Words of Welcome

Joshua 24:1-15 When Moses was nearing the end of his life, he gathered the people of Israel, so he could prepare them to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land. Even though Moses wouldn’t cross over with them he wanted them to know that God would be with them (Deut. 1:1-8 ). Now it was Moses’s successor, Joshua, who was nearing the end of his life. Like Moses he gathered the people of Israel to prepare them for a new future without his leadership. Again, the message is God is faithful and God will be with you as you move into that new future. He does this by retelling the story of Israel. He begins with Abraham and takes the people on a journey through time.  Joshua reminds the people how God led Abraham to Canaan from the land beyond the Euphrates, making a covenant with the promise of many descendants. We hear again the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, as well as the sojourn in Egypt that leads to the call of Moses and Aaron, who led the ...

Mark 7:1-13   I expect that most of us have never heard God speak directly to us in an audible voice.  We’ve never had a burning bush or Damascus Road experience.  So, if this is true, then how can we hear God’s voice?      Last Sunday we talked about how God might speak to us through Scripture, but even if it is the Word of God, is it the only voice through which God speaks?  Going forward I suggested a couple of other possibilities including Tradition, Reason, and Experience.  Having spoken on Scripture, as you might expect from this morning’s anthem, today I’m going to speak on Tradition.      Now, in Mark 7 we find Jesus confronting an angry group of religious leaders who are appalled that Jesus’ disciples hadn’t properly washed their hands before eating.  While it may sound like an issue of good hygiene, it was really more a question of following tradition.  These leaders didn’t ap...