Scripture is taken from the Book of Common Prayer, Readings for Epiphany & Ordinary Time Until Lent, Year 2 and may be found here.
Psalm 93
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.
The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea — the Lord on high is mighty.
Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.
Romans 12: 1 – 8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Mark 10: 13 – 22
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
***
***
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you from the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.
***
Feel free to join the discussion.
You can share your church struggles and concerns.
Let’s also use it as a time to encourage one another spiritually.
What have you found spiritually encouraging lately?
Do you have any special Bible verses to share, any YouTube songs that you have found uplifting?
Spiritual Sounding Board 
I just read Greg Morse’s article on Some Wounds Never Heal. I hope someone could tell him how I appreciated it. I also want everyone to know how families are being destroyed through estrangement. There are millions of us now. We were fortunate to have our only granddaughter in our lives for 17 yrs. Sadly our daughter told us 9-7-15 that she no longer wanted us in her life. We were so close, had so many good times. We were told by a good friend, or I should say x-friend because her husband kicked her out of our daughter’s life too. She will not speak to us – she has blocked us as far as home phone number, facebook, e mails. My husband and I have been married for over 55 years; our daughters were raised in a Christian home. We were not perfect, but we did our best. Our girls were never abused, never hungry, never badly clothed. We had a log house on 10 acres w/horses for the girls – dogs, cats, mountains for hiking etc. Nevertheless we get nothing but silence which a Christian write has called “sanitized murder.” My husband is now 80 – I hear him crying occasionally; I cried every day the 2nd year. We are all closer to God – we know He will bring good out of this. We are resigned to never see this daughter in this world and are concerned about her salvation. We are just sad people and our hearts will always be broken. We still volunteer t church and do things for others. There are many who have never held a grandchild – Joshua Coleman has written extensively about this. I hope more churches will take this up and pray loudly and courageously. Thank you
LikeLike