Northwoods Table Talk

  A Shoot From the Stump Isaiah 11:1-10  G race to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.   Isaiah pens what God inspires him to write and it is glorious. There shall come forth a Shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of His lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, faithfulness the belt of His loins. The wolf shall dw...

  Welcome One Another Romans 15:4-13 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. When was the last time you had a nice conversation in the backyard with your neighbor? How about the last time you sat on your porch and struck up a conversation with someone walking by? Or maybe you were at the grocery store and you spent a half hour talking with someone from church? Or was it at the post office? You said, “hello!” but what does that mean? Was it the word to the thought, “I see you here and acknowledge your presence?” Did you ever think about what you meant by saying it? How about this greeting, “how are you?” That three-word phrase is often spoken as a greeting. When you use it as a greeting are really asking the question expecting a response? That question is more like, “Hello, I acknowledge and note your presence.” These aren’t the droids you’re looking for, move along. Can you imagine the person you greet, “How are you?” ...

  Chief Mountain House of the Lord Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our introit, Psalm 122, is a Psalm of Ascents, and is attributed to David. Psalms of Ascent have to do with going into God’s house. Into the tabernacle in David’s day or going into the temple after it was completed. These Psalms prepare the heart and mind toward God, to meditate upon His mercy and what was going to take place in God’s House.   This Psalm was written by David 1000 BC. This is one of David’s prayer-songs as he ascends, that is, as he comes into God’s house. He is glad to go into the House of the Lord.   One of the things in this prayer is for the peace of Jerusalem. What does that mean?   You have probably seen phrase, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” or heard it spoken. Maybe you know songs which have the line “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” in it.   It quoted very often today. We spoke about Jerusalem as a h...