Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost at Shepherd's House

Sometimes we get so caught up in our religious routines, putting a restless and vain hope in that somehow God might be pleased in our routines, that we forget what life in God is all about. 

Isaiah the prophet establishes emphatically what God truly desires from His people. (HINT: It's not another worship song or Bible study or inspirational Instagram post.) 

Instead, Isaiah lays out a curriculum for living God-ward: 

Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.
​(Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV)

Notes from Sunday
Last Sunday
Sunday Word & Table in Apple Valley
Attendance: 26
Giving: $1660

This Sunday at Church
Worship at 10am in Apple Valley
​
Readings for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost
Call to Worship: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Epistle Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Gospel Reading: Luke 12:32-40

​Coming Up
Home Groups
August 14 -- Board Meeting at 4:30 p.m. prior to Discipleship Group
August 14 -- Discipleship Group at the Shermans
August 28 -- Discipleship Group TBA

Not much there on choosing the right church with the best music or best preaching or best Bible study. In fact, going to church (or temple in this case) does not seem to be enough, which is an intentional understatement if you read the rest of the chapter.

There are a lot of built-up expectations just in these two verses, however. The expectations God has for His people seem to be much different than ours. These tasks are not easily accomplished. It's hard to even know where to start. Where are the oppressed? What can I do to stand up for the fatherless and the widowed? Isn't "seeking justice" an empty political catchphrase, nowadays? 

The hope is in the first word of verse 17: "learn." Whatever is lacking, whatever is not clicking in your spiritual life, can change in the right direction. This is a curriculum, a race course that can be pursued. It's never to late to jump on the track and find the finish line.

All we need to do, sometimes, is to be the answer to our prayers. 

One of the first steps in the process of moving Godward is simply "to learn." In the original Hebrew, "lamad," the word has the sense of learn by doing. This is the core of Christian discipleship. 

Keep this in mind as many of us head to church on Sunday morning (or whenever you happen to go). Ask yourself: What does the Christian life look like from God's perspective? What else needs to be done? Where do I need to begin: becoming more aware of what is not being done, finding the gaps in what needs to be done, or just getting out there and start doing it?