Welcome!
The 17th Sunday after Pentecost
The Lord has shown the nations that he has the power to save
and to bring justice. ~ Psalm 98:2 (CEV)
On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. ~ Acts 14:27 (MSG)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God has an aggressive open-door policy -- welcoming all to faith regardless of who they are, where they're from, or what they've done.
PRAYER
Thank you for being so welcoming, O God. I feel affirmed because of what Christ has done to save the world and to include me in his salvation. Forgive my narrow focus. I'm too naturally inclined to gravitate toward people who are like me and who do things in the ways I'm used to doing them. Give me global eyes so that the entire world can join me in celebrating your welcome. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
