Seventh Sunday after Pentecost- Week of July 11, 2021

Begin your devotion time by praying this prayer: Dear God, we praise you for all of the blessings you give us in life. Help us be thankful for those blessings, and to be a blessing to others, too.

Reflect on the Way of Love together: This week’s practice on the Way of Love is BLESS. God blesses us to be a blessing to other people. How can you share your blessings with others this week?

Adult and Small Child

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14

Reflect: You were loved before you were born. Even before God’s big bang-- before a voice spoke the universe into being--you were loved. Even before time, God loved you and was making plans to give you good gifts. God has a plan to make the world more wonderful and you are part of that plan! There are not enough words or enough stories to know everything about God; still, God wants you to know about God’s own self. You make mistakes, but God has a plan to forgive you and get you back to new. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less. There is nothing you must do to make God love you more. Here is a surprise: Not everyone knows that God loves them like this. But now you know, and you can bless your friends and family members. God loves you on your worst days just as much as on your best days.

Respond: We can bless people around us by loving them in the way God made them to be loved. God has given each person a love language. You can learn more about this in Gary Chapman’s 2016 book, The Five Love Languages for Kids. Some people feel blessed by a hug or a pat on the back. Others might feel blessed by a happy note in a lunchbox or a kind word. A little help, please, is the way to bless some people you love. Work is more fun when we do it together. Spending time together is one way to show God’s love and bless each other. God gives us gifts and sometimes we give gifts to each other too. When we love people in the way God made them to be loved, we are part of God’s plan to make the world more wonderful.

Adult and Elementary

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14

Reflect: This week’s passage reminds us all the good gifts we receive because we are a part of God’s family. God sent Jesus to live with us and teach us and give us the gift of salvation. Because of our relationship with Jesus, we also have the gifts, or ‘blessings,’ of forgiveness and grace and the promise that one day we will get to be with God. In the Way of Love, we learn that a blessing is something done or given unselfishly out of love. God gives us “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3, NRSV) out of love. Members of our church community also bless us by helping us learn about God, so we can know about all the blessings God wants to give us. Who are the people in your life that have helped you know God better? Who has prayed with you or helped you learn your favorite Bible stories and understand what they mean? Think about those people as being special blessings that God brought into your life.

Respond: Make a list of people who have helped you learn about God. Write them a short note or make them a card thanking them for being a blessing in your life and unselfishly helping you learn about God’s love and all the gifts it brings. Make sure to tell each person what you learned from them sharing their faith. Is there something you can do for them in return as an unselfish gift? Perhaps preparing a small snack, a craft, or a drawing of a decorated cross. Make at least one extra gift and share it with someone you would like to do something kind for. You can let this new person know because God gave you love and forgiveness you want to share that good news with someone else. You can be a blessing to someone in your community too!

- Carla Christopher Wilson

Adult and Youth

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14

Reflect: This section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians follows the salutation and would be where a formal thanksgiving might be expected. Paul’s thanksgiving begins with a proclamation of a blessing upon God in response to the myriad of ways that God has blessed God’s people. The culmination of these blessings is being marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. One way to think of the gift of the Holy Spirit is to consider and be aware of God’s presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit is a gift of grace; that is, a sign and promise of God’s unmerited favor and self-giving love. When a priest pronounces God’s blessing at the end of the Eucharist, the priest is pronouncing God’s peace and presence. To go with God’s blessing is to go with the knowledge of God’s presence and that God is with you. This helps us see the world through a different lens, knowing that God is with us through all the graces and challenges of life; all the highs and all the lows. How might you walk through the world differently knowing that you are marked as God’s beloved and that God is always with you?

Respond: Think of three people who you believe embody God’s presence in your life. It could be that they are a constant, positive presence in your life. It could also be someone who was present and supportive during a tough time of life. Write them a handwritten note of gratitude, sharing how they were God’s presence for you and thanking them for being a blessing to you.

- Dorian Del Priore

Adult and Adults

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14

Reflect: One of the most beautiful things about life in Christ is that we know how the story ends. The story ends with us worshiping God in the new heavens and new earth. Paul tells us in this passage that God chose us before the foundation of the world. This is good news. Through Jesus we receive every spiritual blessing. The normal stresses and pains of life, though very real, pale in comparison to the goodness of God in our lives. And you know what else? The blessings we receive in Jesus aren’t for us alone. We are to be a blessing to others. This is the true beauty of the Christian life. We follow Jesus in his divine example of selflessness and we seek to be a blessing to others. It is by our good works that the world will know we are his. This is the greatest witness we can offer this world.

Respond: This week, look for some people to bless. It doesn’t have to be monetarily; it can be as simple as holding the door for someone or offering to pray for them. The point is to let the love of Christ that dwells in you flow out into the world.

- CJ Quartlbaum