Northwoods Table Talk

     Lection for Saturday after Trinity XII 2  Kings 2:19-25; 4:1-7        Ephesians 4:25-5:14 Did you pay attention to the Ephesians text? It starts like this, Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.   How about that for a plan, speak truth with one another and lay aside falsehood. Why? Because we are members one of another.   I suppose it would be good advice for the world at large, especially in the middle of the political season we are in. Can you imagine every candidate speaking the truth, and speaking only nicely of one another? Wow! It might even lead to people not minding campaign ads, but as it is now, those are the times to go channel surfing.   But this text is especially talking to those who are members of one another, that is, to the church. We are to speak (as it says a few verses later) wholesome words about one another.   It is amazing how many half-truths, innuendos, and downright lies are tol

    Lection for Friday after Trinity XII 2  Kings 2:1-18        Ephesians 4:1-24 In this text from Ephesians we read: “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”   Someone say that this means, “Let us put aside the differences that separate us; Christ wants us to be united. If I believe that God has given me the gift of being able to find love in the arms of more than one woman, who are you people to tell me it is wrong? God has given me this gift, I know it in my heart.”   “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Someone else declares, “We must have unity at all costs, the differences between us are not great enough that they should cause us to go separate ways. So what if I believe God was feminine, and you don’t. Don’t you believe that God is big enough to embrace both our understandings of God?”   Is it acceptable to God to believe that Father and Son were actually mother and daughter? Are we allowed to change who God has r

  Lection for Thursday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 19:1-21        Ephesians 3:1-21 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a few

Lection for Wednesday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 18:20-40        Ephesians 2:1-22 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a few

        Lection for Tuesday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 18:1-19       Ephesians 1:1-23 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a

      Lection for Monday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 16:29-17:24        2  Corinthians 9:1-15 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the spa