St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church
Trenton, New Jersey
St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church is a community of believers that is rooted in God’s unconditional grace and love, striving to share God’s light of hope and salvation to scatter the darkness wherever it is found, through word and deed.
"Not Just Going to Church, but BEING the Church"
Click Here For
Reopening information &
Upcoming Events!!
Outdoor Worship
September 26th 11:00AM
Sunday Bulletin (Click on PDF)
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
At the same time faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We continue to listen to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.
Faith A living, daring confidence in God’s grace. When we about faith, we are talking about the relationship God’s Holy Spirit creates with us. It’s a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service to everyone we know and meet in daily life.
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
Worship
Sundays
In Person &
FB Live:
11:00am
BIBLE STUDY
UNTIL WE’RE ABLE TO MEET AT CHURCH AGAIN, THE GOSPEL READING FOR THE COMING SUNDAY AND SOME QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT WILL BE POSTED EVERY WEDNESDAY. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU SHARE YOUR OWN ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS BY EMAILING THEM TO:
ALL OF OUR RESPONSES WILL BE COMPILED (ANONYMOUSLY) AND ADDED TO THE POSTING ON SATURDAY. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE GOSPEL READING EACH WEEK AND CHECK OUT THE RESPONSES EACH SATURDAY!
BIBLE STUDY FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 ,2021
PRAYER: Holy Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts and minds to receive all that You want us to learn. As we read your word, shine on us the light of your truth. May we gain a deeper understanding of who You are and what your will is in each of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
CONTEXT: This week’s reading picks up right where last week’s left off. Jesus may even still be holding the little child from last week. Jesus is still teaching the disciples, and we will see Him calling them to a more inclusive vision. Some of these verses may seem a bit gruesome, but Jesus is obviously speaking in symbolic terms. As we know, He often uses the strongest language to teach the most important lessons.
READING: Mark 9:38-50
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
42 “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Reading verse 38, why do you think the disciples objected to the man who was casting out demons? Was it based on righteous indignation, human frailty, or both? Explain.
How have you seen other Christians (maybe ourselves?) falling into the same trap? ‘What is the danger to the Christian church?
2. How would you put Jesus’ response in verses 39-40 into your own words? What is the criteria Jesus would have us use in determining whether someone’s teachings or actions should be welcomed as authentically Christian, or opposed as corrupt?
3. What does it mean to “bear the name of Christ” in verse 41? Do you “bear the name of Christ”? How can people see it in your words and actions? When might you fall short?
4. Who is Jesus referring to as “little ones” in verse 42? What does He mean by a “stumbling block”? Give some examples.
5. What is it specifically about your “hand” that might cause you to sin? What is it about your “foot”? What is it about your “eye”? Give examples from your own experience?
6. What does it mean that “everyone will be salted by fire”? What is the “salt”? What is the “fire”?
7. How might our “salt” lose its “saltiness”? What are some things we can do to ensure that we continue to maintain our “saltiness”?
8. Can you identify three lessons in this reading that could truly benefit our church community at St. Bart if we were to take them to heart? What would that look like in practical terms?
Services will be held in person and streamed
on our Facebook page live.
Click on the Blue icon below!
FALL 2021 NEWSLETTER
IS HERE!
Click on the link Below!
