OREMUS for Wednesday, July 2, 2008

O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
ruler of all hearts,
you call us to obey you
and favor us with true freedom.
Your Son calls us to leave behind all that hinders us,
that we may fix our eyes on him
and steadfastly follow in the paths of your kingdom.
For these and all your mercies, we praise you,
Blessed be God for ever!

An opening canticle may be sung.

Psalm 62
For God alone my soul in silence waits;*
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,*
my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.
How long will you assail me...

US church votes for change that could permit gay ordination

The general assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved a
proposed change in the denomination's constitution that would, in
effect, permit the ordination of openly gay clergy.

However, a majority of the 2.2-million-member denomination's local
districts, known as presbyteries, must now approve the change, and those
against gay ordination are likely to heavily oppose it. Similar efforts
to change Presbyterian ordination rules in 1997 and 2001 failed.

The latest move came in a June 27decision, by 380 votes to 325, at the
assembly meeting in San Jose, California. Though the divisions within
the PCUSA have not become as contentious as those of the US Episcopal
(Anglican) Church, they have nonetheless been heated, and during the
June 21-28 assembly, those opposed to the action said it would harm the
church.

"Don't send a shock wave through the church," said the Rev. William
Stepp of the Tropical Florida Presbytery, as quoted by the Presbyterian
News Service. Mr Stepp added that the denomination, "needs a continuing
strong witness to biblical standards for sexuality".

Bible Readings for Today
1 Samuel 13
Isaiah. 56-7
Revelation 21-2

For those who want to go directly to the source of this study guide,
it can be found at http://www.antipas.org/readings/readings.html

It takes normally between 20-30 mins per day depending on one's reading
speed.
It will be found many unanswered questions which may have seemed puzzling
and "Hard to be understood" are slowly and precisely answered as the Bible
is methodically read through day after day.

Here is a helpful link for anyone who either does not have a Bible to
hand, or might prefer reading from their computer, or might want to compare
different translations, or even read non-English versions:
http://www.biblegateway.com/

And for those who wish to listen to the Bible while doing their chores.
http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

James Dobson accuses Brack Obama of "distorting the traditional understanding
of the Bible to fit his own world view".

Oh the irony!

Best comment is here:

http://notesfromacommonplacebook.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-just-love-irony.html

According to the New Testament this question can only be answered
"yes" by one who is keeping the commandments of God. I certainly
would
not expect the reader to believe this statement without ample proof.
To
find that proof, let us examine God's word ...

1. Do I truly love God?

THE TEACHING OF JESUS:

As our Lord was teaching in Jerusalem, one of the Pharisees who was
trained in the law of Moses, approached Jesus and attempted to test
Him
with this question:

"Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus said to him:

"What is written in the Law? How do you read?"