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A day for life and for living!

6/24/2022

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If you love the Lord of life and you love the people made in his image you can not help but rejoice at the news that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. I am certainly rejoicing.
In fact, when I heard the news I was at the church and my first impulse was to get up and go to the belfry and ring the bell until the whole town was curious to know what I was on about.  And you might be wondering why I didn't do it after all. 
I didn't ring the bells because in November we are going to be voting on Proposal 5, the remarkably evil and ill-considered amendment to the State Constitution that would make Vermont a place so radically pro-abortion as to horrify even progressive Europeans. The "dialogue" leading up to that vote is going to be intense and will challenge our commitments to civility. Things will be adversarial enough without me striking a strident note of triumphalism now.
I didn't ring the bells because of Abraham Lincoln's wisdom. 
I didn't ring the bells because this is a beginning on the path to justice. It is a long overdue beginning and it is a beautifully welcome beginning, but it is only a beginning. There are homeless families to house, hungry children to feed, distressed parents to equip, fractured institutions to fortify, and deeply entrenched systems of sin to dismantle.
So, believe me, I'm rejoicing. I'm looking for a baby to hold and anoint with my tears of gratitude. 
But my neighbors and fellow citizens who are upset about this decision are not my enemies. The cause of life to which I am devoted extends to the inclusion of their life too. That means that if you are hurting or perplexed or angry about the Supreme Court's decision I can't pretend to feel the same way (personally, I am jubilant) but I do sympathize with how you're feeling and I'm less interested in being your opponent than I am in being your neighbor. 
God bless you, God bless the unborn, and God bless the United States of America.

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Testing Positive for "Man Flu"

5/27/2022

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A newsletter that I subscribe to recently drew my attention to this article about “man-flu.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s used to describe the way in which men’s response to illness is more exaggerated than what you see in women. And men do, in fact, report greater severity of symptoms and longer recovery times than women. But is that because women are stoic and better at enduring pain, or do men experience illness differently?
Increasingly the evidence is suggesting that the difference has to do with testosterone and the way that it suppresses antibody response. It seems that the flu (and many other respiratory illnesses) might actually hit men harder. 
But why? Scientists are always keen to find the evolutionary angle that could account for a development like this and the prevailing hypothesis is that, at a time when the stakes were generally higher, a man who was keenly aware of how a virus had him at a disadvantage would be more likely to stay by the fire than take the huge risk of going on a bear hunt or picking a fight with another man. Engaging in competitive, violent, and physically demanding activities when you are sick can lead to disaster. 
And if this is true about testosterone, it makes as much sense to attribute that feature to the wisdom of a good Creator as to the blind machinations of evolution. So the next time I’m sick I can be a real baby about it and expect for the women in my life to care for me, and if they don’t like it they can take it up with the God who made me, right? Maybe not.
But what does all of this have to do with church?
This is some of what Jesus was getting at when he said that his followers had to be people who “counted the cost.” And being disciplined to count the cost before undertaking something is only helpful if you are accurate in counting the cost. The Russian leadership undoubtedly did an assessment of its strength and of Ukraine's strength before launching an unprovoked attack. But it’s also evident that it did not really understand its own strength relative to that of its opponents or it would have made different decisions than the decisions it made in those fateful days in February. 
Feeling the symptoms of the virus is uncomfortable. Not feeling those symptoms is disastrous. 
We hate, as a church, to be laid low and to feel that the gap between our capacity and our gospel aspirations is too wide to leap across. We want to pick a fight with the forces of darkness in our community, when sometimes it’s all we can do to pull off a successful worship service in the controlled environment of the sanctuary. When chafing at our limitations it is important to remember that the virus is a problem but that the symptoms are a matter of grace.

​

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What to do about tragedy

5/25/2022

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Yesterday we were horrified by the news of another school shooting in Texas. And the gut-wrenching sadness of it was immediately compounded by all of the political noise around it. People wasted no time using the event as a hammer for driving the nail of their preferred policy deeper into the "discourse" and offers of "thoughts and prayers" were angrily rejected as being insufficient or hypocritical. It's bad enough that we have to grieve; worse yet that we must face judgment for how we do so. Did you say too much or too little? Was it too public or too private? Were you virtue signaling? Are you permitted even to care if you are not falling along the correct political lines? It's hard. 
And the temptation can be to compartmentalize your grief and to hide from it all. 

Biblical Response to Tragedy
As an alternative to the exhausting way of the world, we’d like to offer you this biblical approach to responding to tragedy.

1. Mourn. It’s a verb, something that you do, and not just a matter of feeling sad. Matthew 5:4, Ecclesiastes 7:2

2. Leave everything private that can safely remain that way. 1 Thessalonians 4:11

3. Say everything that you need to say and nothing that you don’t.
It is a great temptation in the face of tragedy to respond verbally, and some things need to be said. But even the best words do less good than ill-considered words do harm. James 1:19


4. Don’t look for or accept short cuts and easy answers. Nothing good comes of trying to make short what God left long, or easy what God has permitted to be hard. The valley of the shadow of death is, indeed, long and difficult to traverse, but we have a good traveling companion. Psalm 23

5. Your grief can rot into injury or ripen into resolve. Carefully manage your grief, exposing it to the light of the Lord, to see it mature into a greater resolve to bring about the Kingdom of God, the place where the “shalom,” the peaceful, right-ordering of things prevails under God’s lordship.

6. Pray to God and for God. No grief touches us but that it grieves him also. He does not need us and he does not suffer from lack of our prayer. But he loves us and when we pray about a tragedy we have the opportunity to acknowledge the way in which sin and its direct and indirect effects have touched his Father’s heart. This is the spirit in which many of the Psalms might be prayed.

7. Let grace prevail. Look for opportunities to extend and receive grace. The impulse to publicly demonstrate your concern can run contrary to the interests of grace.

God bless you as you process this most recent tragedy and as you brace yourself for enduring the next one. Our prayer is that you not only experience grace and healing, but that you would become an agent of grace and healing in your community. 

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Wise at War; Reluctant Warriors Under the Banner of Love

5/3/2022

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With news this morning that Roe v Wade might finally be overturned we are bracing ourselves for another convulsion of the endless culture wars, And who feels up for that? Who is so well rested and fortified with strength as to be eager for the fray. 
Those of us who believe that unborn babies should have a chance at living and thriving and those of us who believe that Roe was always bad on its constitutional merits can not help but regard this as good news. But we’re also grieved by the sad awareness that this will only serve to deepen the divisions that already exist between us and so many of our neighbors. 
What does the moment call for?  Does it call for the escalating rhetoric of angry rebuttals? Passive disengagement to focus on the gospel? Should we downplay our convictions to build bridges? If our neighbors regard us as enemies because of our convictions, should we treat them as enemies and devote ourselves to overcoming them? If it must be culture war, can we leave the war for others to fight? What does the moment call for?
Well, this moment requires what every moment does: wisdom. 
We don’t need a winning strategy or a winning roster or a winning argument or a winning mindset or winning power and authority. What we need is the wisdom that God promises to provide those who lack it. 
And this is where we start - we start in humility. We lack wisdom. We always have and always will, apart from God’s generous supply. 
Ask God, personally, for that wisdom. Plead with him for it and wring it out of him with persistent prayer. He will provide it. 
And here are some things I think God has revealed to me about what is wise for us in this moment:
  • It is not wise to be triumphant when the court agrees with me or defeated when it doesn’t.
  • It is not wise for me to make disagreement, however sharply expressed and no matter how important the topic, more personal than it must be. 
  • It is wise for me to go to any length to avoid hypocrisy.
  • It is wise for me to take my opponent’s criticisms of me and my “cause” to heart. I have blindspots and could profit much from their perspective.
  • It is wise for me, as I am able, to make whatever sacrifices virtue might require of me before my opponents get a chance to demand them. If I am committed to the cause of life let me demonstrate that by volunteering at the local pregnancy center, or bringing a meal to a foster family, or becoming a guardian ad litem or any number of other things that demonstrate “skin in the game.”
  • It is not wise for me to believe that if I just did everything right I could get the desired outcome while retaining everyone’s good favor. Jesus did everything right and died for it, against the backdrop of sneering taunts; why should I expect to get along any better?
  • It is not wise for me to downplay my convictions in the hopes that by doing so I might maintain a fragile connection to people who are far from God for the sake of drawing them closer. It is not wise because those people are often more forgiving of my convictions, if lovingly expressed, than I give them credit for. It is not wise because any relationship that is too weak for authenticity is too weak for redemptive transformation. And it is unwise because there is scant evidence to suggest that this approach ever pays off.
There is much more to say on the topic of wisdom, but I’d rather you heard it for yourself from the source. I’d rather that you immerse yourself in scripture and attune yourself receptively to the God of wisdom. And it is my prayer that I and the people of God comport ourselves with wisdom now to make the most of this hour for the sake of God’s glory and for the sake of the most vulnerable people. 

​

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Last Reading of our Exodus Reading Plan for Lent!

4/16/2022

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Consider this as you read today’s chapter

“We end our journey through Exodus on a glorious scene. God's presence so thick in the tabernacle that nobody can enter. I wonder what it must have been like to see and feel the presence of God in that manner. On this journey,  God delievered the Isrealites from slavery, brought them through the Red Sea, gave them the 10 Commandments and other laws for society, and then had them build a tabernacle. And within this journey are prophecies of Jesus coming to dwell with us in the flesh. At different parts in the story we can identify with Moses' frustration and sometimes we behave like the Isrealites. But I hope at the end of this journey we all look a little more like Jesus. How has reading Exodus through the lense of Lent better prepared your heart for Easter?”

Chapter 40
Then the Lord said to Moses: “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
“Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.
“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him.
He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the Lord commanded him.
Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain and set out the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.
Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him.
He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
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5 Reasons to Go to an Easter Service . . . Even if You're not a "Churchgoer"

4/15/2022

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Why Should I Go To Church On Easter?

I hate feeling out of place. If I ever showed up at a gym my "impostor syndrome" would make me sweat long before the exercise equipment ever did. We've all felt that sweaty anxiety of being out of place and it's terrible. 
So I sympathize with people who are interested in trying church but who are concerned that they'll feel that way the day they show up.

But Easter is one of those times when the intrigued and the desperate, the hopeful and the nostalgic have a pretense for overcoming their inhibitions about coming to church. It's the sort of Sunday when you expect the church to be full of unusual attendees.  So here are five good reasons for attending church on Easter, even if you have no intention of going again.

Five Good Reasons for Attending Church on Easter, Even If You Have No Intention of Coming Again:
  1. God is real and he asks us to join others in his worship and makes promises about the blessings we'll enjoy when we do. Easter is as good a time as any to "taste and see that the Lord is good."
  2. As a visitor you might worry about being conspicuous, but Easter is the sort of Sunday where a good church will have prepared for your arrival but where its attention will be focused on Jesus, not you.
  3. Your motivation in visiting a church is less important than God's intention in drawing you. I can't speak for any other church, but if your motivation for visiting mine is to confirm your critical opinion of us, I will welcome you. If you want to show up just to please someone else, I will welcome you. Whatever your private reason for showing up, I will welcome you. 
  4. My worst Sunday morning church experience was still a better use of my time than what I would have been doing otherwise.
  5. Do a simple cost benefit analysis. There is the chance that the service will drag, that you will feel uncomfortably out of place, and that you will end up regretting having gone, in other words that you will have wasted a morning. But there is also the chance that you could end up spending an hour at the intersection of time and eternity having your life changed in the most wonderful way. Let the likelihood of a good outcome outweigh the possibility of a bad one.

And if you've never been to church before and you show up on Easter morning at Furnace Brook I will admire you for it, because this is hard. But it's oh so good. Jesus, the Lord of Life, will certainly reward every step you take in his direction.

​Hope to see you there!

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Exodus Daily Reading, Day 39

4/15/2022

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Consider this as you read today’s chapter

“Did you catch the restoration that God is already beginning at the end of the chapter? In verses 42 & 43 Moses blesses the work of the Isrealites. Just as God blesses the creation back in Genesis, Moses blesses everything the Isrealites accomplished according to God's command. Despite everything that has happened in the Isrealites hearts and everything that's about to happen, their work is blessed. We don't deserve God, but He loves us so much. What's something you feel like God blessed you with? Big or small.”

Chapter 39
From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.
They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.
They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It was square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings. There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.
They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver— and the turban of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.
They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord. Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the Lord commanded Moses.
So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather and the shielding curtain; the ark of the covenant law with its poes and the atonement cover; the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence; the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the olive oil for the light; the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.
The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
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Exodus Daily Reading, Day 38

4/14/2022

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Consider this as you read today’s chapter

“All of these details about the tabernacle can seem over the top or may seem unclear about how this draws us closer to God. Yet In Hebrew, the word tabernacle means "dwelling place". God wanted a place to meet with the Isrealites. He is setting the standard of creating a space of meeting with His people. He ultimately gives us his Son to dwell with us in person. Now we have access to God all the time, not just at church. This definitely beats the gold, silver, yarn, and jewels. How can we better appreciate the small things God does for us?”

Chapter 38
They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze. They made all its utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.
They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
The west end was fifty cubits wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.
The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high, with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.
These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. (Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel— one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.
The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.
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Exodus Daily Reading, Day 37

4/13/2022

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Consider this as you read today’s chapter

“I encourage you to read Hebrews 9:1-10:18 in conjuction with this chapter.  I am drawn to the lampstand in this chapter. The lampstand provided light for the tabernacle but it also is a reminder of the coming Messiah. This lampstand is also you and me. We stand burning, keeping watch, waiting for the Messiah to come again and also shining the light to show others the way. How bright is your light?”

Chapter 37
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
They made the table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. They also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were. The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold. And they made from pure gold the articles for the table—its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.
They made the lampstand of pure gold. They hammered out its base and shaft, and made its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold.
They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it. They made two gold rings below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense—the work of a perfumer.

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Exodus Daily Reading, Day 36

4/12/2022

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Consider this as you read today’s chapter

“What did you learn about generosity in Exodus 36?

How do you see people using their time, possessions, and talents in this chapter? 

In verses 5-7 we read that the craftsman asked Moses to tell the people to stop giving. Why do you think the people were so generous? What does it tell us about their attitude about their possessions? Can giving too much be unhelpful? If so, how?”

Chapter 36
So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”
Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”
Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.
They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames and forty silver bases—two under each frame. They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer; and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.

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    Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church Blog 

    Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church, Pittsford VT


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    Pastor Joel Tom Tate 
    ​Leads Furnace Brook Wesleyan Church and thoroughly enjoys life in the most un-churched state in the Union.

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