Greetings, and welcome to another Midweek Manna. This coming Sunday, we will once again be worshiping on our church courtyard. So, we hope you will join us either here, online, or in-person. You can sign up to worship in person with us at mvpchurch.org. This coming Sunday, we will be celebrating the gifts of motherhood. Of course it is Mother’s Day, so we will be looking at the passage of the Syrophoenician woman. That is Mark 7:24-30. In these six verses a lot, a lot happens. We meet Jesus at a very humane moment, in which it appears that He is hangry, or hungry and angry, and doesn’t really want to be bothered. Yet, a Syrophoenician woman, a Gentile, comes upon Him and even is moved when challenged by Jesus to leave Him alone, essentially, to say that, “I can’t be left alone, I need Your help.”
Because this mother, this woman, has a daughter that is demon possessed, has an unclean spirit. So moved by her faith and moved to overcome the differences of the time and of the era in which both Mark was written as well as in the time in which Jesus lived, He responds to this woman’s faithfulness by healing her daughter. So, we will celebrate the woman that is the Syrophoenician, we will celebrate this daughter for whom Jesus saved, and we will celebrate the divinity of Christ that, yes, can come in a myriad of fashions, both extremely high and exalted, as well as I stated here, in a really much like you and I might find ourselves even in our worst moments. So, a lot to wrap up, but a lot to celebrate, nonetheless, as we joined together to celebrate Mother’s Day. — Barrett
The music for this Sunday features the best of both worlds. From the traditional hymns of Ralph Vaughan Williams, all the way to the contemporary music of the band Guardian. Like the Sun, that song was featured on Guardian’s 1996 album Swing, Swang, Swung. Guardian, a Christian band, they were formed in the 1980s. The beauty of this song, the way the lyrics are crafted, they can speak to us in many, many different ways. Whether we are searching and feel the need for love and comfort from God, or our partner, or in the spirit of Mother’s Day, our mother, these lyrics can speak to you. I look forward to sharing that, as well as all the other music with you this Sunday. — Matthias
In our mid-weekly rhythms of scripture and song, we now turn to prayer. Let us go to God together in prayer for this week and for our worship service ahead. Loving God, be in my head and in my understanding. God, be in my eyes and in my looking. God, be in my mouth and in my speaking. God, be in my heart and in my thinking. God, be at my end and at my departing. Amen. Friends, we look forward to seeing you this Sunday out in the courtyard at 11:00 AM. Peace. — Isaac