by Rev Robert A. Wendel
“O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64-8 NRSV).
“The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7 NRSV)
My first fall at Princeton Seminary in 1976 I selected one or two scripture verses to focus on during the following 11 or 12 months and did the same for the next two years.
After my graduation, I decided to make an annual pick each January or February for the coming year. I keep that written on the extra blank pages of the Bible I carried to each class on the Old or New Testament.
What scripture versus would you decide to keep in mind as we begin a New Year? Would your selection highlight one of God’s many promises or focus on words you’d find particularly encouraging based upon what you think might happen to you in the coming three hundred plus days?
One rule for your pic, you may designate any verse only once as the years fly by. During my pastorate in Arcade, New York our church youth group enjoyed this yearly exercise. The favorite verses with a brief comment in somethings printed in the Guideposts Magazine founded by Dr. Peale, currently published in Carmel, New York.
A suggestion. Collect written responses from any adult Sunday School class or week-day Bible Study on the question, “What is your favorite verse?” You’ll be amazed at all the great answers you’ll read! Share them during the next session. My personal choices for 2018 open this month’s pastoral essay.
My wish for 2018 for everyone and our congregations is that we read and preach more Bible. For Christians young and old there’s simply no better resource to use to shape and mold our lives!