Praying everyone had a Happy New Year's Eve & Day and will have a Very Blessed 2021!
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Fr. Dennis joined us for Holy Communion Services this first Sunday in 2021 and the 2nd Sunday after Christmas. His beautiful sermon focused on one particular verse from the Gospel lesson, Matthew 2:23.
and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
While there is no literal prophesy about Jesus being a Nazarene, Fr. Dennis advised that early Jewish believers would have understood the subtle and beautiful word play at work in that statement. An example is "a Branch shall grow out of his (Jesse's) root". The Hebrew word for branch sounds a lot like the the word for Nazareth. Another example is the Hebrew word for a Nazarite, a person devoted to God's service from before birth (Samson & Samuel). A third example is the very low status of the people from Nazareth on the Jewish social ladder, which fits with Isaiah's description of Jesus as "despised and rejected" (Is 53:3). Together these examples point to Jesus's 1) Royal & messianic heritage, 2) His special dedication to God before birth and 3) His humility. These examples also apply to us:
1) through union with Christ in baptism, we are also branches and heirs of the redemptive promises to Abraham, Moses, and David
2) we are called to live lives of special dedication to God
3) we are called to be humble and to reject worldly/anti-Christian messages.
Thank you Fr. Dennis for driving over from North Carolina and for the lovely service!
Thank you Teresa for setting up the Facebook live stream for this service!
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Before this Sunday, the last time we saw Fr. Dennis was the first Sunday in December. We didn't have his Christmas present ready at that time so, we gave it to him this past Sunday! Unfortunately, I got caught up in the moment and forgot to take a picture (please feel free to remind me at any future event!!). But envision a beautiful basket put together by Claudia with meats, cheeses, wine, smoked salmon, coffee, nuts, crackers, tea, etc. It was beautiful! Thank you, Claudia for putting the basket together!
And a Very Merry (belated) Christmas to Fr. Dennis!
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Fr. Scott will celebrate Epiphany this Wednesday, January 6 at 3pm with a Holy Communion Service. We will live stream this service on Facebook.
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Due to 2020 craziness, Mike and Claudia postponed their St. Peter's Thanksgiving Feast until early January. Their now Epiphany Feast is on for this Saturday January 9 starting at 1 pm. Please let Claudia know what dish you plan to bring!
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Tuesday at 11:30. Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact me if you would like to join us but are not on Discord.
Please let Sue or Earl know any updates, removals, and additions to our prayer list as we start a new year.
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