Words from Psalm 46

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar & foam & the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:2-3 

Words from Hebrews

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday & today & forever. Hebrews 13:8 

What's in a Name?

And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house . . . Praising God, and having favor with all the people, And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:46-47 KJV

Recently, I attended the funeral service of a friend here at Eastridge Church named John Wolfe. His wife, Catherine, is a member of another denomination so I had only met her a couple of times. My friend, Berna Stading, and I met Catherine when we went to visit John in his home after he was no longer able to attend church services. 

John was a very humble elderly gentleman and so friendly that all of us who sat in the same pew with him on Sunday mornings and those sitting in pews nearby became his friends. 

The Sunday before his 95^th birthday, I brought him a loaf of homemade bread and a few homemade cookies. The next Sunday instead of thanking me he said, “If you ever want to bring some more bread to me, I wouldn’t turn it down.” His comment set the pattern for our friendship.

Berna and I took homemade bread and cookies to his home when we visited him, but since we didn’t really know Catherine, we were never quite sure how our gifts were received.

Catherine didn’t remember us when we greeted her at John’s funeral service, until I mentioned that we were the ones who brought homemade bread to John. “Oh,” she said, “That was the best bread, you’re the ‘bread ladies’!” We were so pleased to learn that our bread and cookies had been a source of Christian caring and joy for both of them. 

What’s in a name anyway? Our names are Berna and Judy, but we loved being called the “Bread Ladies”! 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise you for bringing such wonderful friends to us as we worship You. They are just one of the many blessings you give us. Mostly, we praise and thank You for Your Son, Jesus the Christ, Our Living Bread. Even though He knows each of us by our names, He calls us His friends as He forgives us and saves us from our sins. It’s in His holy name we pray.  Amen 

Judy Welch

Shepherd Scripture from The Message

 God, my shepherd!

    I don’t need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,

    you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word,

    you let me catch my breath

    and send me in the right direction.

 

Even when the way goes through

    Death Valley,

I’m not afraid

    when you walk at my side.

Your trusty shepherd’s crook

    makes me feel secure.

 

You serve me a six-course dinner

    right in front of my enemies.

You revive my drooping head;

    my cup brims with blessing.

 

Your beauty and love chase after me

    every day of my life.

I’m back home in the house of God

    for the rest of my life. Psalm 23

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. John 10:11-13

God, pick up the pieces.

    Put me back together again.

    You are my praise!

Listen to how they talk about me:

    “So where’s this ‘Word of God’?

    We’d like to see something happen!”

But it wasn’t my idea to call for Doomsday.

    I never wanted trouble.

You know what I’ve said.

    It’s all out in the open before you. Jeremiah 17:14-16

*all The Message paraphrasing

Words from Proverbs

Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble, Proverbs 3:23 NIV 

Words from Psalm 27

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 

Celebrating Juneteenth

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” – Isaiah 61:1

“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” – Amos 5:24

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8

Today we recognize Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

For a fictional take on this historic event, read Paulette Jiles book, Simon the Fiddler.

For more information, click here: The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth | National Museum of African American History and Culture