MAC KIRK

I Want to Know True Wisdom in my Life” James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37 James’ words today reminds me of the words from Ecclesiastes and the search for wisdom. Solomon did not find wisdom in great houses, great gardens or in dining with fine wine, or in great strength. In our search for true wisdom we have often stopped at one of these things and stayed there in that house. But we did not find wisdom there for long. Solomon finds that the end of the matter was ,” Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the whole duty of man.” 12:13 James is all about the application of our wisdom that we profess we have. James says our Christian lives must be shown in good conduct, or as the KJV has it “ who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” 3:13 Matthew Henry was a Puritan preacher and a Presbyterian whose father Philip Henry had been thrown out of the Church of England because he would

Isaiah 50:4-9a; James 3:1-12; Psalm 116:1-8;Mark 8:27-38 Listening . This is one fact of what our Scriptures are about today. “ Listening is one of the best gifts one human can give another. It requires our full attention. It calls for a mind-set of appreciation, curiosity and wonder for the other person. We can’t be thinking about what we are going to say in response, or how we would handle the situation , or what’s going on at work or at home. We must let go of our own agenda for the moment, which is not an easy thing to do.” From Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening by Lindhal. When Jesus asked the disciples “ Whom do men say that I am?” The responses were basically “ one of the prophets”. They were disappointing. Peter did get it right of course. But then he reversed himself when Jesus told the disciples about the His coming sacrifice and resurrection. In fact “ Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.” 8:32 Mark This got me thinking to how we deal with disappointment and

Mercy Is 35:4-7a;Ps 146;James 2:1-10,14-17;Mark 7:24-37 Confession – Why is this a part of our service each Sunday? Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, Lord. We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, Lord. We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives, We confess to you, Lord. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, Lord. Our anger at our