in God's way?

How is it that we seek blessings, rather than trying to live our lives as a blessing?

What happens to us when we experience the gracious (and totally undeserved) place of honor from God?

Just some wonderings ...


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Bent Over? Or Standing Straight?

This week's gospel lesson is Luke 13:10-17 - the story of the woman who had been crippled for eighteen years - bent over so that she could not stand up straight, look anyone in the eye, or raise her hands in praise to God. In her day, it was believed she was suffering from an evil spirit. Today, we suspect she was suffering from arthritis. But regardless of the cause, she invites us to think about ourselves.

What is it that keeps us bent over today?
- that keeps us from being the people God made us to be
- that keeps us from being the church God calls us to be
- that keeps our world from being the kingdom of God here and now

And what healing might Jesus have to offer us?



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- click on "comments" and type in your notes,
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