Adult Faith Formation
Still Waters: January 17, 2026
Still Waters Fellowship takes place around a good meal and the exploration of one or more of the traditional practices that can help us grow in our relationship to God. All are welcome! RSVPs are encouraged in the interest of meal planning.
Our next gathering will be on Saturday, January 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the home of Roger Parker. For more information or to RSVP to Roger, click on the link below.
Bible Study: January 2026
We meet every Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. in the church library. Our hour consists of communal prayer, attention to scripture as it applies to our lives, and fellowship.
Topic for January: The Plan of God, Our Place in It, and Scripture
"From before time began God has had a plan: that humankind will have a
place
in God's Kingdom."
Our modern Bible gives us the story, the plot, the plan which was conceived by the
God whose presence was before, now and will be forever. The Plan begins with the act of Creation, the
Moment of Creation. In the Christian Bible the Plan ends with the Book of Revelation which tells of the last
moments of the earthly Kingdom of God. Between the beginning and the end we find the Moment of
Redemption: the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Our study will be based on the people who advance what we could call the plot, or story line. We will
think/meditate about these folks, most of whom with names we will recognize. They will be found with
characteristics which we can find by looking into our own mirrors. They will also be a particular "people"
whom God chose to put the Plan into place.
You will need a Bible to perhaps use at home and in our meetings to use with the study sheets which
will be available each week. This method and design will be different from what we have been using for the
last 14 or so years and we will have a new framework for our understanding of scripture and why we have it as a
tool.
Suggestion.....give it a try...you may like it. The subject of God is a non-ending mystery unsolvable in
this life. But it is an excellent topic of conversation. And a system for spiritual growth.
Psalm of the week for January 18: Psalm 40, Expectans, expectavi (to await, to be expectant)
God is busy in psalm 40. The business comes from some sort of difficulty for the human that only
the Holy One can help. God stooped to help, heard a cry, lifted out of desolate pit and out of mire and clay,
and made footing sure. Look at the mood that caused the human struggle and the response that God made.
How does a person find a way out of despair? Can it be that there are more responses from God that
we can imagine? Have you ever felt the "swooping" of God? In what sort of moment? Are we able to help
others and what sort of skill set do we have to be this help? Note that the verses in psalm 40 switch around
rather like this person has quick switches from being delighted in God to turning back to despair.
The "roll of the book" is a heavy gift requiring a will that enables one to keep God's law deep in the
heart. We must work at righteousness. We must speak of the faithfulness of God and identify the Holy One
by repeating "You are the Lord". Think about the ways in which God nurtures one who has suffered and is
then restored to joy. What can we do for ourselves to come back to joy from despair? A psalm is a prayer. We
pray a psalm. In the 150 psalms all our experiences can be found and all of our moods.
A good thing to do... write your own prayer which can sustain you in times that are low and
challenging. Think that not many words are needed. Sometimes it is only one word.
Amen.