The Next Eight Wednesdays at Sixth Church

I've been having more ideas for Wednesday readings than I can handle, and I'm sure I'll use most of them sometime, but here is the agenda through the end of 2009. I'm sure there will be more notes to come, and I will put them on the blog. Here, titles are in bold, topics in all-caps.

11/11
War To End All Wars
November 11 is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that concluded "the war to end all wars." It seems it didn't accomplish that end, and so the name of the holiday was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans' Day in the USA and to Remembrance Day in the UK and elsewhere. The lesson will demonstrate, among other things, the impossibility of using war/sin/crime/evil/error to end war/sin/crime/evil/error.

11/18
The Bible: Our Precious Treasure
National Bible Week is November 22-28.
This title alludes to the opening phrase of Hymn #114, with which we will open the service. (It's also a harbinger of Christmas, being the tune of "The Friendly Beasts.")
Please ponder the attributes of the Bible that this hymn praises.

11/25
From Froward To Toward: Disobedience to Full Obedience
Dictionary definitions:
froward: habitually inclined to disobedience
toward: primarily, in the direction of. But if "untoward" means "difficult to guide, manage, or work with" or "marked by trouble or unhappiness," might not "toward" imply just the opposite? 

And of course, poet John Milton is never far from my thought, especially as I reread Paradise Lost in full or in part in May and November when the Adam lesson comes 'round. This time I focused on Book IX, where the Serpent's arguments convinces Eve and "Earth felt the wound," and Books XI and XII, which deal with the seven deadly sins and the virtues that obliterate them--themes of my reading last Wednesday. So, if mankind lost Paradise through "One man's disobedience" (PL I.1) it is restored "By one man's full obedience fully tried/ Through all temptation" (Paradise Regain'd I.4,5) which lines are echoes or allusions to Romans 5:17-19 and I Corinthians 15:20-22--which I used in the Scriptural Selection last Sunday.


December has five Wednesdays, four of which fall during the season of Advent.

Last year during Advent we considered some the the things of which Jesus said "I am the ____".

This year we'll focus on the celebration of Christmas. It cries out for a more spiritual sense of the things we cherish about this season--and which seem sometimes to cause friction and trouble. Please ponder these topics and be prepared to give testimonies centered upon them.  Titles are drawn from familiar hymns.


12/2
MUSIC
"Heaven and nature sing" (417)

12/9
GIFTS
"The wondrous gift is given" (222)

12/16
FAMILY, FOOD, FUN
"Keep while ye need it, brothers mine" (170)

12/23
LIGHT AND ANGELS
"The midnight clear" (158)

12/30
nEW YEAR'S DAY
"Thy mercies are new every morning" (Psalms, many occurrences of this trope)


I look forward to a season to be jolly, grateful, healed and healing!