“For Such A Time As This” - PCOB Announcement And Devotion For 3/20/2020
To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,
We are working on prerecorded worship service for this Sunday morning. We have opted for prerecording instead of live streaming in order to reduce the number of people that need to get together at the same time to create the service. You should have an email in your inbox on Sunday morning with a link to view the service. The video should be around 30 minutes in length. Also, if you have a joy, concern or prayer request to share for the service, please call, text or email me by tomorrow morning.
I am thankful to Bethany Hoffer for writing today's devotion. If you want to respond directly to Bethany, her email address is bhoffer@palmyracob.org.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 2:3-5
Thoughts
This disease is certainly causing a great deal of dis-ease. Things are flying off the supermarket shelves –toilet paper, cleaning products, masks, diapers, milk, food and so much more. Stocking up our homes may be the one thing we feel we have control over in the midst of all of the chaos and uncertainty. However, I believe that the way I have been able to live out my faith has given me a bit of a leg up in this situation.
We’ve been taught to live simply, to care for our environment. With this ideal of simple living rooted into my life, I have less anxiety about the material things than others might. In an age where disposable diapers are the norm, we made an intentional decision to use cloth diapers and cloth wipes with our son. While it requires a little more work on our part, the choice to use cloth has provided peace of mind every day, not just in times of scarcity.
This call to simple living and environmental stewardship also has us prepared when it comes to cleaning our home. We have been working over the last few years at cleaning without chemicals. As a result, most of our home cleaning products are reusable, cutting down on waste and spending. Again, this provides peace of mind every day, not just in times of scarcity.
This week I began making plans for my first vegetable garden which will provide opportunity to grow food for my family as well as others who may need it.
Each of these choices encourage my family to live into our faith’s call to be good stewards of our community and world.
While the fact of the matter is that simple living is not always the easiest choice when we are able to buy exactly what we need, it is an opportunity to simplify our impact on the world around us.
Our faith is the same. Choosing to live a life modeled after Jesus is not the easiest choice we could make. It requires a bit of extra work in order to make sure that we are caring for not only our environment and the world around us, but also the community of people that surround us, literally and figuratively. As the world around us continues to change and adapt to the issues of the day, I encourage you to look for opportunities to simplify your life. What are ways that you can be more intentional with your resources to better your situation and that of those around you?
Prayer
God of Grace, may we continue to look to Jesus to guide us in ways to simplify our lives and grow in our faith, that we may know peace. Amen.
We are working on prerecorded worship service for this Sunday morning. We have opted for prerecording instead of live streaming in order to reduce the number of people that need to get together at the same time to create the service. You should have an email in your inbox on Sunday morning with a link to view the service. The video should be around 30 minutes in length. Also, if you have a joy, concern or prayer request to share for the service, please call, text or email me by tomorrow morning.
I am thankful to Bethany Hoffer for writing today's devotion. If you want to respond directly to Bethany, her email address is bhoffer@palmyracob.org.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 2:3-5
Thoughts
This disease is certainly causing a great deal of dis-ease. Things are flying off the supermarket shelves –toilet paper, cleaning products, masks, diapers, milk, food and so much more. Stocking up our homes may be the one thing we feel we have control over in the midst of all of the chaos and uncertainty. However, I believe that the way I have been able to live out my faith has given me a bit of a leg up in this situation.
We’ve been taught to live simply, to care for our environment. With this ideal of simple living rooted into my life, I have less anxiety about the material things than others might. In an age where disposable diapers are the norm, we made an intentional decision to use cloth diapers and cloth wipes with our son. While it requires a little more work on our part, the choice to use cloth has provided peace of mind every day, not just in times of scarcity.
This call to simple living and environmental stewardship also has us prepared when it comes to cleaning our home. We have been working over the last few years at cleaning without chemicals. As a result, most of our home cleaning products are reusable, cutting down on waste and spending. Again, this provides peace of mind every day, not just in times of scarcity.
This week I began making plans for my first vegetable garden which will provide opportunity to grow food for my family as well as others who may need it.
Each of these choices encourage my family to live into our faith’s call to be good stewards of our community and world.
While the fact of the matter is that simple living is not always the easiest choice when we are able to buy exactly what we need, it is an opportunity to simplify our impact on the world around us.
Our faith is the same. Choosing to live a life modeled after Jesus is not the easiest choice we could make. It requires a bit of extra work in order to make sure that we are caring for not only our environment and the world around us, but also the community of people that surround us, literally and figuratively. As the world around us continues to change and adapt to the issues of the day, I encourage you to look for opportunities to simplify your life. What are ways that you can be more intentional with your resources to better your situation and that of those around you?
Prayer
God of Grace, may we continue to look to Jesus to guide us in ways to simplify our lives and grow in our faith, that we may know peace. Amen.
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