Today’s Readings:
Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
Schedule of Services:
Saturday, December 2nd, Great Vespers at 4pm.
Sunday, December 3rd, Divine Liturgy at 10am. Hours begin at 9:40am.
Announcements:
-Thank you to Valli for hosting coffee hour last week. And many thanks to the Cordascos for hosting today.
-Seminarian gifts due today. Have gifts labeled and wrapped. Thank you to all for your generosity!
-A sign up sheet is located on the freezer for our December 24th Holy Supper meal at 3:30pm. Please consider bringing a dish to share. May we enjoy celebrating Christmas together as a parish before the Christmas Eve service begins at 5pm. All are welcome, whether one brings a dish or not. This is a fine opportunity to create Christmas memories, especially for our young ones.
-Please text Robert Fisher at (609) 306-4714 if you would like to visit or are able to bring him to church. His address is 47 Lincoln Ave., Lambertville, NJ.
-Please consider donating to the Building Preservation/Rectory Fund. Sign up is located on the bulletin board. All donations are appreciated.
-Don’t forget the needy. Shop Rite gift cards or non-perishable foods are greatly appreciated.
-The Sisterhood will meet next Sunday, December 3rd. Please make every effort to attend.
-The next Church School dates for children are the Sundays of December 10th and 17th.
Prayers for:
Departed: Paul, Sonya, Walter
Living: Janis, David, Karen, Steven, Archpriest Paul, Melissa, Stephen, Michele, Janet, Teresa, Irina, Victor; Nicole, Rachel, and Alexa, Metropolitan Onuphry and the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; the suffering people and innocent victims of the Ukrainian/Russian war and those being persecuted; the suffering people of Yemen, Syria and Turkey; and the suffering victims of the war in Israel and Palestine.
Words for the Day:
Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you will draw nigh to God. Communicate with those who possess humility, and you will learn morals from them. A man who follows one who loves God becomes rich in the mysteries of God; but he who follows an unrighteous and proud man gets far away from God, and will be hated by his friends.
(St. Isaac the Syrian, Sermon 57,8)
When you want to direct someone toward the good, first put him at peace bodily and honor him with words of love. For nothing inclines such a man to shame and induces him to cast of his vice and be changed for the better as do bodily goods and honor, which he sees in you. Then, with love tell him a word or two, and do not be inflamed with anger toward him. Do not let him see any cause of enmity toward you. For love does not know how to lose its temper.
(St. Isaac the Syrian, Homilies, 85,57).
Next Week’s Readings:
Epistle: Ephesians 5:9-19. Brethren, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Gospel: Luke 18:18-27. At that time, a ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”