Beacon News
March 7, 2021
Third Sunday in Lent
The Fast Life
Anonymous
Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.
Ways to Grow and Learn
The Troubling the Waters group continues the journey to understand our role and the church’s role in the ongoing racial discord that characterizes present-day America.
Thursday, March 11: Pastor Sarah will conclude the Acts study with discussion questions on our current context in the church today with those in our community who differ from us.
Lenten Bible Study—continues on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. Pastor Sarah will lead us in studying the Sunday Bible Readings and going more in depth about them. All are welcome, even if it’s only one evening. On March 31—Pastor Sarah will walk through the last week of Christ, and also teach about Spy Wednesday. Join Us!
Join Zoom Meeting Click HERE
Meeting ID: 830 3957 5321
Passcode: 536720
Some “out of the box” ways to observe Lent this year. Each week we will be sharing another idea to enrich your observance of the season of Lent.
- No Gossiping. Give up gossiping for Lent. That means you cannot do any gossiping. None! If someone says something negative about another person, either say something nice or don’t say anything at all. You would think this is going to be SO easy, but when you can’t say anything negative about anyone else, you realize how often it happens, sadly.
Ways to Connect and Share
Did you miss our Annual Meeting last Sunday?
If you did, you missed a lot! Here is a link to the Annual Report prepared for 2020. Please review it and if you have any questions, please connect with Pastor Sarah. We are thankful to share that the new constitution modifications were accepted, we have our Nominating Committee elected and we have 2 voting members to represent us at our Synod Assembly. Thank you all for your support in 2020.
Our Outreach Committee has created a survey that we would like our fellow Bay Shore friends to complete. It is a short, 10 question survey regarding our current virtual offerings and modes of communication. Thank you for your help in advance. The survey can be found here. The survey will be open for 4 weeks only.
Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, March 14!
Remember to set your clocks one hour ahead next Sunday. We will be live-streaming worship at 10 a.m. but it will also be uploaded to our YouTube channel to be watched at your convenience.
Ways to Serve and Give
The unique and devastating weather events that occurred in the last month in Texas have left enormous needs for the people, from water to food to plumbing.
The ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response is responding now! If you’d like to help, click below.
Help provide a meal to a Hephatha Lutheran family this Easter. Baskets of food will not be possible due to the pandemic again this year. Instead, the Social Ministry Committee is collecting funds for Walmart gift cards to be delivered to families of confirmation students. The goal is $2,000 to provide gift cards for 20 families. Send your donations to Bay Shore Lutheran indicating that it is for the Easter baskets. Drivers are also needed to deliver the gift cards in baskets with Easter activities being prepared by Kids Impacting Communities and Once Upon a Preschool. Thank you!!
Yes, it’s that simple. You shop on Amazon, and Amazon gives a percentage of your purchase to the charity of your choice.
Do you have already an Amazon shopping account? Or Prime? If you do, log into your account on your laptop or computer—you cannot use your smartphone app. Select Bay Shore as your choice of charity, and then use smile.amazon.com.
Come, my Light
Come, my Light,
and illumine my darkness.
Come, my Life,
and revive me from death.
Come, my Physician,
and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of divine love,
and burn up the thorns of my sins,
kindling my heart
with the flame of your love. Amen
Readings for Sunday, March 7, 2021
First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
After escaping from slavery, the Israelites come to Mount Sinai, where God teaches them how to live in community. The Ten Commandments proclaim that God alone is worthy of worship. Flowing from God, the life of the community flourishes when based on honesty, trust, fidelity, and respect for life, family, and property.
1God spoke all these words:
2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3you shall have no other gods before me.
4You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
12Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13You shall not murder.
14You shall not commit adultery.
15You shall not steal.
16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Psalm: Psalm 19
The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes. (Ps. 19:8)
1The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims its maker’s handiwork.
2One day tells its tale to another, and one night imparts knowledge to another.
3Although they have no words or language, and their voices are not heard,
4their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world, where God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5It comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
6It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
7The teaching of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the simple.
8The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.
9The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
11By them also is your servant enlightened, and in keeping them there is | great reward.
12Who can detect one’s own offenses? Cleanse me from my secret faults.
13Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion |over me; then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
The word of the cross is pure foolishness and nonsense to the world because it claims that God is mostly revealed in weakness, humiliation, and death. But through such divine foolishness and weakness, God is working to save us. The center of Paul’s preaching is Christ crucified.
18The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Gospel: John 2:13-22
Jesus attacks the commercialization of religion by driving merchants out of the temple. When challenged, he responds mysteriously, with the first prediction of his own death and resurrection. In the midst of a seemingly stable religious center, Jesus suggests that the center itself has changed.
13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Click here to see our Order of Worship including all readings, to be used at home It includes our hymns, too.
Stay in Touch
Pastor Sarah Stobie [email protected]
Kate Yelvington, Parish Admin [email protected]
Dulcie Shoener, Minister of Music [email protected]
Daniel Ellis, Choir Director [email protected]
We use our “stories” page on our website to share the Beacon,
our weekly online activities and more.
Reader Interactions