And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” – 1 Samuel 3:10
Today may be election day, but it is also our scheduled men’s Bible study. I can think of no better way to begin a day in American history that is potentially so fraught than in prayer and a spirit of mutual encouragement.
This is America, after all; we are a nation built on the ideal that we do our best to listen to every voice, and that we trust one-another in the process. I had a friend once who broke trust in his marriage; what was lost in just a few days took literally years to build back. Undermining trust for short-term gain is a long-term losing strategy for everyone.
Undermining trust for short-term gain is a long-term losing strategy for everyone.
So I thought I would share the email I sent the guys Sunday afternoon in preparation for today.
Good afternoon, y’all. Here it is, Sunday, and we have just finished not only worship but taking communion together. In the Presbyterian Church the table is “open” meaning that Jesus is God’s invitation and sharing the Lord’s Supper is about unity and about being grateful for what Jesus continues to do for us.
I can’t think of a better backdrop than communion for the message of unity and peace that I pray all of us live into this week. Vote. Vote your conscience and then grant your neighbor their conscience too.
We live in the greatest country on the face of this planet, and we have the most genuinely non-partisan voting system too. Not perfect in every detail, of course, but with enough fail safes built in that I feel confident, regardless if my favored candidates win or not – Democrat or Republican or Independent or otherwise. I have seen the work of local election boards (and they are all local) first hand and I have nothing but respect for the public service these good people do.
Mostly I want us to pray for one-another, and give each other the love and encouragement we all need. But we will also look at my next pivotal scripture reading, 1 Samuel Chapter 3:1-10.
See you Tuesday morning. And, with all my heart, “God bless America.” – Derek
We met at 7:30 this morning, twenty-four men committed to things in this order: Faith, family, nation. Party affiliation? I don’t believe that should even break into the top-ten!
We talked about what it means to listen. First, we must listen to God, and that is not possible if all we ever do in prayer is air our list of demands. Samuel could not in good conscience say, “Speak Lord” unless, first, he was listening. Listening patiently, listening honestly, listening with his heart, listening with faith in God first and self way down the line – maybe not even breaking into the top-ten.
We finished up our session this morning by listening to the following song by Steven Curtis Chapman. Take a listen. What he says is important.
Peace – and I mean that in every way – DEREK
It’s delusional to think that there is no fraud happening.
I respect the work of the election boards, the judgments of the federal judges who rejected the false claims in 2020-21, and the history of free and fair elections in this country. The alternative is to believe misinformation and made-up “facts” from the people who lost. Sorry, but it doesn’t make sense to reject our Constitution and the checks and balances in place.
Pretty rich coming from someone who describes himself as a socialist in church.
Either fraud is rampant or whe have incredibly dumb electorate. That’s how we got Biden and then the switch to Kamala. Holy Cow.
The dems would love to pack the SC and do away with the Bill of Rights. That’s the biggest rejection of the US Constitution.
Nope – not me. You must be confused – addled. Personally I love the Bill of Rights. I can’t speak for “the dems”!
You’re registered as a Dem.
And, of course, everything going on with Jenna Griswold in Colorado is on the “up and up.”