Pastor Mark BerlinJuly 21st 2019
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. 6And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.' 7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the expanse 'sky.' And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. 9And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so. 10God called the dry ground 'land,' and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good.
7Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, LORD, I will seek. 9Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. 13I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 24Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 41'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'