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First Presbyterian Church of Mount Clemens

“So, I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10

Dear Friends,


As we begin a new season in the church, it is good and right to think about what we mean when we pray “give us this day, our daily bread.” It is all about God’s provision. If we see God as a parent, we know that if we have a need, God will provide exactly what we need. The scripture verse above proves the case. Ask and it will be given to you. Knock and the door will be opened.


When Moses took the Israelites into the wilderness, the people realized that the provisions they had available to themselves in Egypt were not present in this place. They complained about the conditions in the wilderness. They now were faced with basic physiological needs. They were concerned with their food resources. We can understand this if we or people we know wonder where their next meal will come from. Bread is the most basic food of life. In those days, every family was careful to bake bread to have it readily available. Whenever I travel, whether it is by plane, train, or car, I make sure that I bring basic provisions like something to eat and drink. When Moses brought their complaints to God, God responded by giving them manna in the mornings, quail in the evenings and water to quench their thirsts.


When Jesus was with over five thousand people, he decided to feed them instead of sending them off to find their own provisions. When Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life, he was saying, “All that you need, I myself will provide.” But what does this mean? Is it only limited to food and drink?


In the devotional “The Lord’s Prayer” the author reminds us about the hierarchy of needs developed by Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970).

·        The first level of need is physiological: food, shelter, and sleep.

·        The second level up is that of safety and security: body, employment, health, and property.

·        The third level is belonging: love, affection, family, friendship, and intimacy.

·        The fourth level is esteem: achievement, confidence, position in a group, and status.

·        And the final fifth level is self-actualization: achieving individual potential.


The author says, “we might believe the top of the pyramid is stepping fully into our anointing and calling to live our life on purpose for God.”


However, it must be all consuming for those who are stuck on the first few levels to be able to achieve or even maintain self-actualization. Increased costs are causing people to have to make choices about how they use their financial resources. John and I faced times of scarcity whether it was income, employment, health, and community.  There were times when we robbed Peter to pay Paul. We found though that if we put our trust in Jesus, every need would work out in time. And so far, God has not let us down. Things may have worked out differently as we would have liked, but what we did receive was better than we could ever have imagined.


As we head into the fall, I hope you will keep in mind something that is in our Book of Order, and that is that God gives to the church everything it needs. We may feel like we are in a time of scarcity but when we trust in Jesus to provide for us personally and corporately, we open ourselves up to a season of great abundance.


May we have that kind of faith and trust now and forever.


I thank God for you,

Pastor Kathy

By Kathlyn Nealand 23 Aug, 2024
As we begin a new season in the church, it is good and right to think about what we mean when we pray “give us this day, our daily bread.” It is all about God’s provision. If we see God as a parent, we know that if we have a need, God will provide exactly what we need. The scripture verse above proves the case. Ask and it will be given to you. Knock and the door will be opened.
By Kathlyn Nealand 31 Jul, 2024
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“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV)
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You have found a Bible that you want to read. But where do you start? There are many programs out there that helps a person to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in one year. I would not recommend this approach without understanding how the Bible is laid out. In both the Old and New Testament, the books are broken down by category. In addition, there are various sources that have influenced the content of these books. Even though we believe that the Bible is inspired by God, there are different voices that tell God’s story from their perspective. Scholars believe there are four sources of material that makes up the Old Testament. (Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly). For the beginner, what is most important to keep in mind, is that if you see a story repeat, or you sense a change in the language, the differences may be because you are hearing the different voices. For instance, there are two creation stories. The first one is believed to come from the oral tradition of the Elohist and the second comes from the Yahwist. In Genesis 1, God is seen as a distant figure, while in Genesis 2, God is personally involved in what is happening in the Garden of Eden. Read them for yourself while thinking about the differences and similarities are between them. Listen for the different voices. The first five books are considered the Torah or The Law books. They begin with the creation of this world and continue with the story of the early people including when God gave Moses the laws for the people to live by. They are: Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy The next books are the History books of the Old Testament. Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther The next category are the Wisdom books: Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon The last section are the books of the Major and Minor Prophets. Hint: The minor prophets are not minor in their importance, only in their length. Isaiah Jeremiah lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahem Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zachariah Malachi This website gives a brief description of each of these books. https://www.biblestudytools.com/books-of-the-bible/ Now that you have an idea of the categories, you might want to start with Genesis, Exodus and the history book. Inspirational readings can be found in the Wisdom books, in particular the Psalms. Whatever direction you choose to go in, you should read the introduction section for each book, so that you have a better idea of content, context, and purpose. Have fun! Next week I will cover the New Testament.
By Kathlyn Nealand 26 Apr, 2024
The oldest and most purchased book is the Bible. It is filled with wonderful stories of our ancestors that include family drama, conflict, wars, poetry, songs, prayers, mysteries, and miracles. Interwoven throughout is the story of God’s faithfulness, love, patience, wisdom, grace, judgment, and forgiveness. For anyone wishing to take a deep dive into these sacred stories, the first step is choosing a translation that best helps the reader to understand and interpret the message. Since the invention of the printing press, there have been a plethora of different translations written that are based on the original source documents and put into the language of the people. Each generation and each faith community have their favorite go-to version. The list below shows the most common or popular versions that a reader may want to consider when choosing what version they will use to begin their study. We recommend that a reader use Biblegateway.com to check out each version before purchasing a Bible. BibleGateway gives more options to consider, but this is a good beginning. The Top 10 Best Selling Protestant Bibles 1. New International Version (NIV 2. King James Version (KJV) 3. New Living Translation (NLT) 4. English Standard Version (ESV) 5. New King James Version (NKJV) 6. Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 7. Reina Valera (RV Spanish) 8. New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 9. The Message 10. Nueva Verson International (NVI Spanish) You can find descriptions about these and other Bibles at Bible Versions and Translations Online (biblestudytools.com) . One of our favorites is the Voice Bible (2012). Here is a description: The Voice™ is a faithful dynamic equivalent translation that reads like a story with all the truth and wisdom of God's Word. Through compelling narratives, poetry, and teaching, The Voice invites readers to enter the whole story of God, enabling them to hear God speaking and to experience His presence in their lives. It is written for the new reader and combines historical and study notes. Have fun selecting a version that works best for you. It can also be helpful to have a couple of different versions that can add to your understanding. We at First Presbyterian have the New Revised Standard Version in the pews but often read from other versions during worship and Bible studies. Our next blog will give the reader next steps in reading the Bible.
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