God's Word in Action: Ask the Pastor BLOG
Welcome to this new resource! At the suggestion of God's Word in Action (GWIA) subscribers, we are expanding this resource to include the opportunity to ask questions of our Pastors regarding their sermons, weekly Bible lessons for Sunday or any other faith/Bible based topics.
To best facilitate the question and answer process and to best share the benefits of all questions and answers with anyone who subscribes, we have choosen an interactive tool called a "BLOG". Short for "web log", the BLOG format allows for you to view the sermon summary from each weekly edition of GWIA and ask questions and view answers.
How to Use the "GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG":
- Scroll down the page to find the GWIA edition you wish to ask a question about. Note that the newest week (date) appears on top.
- Click the comments link under the sermon summary to ask your question.
- A new "Post Comments" form is displayed below the edition you want to ask a question about. Note the other weeks are temporarily out of view.
- Type a name. Even though a name is required, "Anonymous" and "Guest" are perfectly acceptable if you wish to ask your question anonymously.
- Type your email address. Also required but will not be publically displayed.
- Skip the Website field as it is NOT required.
- Type your question in the Comments Box.
- Click the "Add Comments" button at the bottom to submit your question. Your question now appears below the related GWIA edition.
- Click the <<back to the blog link to return to the BLOG and close the Post Comments box.
- Questions are reviewed and answered by our Pastors which can take anywhere from an afternoon up to 2 days in the event of questions posted on Fridays or Saturdays.
How to View Your Answer:
- Return to the GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG by clicking the Question Button in one of your weekly GWIA emails -OR- by visiting the All Saints home page and clicking the "view the current edition" link in the subscription box.
- Scroll down to view the GWIA edition you asked a question about and click the "Comments" link.
- This displays all the questions and answers posted for this edition.
- Once you have completed your review, you can click the <<back to the blog link and return to the complete list of weekly editions. From here you may choose to view other questions and answers posted for other edition, etc.
Questions about or difficulities with the BLOG:
Contact Bobbie Tomasek at btomasek@allsaintsphoenix.org or Gina King at ginaking@allsaintsphoenix.org
August 6 Edition: Interruptions
Matthew 14: 13-14 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
This Gospel reading from Matthew takes place right after Jesus finds out about the death of John the Baptist. His instinct, like any of ours might be, was to deal with his grief alone and in some "deserted place." He needed to get away, to be alone in his thoughts, so he went out on a boat. Instead of the crowds of people taking the hint and leaving him be, they waited at the shore for him. Yet he didn't respond to them with anger or hostility as might be expected in the situation. He responded instead with "compassion" and empathy.
By word and example Jesus has charged his church and his people to respond similarly to "interruptions." Interruptions are part of life: a death , an accident, a job loss, a family member in need. To all of these "interruptions" Jesus instructs us to respond with compassion. Even on a small scale -- a child asking for attention while you are working on the computer (that one just came to me off the top of my head), a spouse needing a hand with something, a customer demanding assistance when you are focused on another project, a parent requesting that you run a small errand -- to all of these Jesus instructs us to be present and responsive, to be the voice of hope and encouragement, to be the compassionate ones.
Listen to the Audio Sermon for this week
