Romans 12: 4-13

⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸ the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

⁹ Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

We are only the body of Christ together, we need one another in this time. We all have different needs and those needs may change as we go through this time.  We are trying to anticipate those needs and I’ve been talking to lot’s of people over the last couple days, but I can use your help.

Today I have a couple very pragmatic and practical things in this reflection. First I’ve attached the directory, and we’ve also placed it online at https://rejoicefrisco.com/Pages/DirectoryUpdate.htm which is under the about us tab at the top of the website. First I’d like you to check your information is correct and if you either don’t have a picture or would like to change your picture you can email a new picture to communications@rejoicefrisco.com. What I’d like you to consider is looking at the people around you in the directory and call, email or text someone you know and someone you don’t know well. Doesn’t need to be much, could be something as simple as “This is Neil (or insert your name), just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you today.” It’s a simple act of staying connected to your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Secondly, I asked Adam to create a link on our website to request or to offer assistance. We don’t know exactly what the next several weeks will bring, but there may be needs that arise in our congregation or in our community. Perhaps someone is close to running out of toilet paper and someone else has a case, perhaps someone needs help with something at their home. The link on our website is https://rejoicefrisco.com/Pages/Assistance.htm and it is one of the rotating links on our main page. Please feel free to share this in the local community. We’ve reached out to a couple local organizations, like schools, but we also wanted to be ready to adjust as we move through this uncharted time.

Being that today is St. Patrick’s day and while people may not be drinking green beer today, we can close today with a prayer attributed to St. Patrick.

St. Patrick’s Prayer

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.

Tomorrow we will broadcast our normal Wednesday night service as our video. I will send out the words and the song that comes from our hymnal but since Joyous Light, the service we use, falls outside our normal copyright license I cannot make the music available. If you’d like to take a copy of the service you can pick one up at church for your use, the building will be open 9-3 today and tomorrow.