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Bountiful Spirit - March 10, 2021

Psalm 78:1–6

Hear my teaching, O my people; 
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable; 
I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us, 
we will not hide from their children.
We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, 
and the wonderful works he has done.
He gave his decrees to Jacob
and established a law for Israel, 
which he commanded them to teach their children;
That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn; 
that they in their turn might tell it to their children;

Reflection by Susan Chambers
Stories – no matter how old or young we are, we love stories. Our Lord knew this about us when he taught so much through parables. No wonder we have a tradition of teaching with stories and spending lots of time on interpreting their meaning. I think that’s part of the lure of teaching through stories. We have to think about how we should apply them to our own lives. God gave us the power to think for ourselves and expects us to use it. The story is the attention-getter. As we live our lives, we interpret the story for our lives at the time.

I was raised in the Church from my beginning. When I was a child, we went to a small evangelical church. As I grew up, I found the Episcopal Church way of worship more meaningful, so I became an Episcopalian. However, I still remember the stories and the hymns of my childhood and they give me comfort. My mind has moved on, my experiences have changed, but my emotions stay where they were when I was a child going to Sunday school, hearing the stories and singing the songs.


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Please join us on Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. for Holy Eucharist.

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Emmanuel Episcopal Church
412 North Church Street
Rockford, IL 61103

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(815) 964-5514

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