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Union Congregational Church seeks to create a celebrating, covenanting, affirming, and justice-seeking faith community, inspiring people to unite & create a peaceful, loving world.

Today's Scripture Reading:

Romans 12: 2

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Matthew 15:21-28

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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Union Congregational Church seeks to create a celebrating, covenanting, affirming, and justice-seeking faith community, inspiring people to unite & create a peaceful, loving world.

Philippians 4:13 

13 I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.

John 6:1-21

2 A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he did in healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the side of the hill and sat there with his followers. 4 It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover festival.

5 Jesus looked up and saw a crowd of people coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?” 6 He asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.

7 Philip answered, “We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece!”

8 Another follower there was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew said, 9 “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”

10 Jesus said, “Tell everyone to sit down.” This was a place with a lot of grass, and about 5000 men sat down there. 11 Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks for them. Then he gave them to the people who were waiting to eat. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.

12 They all had plenty to eat. When they finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.” 13 So they gathered up the pieces that were left. The people had started eating with only five loaves of barley bread. But the followers filled twelve large baskets with the pieces of food that were left.

14 The people saw this miraculous sign that Jesus did and said, “He must be the Prophet[a] who is coming into the world.”

15 Jesus knew that the people planned to come get him and make him their king. So he left and went into the hills alone.

16 That evening Jesus’ followers went down to the lake. 17 It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet come back to them. They got into a boat and started going across the lake to Capernaum. 18 The wind was blowing very hard. The waves on the lake were becoming bigger. 19 They rowed the boat about three or four miles.[b] Then they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water, coming to the boat. They were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me.” 21 When he said this, they were glad to take him into the boat. And then the boat reached the shore at the place they wanted to go.

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Jeremiah 29 11-14

11 I alone know my purpose for you, says YHWH, my purpose for your prosperity and my purpose not to harm you, my purpose to give you hope with a future in it. 12 At that time you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me wholeheartedly. 14 I will let you find me, says YHWH, and I will restore your fortunes. And I will gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I banished you, says YHWH, and restore you to the place from which I carried you to exile. 

Matthew 7 7-11

7 Ask and keep asking, and you will receive. Seek and keep seeking and you will find. Knock and keep knocking and the door will be opened to you. 8 For the one who keeps asking, receives. The one who keeps seeking, finds, And the one who keeps knocking, enters. 9 Is there any among you who would hand your daughter a stone when she asked for bread? 10 Would one of you hand your son a snake  when he asked for a fish? 11 If you, with all your faults know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Abba God in heaven give good things to those who ask!

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Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    from where will my help come?

2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.

4 He who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.

8 The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time on and forevermore.

Matthew 7:24-27

Hearers and Doers

24 “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

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Isaiah 40:31 

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 

Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

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1 Peter 4:10 (ESV) 

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

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Matthew 5:1-12 

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

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Union Congregational Church seeks to create a celebrating, covenanting, affirming, and justice-seeking faith community, inspiring people to unite & create a peaceful, loving world.

John 1:1 – 1:13

"1  In the beginning was the Conversation, and the Conversation was with God,
and the Conversation was God. 2  It was with God in the beginning. 3  Everything
came into being through it; not even one thing came into being without it. What
has come into being 4  by it was life, and the life was humanity’s light. 5  The light
shines in the darkness; the darkness did not overpower it.
6  A person came into being, sent by God, who was named John. 7  He came to tell
what was happening, so he could tell about the light so that everyone would trust
it because of him. 8  He was not the light himself, but he would tell about the light.
9  The true light that shines on every person was coming to the whole world. 10  It

was throughout the world, and the whole world came into being through it, but
the world did not recognize it. 11  It came to its own people, but its own people did
not accept it. 12  But to those who accepted it, to those who have placed their trust
in its name—it gave them the privilege of coming to be God’s children. 13  They
were brought into being not from layers of blood or from bodily desire or from a
man’s aspiration but from God.

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Union Congregational Church seeks to create a celebrating, covenanting, affirming, and justice-seeking faith community, inspiring people to unite & create a peaceful, loving world.

Micah 6:8 

 "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." 

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Matthew 19:12 

"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

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