Cindy Donaldson John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  Reflection: The church I attended as a young adult had this passage from John 14:27 above the door of the sanctuary so that you’d read it upon departing the church – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [...]

Rachel Fisher, Children’s Ministries Communications Specialist Romans 12:1-3 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of [...]

Suzi Pitts 1 Kings 19:11  The Lord said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  It was the spring of [...]

Karen Limmer, St. Luke’s member since 2009 Proverbs 15:18 ESV A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. Romans 8:25 ESV But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Reflection: There are so many Bible verses on patience. It is clear God wants us to be patient. Yet it can be so hard! I am anything but patient. I could burst trying to wait for a response to an email. I easily give up on difficult tasks when I don’t succeed right away. God [...]

Charity Autry, Member since 2008, Families in Faith Sunday School Leader, Starting Point Leader, VBS Chair (Children’s Ministry Council) Philippians 4:11-13, 19 (New International Version) 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who [...]

Shelby Olive 2 Samuel 9:1-11 David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3 The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to [...]

Buddy Fisher, St. Luke’s member Mark 12:28-34 (NIV) 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is [...]

Lavonne Baker, Sister in Christ Genesis 8:13-18 (NIV) “By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth.  Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.  By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.     Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives.  Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you – the birds, the animals, [...]

Robbie McDonough Ephesians 4:31-32 (NRSV) 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Reflection:  When I was a teenager, VHS tapes were hanging on for dear life as a new medium was taking over the movie rental business, the digital video disk (DVD). And while I did not work at Blockbuster, the Mecca of movie rental, I was thrilled when my grocery clerk career skyrocketed, and I was transferred to [...]

Louise McEvoy, Member of St. Luke’s since 2008 1 Samuel 24: 2-7 (CEB) 2 So Saul took three thousand men selected from all Israel and went to look for David and his soldiers near the rocks of the wild goats. 3 He came to the sheep pens beside the road where there was a cave. Saul went into the cave to use the restroom. Meanwhile, David and his soldiers were sitting in the very back of the cave. 4 David’s soldiers said to him, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he promised you, ‘I will hand [...]