The joys and challenges of following Jesus.

Collect: Proper 16

Grant, we beseech thee, merciful God, that thy Church, being gathered together in unity by thy Holy Spirit, may manifest thy power among all peoples, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, world without end, Amen

1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43 . . . Solomon expresses his service of God at the dedication of the Jerusalem temple

Psalm 84  . . . the Journey to The Divine Face

or

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 with Psalm 34:15-22 . . .  Joshua  leads the people of Israel in the choice to follow God

and

Ephesians 6:10-20 . . .Paul exhorts Christians to protect themselves with the armor of God.

John 6:56-69 . . . Jesus’ words cause many to turn away from him, but the twelve disciples recognize his teaching as the words of eternal life.

Sermon by Rachel May, Pastor of Boulevard United Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia, preaches a sermon on the Gospel lesson from John 6:56-69. “Jesus has known all along that his ministry would repel as well as attract,” she says. “’Blessed are those whom I do not offend,” Jesus acknowledges elsewhere in the gospels. It hurts to think about people leaving because we know that when people do leave, it hurts. People leave in John 6.” But leaving isn’t the whole story. “Some of the disenchanted go away,” May says, “But others go deeper.