Different Journey, Different Map (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

What got you here won't get you there.

Different parts of a journey are approached differently. Different phases of a process require different actions. If you use a map to travel across the plains, you wouldn't use the same map to cross the mountains. Different terrain, different map. When it's time to harvest, a farmer would not use the planting routine to harvest the crops. You plant one way and harvest another.

When Marshall Goldsmith wrote the book What Got You Here a Won't Get You There, he applied this same understanding to career advancement. He explained that the processes people employ for making it as a worker do not apply to positions of management. It was an acknowledgment that the worker and the manager have different jobs, different uses of time and tools, and different objectives.

The book was aimed at people who aspire to management. It lays out a map, if you will, of milestones that must be achieved. It explains that some of the old must give way to the new; if not, the person will not succeed on this new journey.

This week’s Hebrews scripture has a similar message for those who want a relationship with God. In the first 10 verses of Chapter 10, the Hebrew writer succinctly sums up much of what Jesus tried to communicate to Israel's leaders: the Priests, Scribes, Pharisees, and Teachers of the Law. The old way, the way they clung to, was no longer viable. They would have to change if they wanted to be one of God's people. What had brought them to that point—the Law—could not get them any further. They needed a new redemption song. 

But, you should read those 10 verses for yourself. I recommend reading it in The Message; it makes the meaning plain. 

Jesus came in the fullness of time to fulfill the Law. It was done. It's as if Jesus was saying: What got you here won't get you there.

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Link to the scripture passage in The Message:

https://bible.com/bible/97/heb.10.1-10.MSG

New Redemption Song by Over the Rhine: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK6-s6qUJeo

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr

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This Friday is DaySpring’s last Lectionary Breakfast during Advent. We will resume our Friday gatherings on January 7, 2022. We would love it if you could join us this Friday morning. We start at 8:00 on **Zoom and in-person at Our Breakfast Place. We'll do all the usual stuff: eat, read, discuss, laugh. But we'll also be celebrating, expectantly, the birth of our Lord. 

Come for the food, stay for the blessings. 

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera & microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=98

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_FourthSundayofAdvent.pdf

Micah 5:2-5a

Psalm 80:1-7

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

Fourth Sunday of Advent (December 19, 2021`)

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Should You Quit Your Job for Jesus? (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

My Dad was a man ahead of his time. 

When Dad was a new husband in the 1950s, it was expected a person would work 20, 30, even 40 unbroken years for the same employer. That may be hard to imagine today, when people are likely to have six different careers! So, in a real sense, my Dad was a man ahead of his time. 

After serving under General Patton during World War II, Dad returned home wanting to explore the medical field. He knew he wanted to be a healer, but found his personal beliefs conflicted with some dearly held by the medical profession. He did his research and decided he wanted to become a chiropractor. And that is what he did ... for about a decade. 

Then the changes began. 

The reasons for closing his practice were many, but principally: (1) unlike today, medical doctors considered chiropractors to be quacks, and (2) when Dad allowed people to pay on a sliding scale based on economic circumstance, his patients paid very little.

Next up, Dad became a “brickie,” doing brick and tile work for a cousin’s construction business. Dad was good at the work, alignment and measurement being central to success. But, the money was low. 

Later, Dad worked on a riverboat, alternating one month on the boat and one off (30/30). The pay was better and sometimes he was the pilot. This lasted for a while, and was especially useful when he and a farmer friend arranged to alternate their 30/30's. One month Dad was on the boat and our friend ran the dairy. The next month, Dad managed the dairy and our friend worked on the boat. It was a kind of “job share” long before that was a thing.

Eventually, Dad moved on to working with a different cousin in a start-up printing business. Dad did this work for several years, and was still doing it when I entered college. 

Then, my parents moved to Florida. Dad joined Wickes Lumber Company. He worked there well into his 50s, until an on-the-job injury placed him on permanent disability.

Throughout those 3+ decades, while my Dad moved through multiple, unrelated career fields ... my Mom worked for the telephone company, her only employer all that time.

Jobs are an interesting part of who we are. Whatever we do as work in this life—be it the very important work of developing the next generation, or making things, or building places, or selling things, or a myriad of office type occupations—we tend to get what we do all tangled up with who we are.

I’m sure that more than once Dad scratched his head and wondered just where all of that was leading, or if it was leading anywhere at all. I am just as sure he wondered what all those job changes said about him, personally.

Can it come as a surprise that those who came out to hear John the Baptist in this week’s Luke passage were concerned? What impact would this "repentance" have on their lives? For most, the answer was pretty straightforward: Share with those in need. But, what about tax collectors and soldiers? Surely, they didn’t qualify for John's baptism. These were among the most reviled occupations in that place and time.

John's answers to them are most interesting, both by what he said and what he didn’t say. What he said to those soldiers and those tax collectors was (to sum up), "Don't exploit your position." Since tax collectors were considered cheats and thieves, and soldiers were—charitably—considered bullies, "Don't extort and don't bully" got right to the heart of repentance.

On the other hand, John did not tell them to stop being tax collectors and soldiers. 

Whoa.  

When you think about it, the implication is startling. Here was John’s opportunity to tell them, straight up: you folks are in the wrong professions. Instead, John got to the heart of the matter ... and it wasn’t their career choice.

The only way our jobs can define us is if we allow it. They certainly do not determine our relationship to God. In that light, the two different career paths taken by my parents come down to the same thing: in the end, the number of jobs or employers comprising your working years are not the point.  

How we do our work, how we treat others in conducting our business, how we impact others with our industry—these things are paramount.

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PHOTO CREDIT (Allied soldier with French citizen during WWI): https://theconversation.com/amp/as-the-us-entered-world-war-i-american-soldiers-depended-on-foreign-weapons-technology-75034

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Join us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We eat, we  talk, we laugh. We meet at 8:00 on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place restaurant. 

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=97

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_ThirdSundayofAdvent.pdf

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

Third Sunday of Advent (December 12, 2021)

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Embracing My Bumpuses at Advent (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

"The Bumpuses were so low down on the evolutionary totem pole that they weren't even included in Darwin's famous family tree. They had inbred and ingrown and finally emerged from the Kentucky hills like some remnant of Attila the Hun's barbarian horde.”  

—Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story

If you've ever seen A Christmas Story, then you surely recognize that line from the voiceover narration. The Bumpuses were the family that lived next door to Ralphie Parker and his family. It was the Bumpus hounds who absconded with the Parker family Christmas turkey. Even though we never actually see them, author Jean Shepherd portrays them as caricatures, the ultimate hillbilly family.  

I went to church with a family like them … in some ways.

My Bumpuses had the requisite drawl, the car with the busted suspension, the rambunctious kids who just could not stay clean between their house and church services. Their clothes never seemed to fit; too large, too small, too long.

There were plenty of people who could not see past the look and sound of them to realize what was right before their eyes. I heard the talk. I saw the looks. I quickly discerned how most of the folks in our church regarded them: not quite measuring up, too hillbilly.

I, too, was put off by their apparent disinterest in looking and acting like everyone else. But, the way they lived their lives soon won me over. At a crucial time in my development, God sent these simply-living (yet, anything but simple) people into my life.

My Bumpuses were one of the very best things to happen to my young life. Think of the people who helped shape you into the person you are. My Bumpuses are high up on that list. I learned something so important from them, something I am sad to report I have seen far too little of in this life.

I didn't have a term for it, then. I just knew I was witnessing something I had read about but could not recall ever seeing. To be fair, I have encountered this a few times since then. But my Bumpuses were the first, and they left a lasting impression.

I have a term for it now: Advent People.

My Bumpuses lived their lives as if every day was an Advent day, as people who were expecting Jesus, looking forward to His arrival. Yes, they seemed to give little thought to how they were dressed, the baby's drooping diaper, the loud creaking of their old car‘s suspension, an accent that turned heads even in Kentucky. 

In place of all that, they invested their time and energy into helping others. They were always available to help out. Always. They taught Sunday School when substitutes were needed. They did all of those behind-the-scenes kind of jobs that are so forgettable but so necessary. They were almost always the last to leave, just in case something needed doing. 

And, for some reason, they took an interest in me.

I rode in that old car to church camp when my parents couldn't take me. I later learned that it was my Bumpuses who rounded up the camp fees when my mother couldn’t pay. I had a front row seat, so to speak, to observe them pray, simply and earnestly. I could not count for you the numerous acts of kindness I saw these folks perform, and almost always on the down-low. A lifetime of reflection has not eroded my view of them, and it is not idealized. 

Don't think they didn't know what others thought and said about them. They knew. They just didn't care. They were living, breathing examples of that well known A. W. Tozer quote, "I claim the holy right to disappoint men in order to avoid disappointing God."

My Bumpuses, my Advent People. 

Why do I call them that? It’s because they embody what Advent is all about … especially as described in this week’s passage from Philippians. I really do thank God every time I remember them. Like those Philippians, the way they lived “produced the harvest of righteousness.” They understood this fundamental thing: that what Jesus said and did to others is a template for how we should speak and act. Most of all, they wanted to be found being just like that when He returned … something they longed for and expected at any moment.

It’s Advent. Embrace your Bumpuses. 

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PHOTO CREDIT (and a great little article about the Bumpus hounds: https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2016-11-24/the-bumpus-hounds-look-good-for-their-age

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Advent! A great time to spend with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Consider joining us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather at 8:00 on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place restaurant for an hour like no other. We eat, we talk, we laugh; and all of it surrounding a reading of God's word. 

Hope to see you there.

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=96

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_SecondSundayofAdvent.pdf

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 1:68-79

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

Second Sunday of Advent (December 5, 2021)

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A Dark Advent and A Contrary Cow (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Most cows are contented cows; at least dairy cows seem so. If you feed them and milk them twice each day, all is well. 

There’s always one, though, isn’t there?

The dairy operation we were part of had such a cow. Not only was she not content with the fields we had, she was an opinion leader. 

Each day, she led her little cadre of followers out to the fence line. There, they thrust their heads through to eat what was growing on the other side. But, that wasn’t enough for her. As the easy pickings became exhausted, she cast her eye a bit further afield, coveting more of those tasty plants that were just out of her reach. And if it had ended, there, the tale would already be told. 

Why any of this matters: In our fields, we had planted the right feed. These grasses worked with the other feed we provided while they were being milked. Together, they formed a balanced diet for healthy dairy cattle. The plants outside our fence were not the same. Those plants were wild, and not supportive of their health.

First assault: she and her little gang pressed against the wire fence until it came loose from the posts. They then stepped out and nibbled on their ill-gotten gains. They did this three times before we finally caved in and substituted barbed wire for the standard fencing. That did the trick ... for a while. 

Second assault: It didn’t keep her from trying, but those sharp pricks from the barbs sent her crew back to the grasses in our field. Until, with stubborn determination, she managed, despite many scrapes and cuts, to push the strands of barbed wire loose at her favorite spot. Once she was through, her entourage reassembled for another off-the-range chow down. 

We didn’t wait for the next assault. 

We installed an electrified fence. Now, you may be thinking that was a cruel thing to do. But, for any cow that stayed well away from the fence line, it made no difference. We only wanted to curtail the activities of the few intransigents. And it worked. Once those cows brushed up against the electrified fence, there was no repeat. They all returned to eating what was in our fields.

Except for our one contrary cow. 

Third assault: Well, it wasn’t much of an assault. After a few times, she stopped touching the electric fence. But, every day, she fed right next to it. While all the other cows met their dietary needs out in the broader field  —where the food was quite good, by the way—  our contrary cow fed by the fence line, constantly looking out at the plants growing on the other side. Never satisfied with what was provided for her in our fields.

Hanging out at the fence like our contrary cow, staring longingly at what we are not supposed to have; that’s the wrong way to approach life. It’s bad enough that we could get quite a shock by trying to ram the fence. 

It’s worse if we make it through.

This week’s Advent passage from the Gospel of Luke tells us to “be alert at all times,” and to “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.” It is, without a doubt, one of the darkest Advent scriptures. What it’s about, though, is desiring, anticipating, watching for, and patiently awaiting the return of Jesus. 

The easiest way to do that is to feed on the spiritual meal provided to us; to stay up in the middle of the pasture, so to speak. That way, when we see the Lord coming, we will be ready to “stand up and raise your heads.”

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PHOTO: Steve Orr

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DaySpring isn’t hosting a Lectionary Breakfast this week. Enjoy your holiday and join us the first week in December. Warm wishes to you and yours as we pause to give thanks.

Blessings,

Steve

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=95

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_FirstSundayofAdvent.pdf

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm 25:1-10

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

First Sunday of Advent (11-28-2021)

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The No-Win Scenario (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

“I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.” 

Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Some of us have been watching some version of Star Trek since the 1960s. Some first came on board in 1987 with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Many are brand new to the franchise. But, back in 1980, all we had were three seasons of the original television program, an animated series, and one so-so movie. It’s no stretch to say the future of Star Trek was uncertain. Maybe even unlikely. 

In fact, in 1980 Star Trek was facing a no-win scenario of its own. If things didn’t change, almost everything we know as Star Trek would never come to be. No Jean Luc Picard. No Data. No Captain Janeway. No Seven of Nine. No Ben Sisko. No Quark. No Captain Archer. No T’Pol. No Star Trek Discovery. And so much more. 

The problem? No Spock. 

As plans were being laid to film what would eventually be Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Leonard Nimoy made it clear he no longer wished to portray Mr. Spock. That was a true show stopper. Unless Nimoy changed his mind, the second Star Trek film would never be made. The studio was unwilling to put money into a Star Trek film that wasn’t headlined by both William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. 

Without this film, there would likely be no future Star Trek films. And without those, none of the future versions of Star Trek would ever come to be. As we now know, something changed. Nimoy did return to play Spock. What happened? How did we go from a real life no-win scenario to making what many consider the best Star Trek film of all time?

You can thank Jack B. Sowards. 

As the person tapped to write the screenplay, Sowards believed he had just what was needed to change Nimoy’s mind. It’s a long-ish tale, so I won’t go into great detail. For those who are interested, there’s a link to the full story, below. Suffice to say that, with deft writing, Sowards slowly won Nimoy over. It was a process; and there was always the possibility Nimoy would bolt. At each stage of the process, though, Sowards continued to have faith that all would be well. 

And it was. 

You see, to Jack Sowards, those were not just words he wrote for a screenplay. To him, not believing in no-win scenarios was real life. He lived that philosophy. And because he did, we are still watching and enjoying what has become the Star Trek universe. 

There’s a lesson in here for us. 

 In this week’s passages from Daniel and Revelation, we learn that Jesus will have “dominion forever” and His “Kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” Yes, we have an adversary, one who employs countless schemes seeking our downfall. But, he cannot win. The outcome is already known.

Believe in Jesus. Reject the no-win scenario. 

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Graphic: 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

“The Man Who Saved Mr. Spock”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-man-who-saved-mr-spoc_b_2818851

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Friday morning is our last Lectionary Breakfast before Thanksgiving. Join us at Our Breakfast Place restaurant or on Zoom.** We start at 8:00 for an hour that goes by way too fast. It’s Bible, food, discussion, coffee, prayer, laughter, and fellowship. Now, that’s a great way to start the weekend! 

Blessings,

Steve

**Contact me the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=230

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_ReignofChrist.pdf

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Psalm 132:1-12, (13-18)

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

Psalm 93

Revelation 1:4b-8

John 18:33-37

Reign of Christ - Proper 29 (34) (November 21, 2021)

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A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Francie’s Aunt Sissy had a dark side. 

Francie Nolan is 11 years old when A Tree Grows in Brooklyn opens in 1912. Betty Smith's novel follows Francie and her family as they strive to rise above their poverty in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. 

A lot happens in those ten or so years: Prohibition comes and goes, World War I starts and stops, Houdini dazzles everyone at the Hippodrome, the Titanic sinks, Ford builds automobiles on an assembly line, and women get the vote.  

Still, through it all, the poor are still the poor. In that way, the book is similar to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books. These are the stories of people dealing with what life throws at them, making a life in the midst of some very hard times.

And that brings us to Aunt Sissy. 

Sissy was Francie's favorite; vivacious, playful, fun-loving, wearing colorful clothing, loving to dance and sing. Sissy is the polar opposite of Francie's mother. So much so that Francie often wondered how the two women could be sisters. 

People said Sissy was wild, that she was a "bad" girl. And it was true. Sissy was a sexually aggressive party girl. She used a very liberal definition of the term, "married," to be with the men of her choosing, one man after another. Francie was not unaware of Sissy’s dark side. But, Francie also knew why Sissy was that way. 

Sissy wanted a baby.

She moved from one man to another because she was looking for the man who could give her a baby that would live. Sissy had had ten babies. There were ten headstones in the nearby cemetery marking where her babies lay, mutely accusing her each time she passed them.  

It’s heartbreaking. 

What she does in her desire for a living child is beyond what most of us can comprehend. 

But, not all of us. Some of us understand, completely.

I think Hannah may well have been one who could empathize with Sissy. In this week’s passages from 1st Samuel we find her suffering from childlessness. Like Sissy, she desperately wants a living child. At one point, she becomes so worked up while pouring her broken heart out to God that the Priest thinks she is drunk! And, with just as much emotion, her prayer of thanksgiving when she does finally give birth to Samuel is almost electrical in its praise of God.

There is a difference between Sissy and Hannah. Neither can accept her barren state, but Hannah pours out her heart to God on both sides of the matter. 

We, too, must seek God as we struggle with our deepest desires and needs. Like Hannah, we need to avail ourselves of prayer and petition while we are without. Then, we need to offer praise and joy when God answers.

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PHOTO CREDIT: 

https://smile.amazon.com/Betty-Smith/e/B000AQ1NV4/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Cat Stevens singing Wild World (with lyrics): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69kTbYNZvtY

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We meet for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at Our Breakfast Place restaurant each Friday morning. We would love for you to join us at 8:00 for an hour like no other. We delve into God's word, enjoy each other's company, and have our choice of delicious breakfasts from the menu. And laughter; it may not be on the menu, but it’s definitely in the room.

If you can’t join us in person, Zoom in at the link, below.**

What a great way to start the weekend!

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=229

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper28.pdf

1 Samuel 1:4-20

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Daniel 12:1-3

Psalm 16

Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25

Mark 13:1-8

Proper 28 (33) (November 14, 2021)

Butch & Sundance Ride Again (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

What is it with Hollywood turning real bad guys into movie folk heroes?

In the movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two leads were handsome, swashbuckling cowboys, even kind of heroic. They were portrayed by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, respectively. In real life, they were actually named Robert Parker and Alonzo Longabaugh, and they were thieves. They robbed trains and banks. They were bad people who stole real money from ordinary working people.

In the movie, The Sting, Newman and Redford return, this time as two handsome Depression Era rogues named Henry Gondorf and Johnny Hooker. These two con a fortune out of a murdering gang boss. We find ourselves cheering them on. After all, didn’t “the mark” deserve his comeuppance? But, that fictional story is based on the true story of brothers Fred and Charley Gondorf, a couple of real life grifters. They swindled anyone and everyone out of whatever money they could get. They were bad people who stole real money from ordinary working people.

No matter how you dress them up —no matter how you work to make them seem like good people— bad people are bad … and the things they do hurt real people. Contrary to the movies, most con artists are heartless criminals with no concern for anyone but themselves. Most will stoop to anything, including murder, to get what they want. 

And that brings us to this week's selection from the Gospel of Mark where Jesus identifies a surprising con artist scam.

As students of the Law, Scribes dressed themselves in respectability. People trusted them to explain how to live a life approved by God. There were likely some good Scribes. But Jesus charged the group of them with something worse than criminal behavior: using their understanding of God's Law to swindle people. And not just any people. They were guilty of fleecing widows and their families out of the little they had, even to the point of homelessness. They were truly wolves in sheep’s clothing.

I know. It's really difficult to believe someone could stoop so low. 

Remember, Judas loudly decried the "waste" of the expensive perfume used to anoint Jesus because it could have been sold and the money distributed to the poor. Scripture tells us he didn't mean it, that he just wanted the money placed in the ministry purse so he could embezzle it. That's a man personally selected by Jesus to be one of the original twelve … another wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Yes, sad as it is to contemplate, there are people among us who will swindle us out of our money; use God, Jesus, the Bible —whatever works— to move our property from our control to theirs. And they absolutely do not care if their "marks" are already impoverished or hurting from the loss of a loved one. All they care about is whether they can successfully scam the mark.

We have to be alert to these wolves … still. And we need wisdom to discern them from the real sheep. It's bad enough that these kinds of people walk our streets. It is far worse that they walk the aisles of our churches. They don't just "sting" their marks. They destroy them, wound their faith, and drive them away from God. 

For most of those who have fallen prey to these wolves, there is only one consolation. Jesus promised: “These men will be punished most severely.”

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ARTWORK: The wolf in sheep’s clothing was well known to people is Jesus’ day because the Greeks borrowed the tale from the Sumerians. Link to Aesop’s Fables and the wolf in sheep’s clothing: 

https://fablesofaesop.com/the-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing.html

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Breakfast, scripture, fellowship, and laughter. How do you beat that combination? Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at Our Breakfast Place restaurant. We meet at 8:00 for about an hour. Or join us on Zoom.**

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=228

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper27.pdf

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

Psalm 127

1 Kings 17:8-16

Psalm 146

Hebrews 9:24-28

Mark 12:38-44

Proper 27 (32) (November 7, 2021)

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