Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

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Sunday, November 7, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

This nation will remain the land of the free only as long

as it is the home of the brave. —Elmer Davis

eterans Day is coming up this Thursday. It is a federal holiday observed every year on

November 11. It has been called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, originally

honoring the end of WWI.

Today, there are no veterans of WWI. The last veteran of World War I, Frank Buckles, died

in February 2011 at the age of 110. And the veterans of WWII are fast disappearing. According

to one source, only 325,574 of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII were alive in

2020.

Of those millions who served in the last world war and died on the battlefield, the remains of

some soldiers are unidentified. But the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

continues to work on discovering soldiers who are missing, and to identify the remains they

have.

In May of this year, the DPAA identified a young man from Ohio. Army Pfc. James W.

White, 21, of Chester, Ohio, was killed during WWII, and he was not identified until last year.

He was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also

known as Merrill’s Marauders. He was killed in action in Burma on July 2, 1944.

White was somebody’s son, someone’s brother perhaps. He died before he had a chance to

live, to get a college education, marry and have a family and grow old with a gaggle of

grandchildren to dote upon.

As a nation, we have promised to find our missing boys, and return the remains to family

members. We do this because we honor the ultimate sacrifice they made.

On this coming Thursday, let’s say a prayer of thanksgiving for the men and women who

have died before their time, fighting to protect the values of freedom, decency and respect for

one’s fellow human beings. —Timothy Merrill

Prayer: Dear God, I am a stripe, I am a star, I am red, white and blue. Although I’ve never met

all the veterans who sacrificed their lives, I will always pray for them. I sleep undisturbed. My

family is safe because men and women fought for their country in our hour of need. Bless them.

Bless their souls. Let them feel the love I send out to them by my prayer. Let them know the

appreciation I have for their bravery and devotion. Let them hear my gratitude: Thank you to

the veterans of war, each one a hero. Amen. [Prayer found on Belief.net]

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Activity Page

Week of November 7, 2021

Daily Bible Readings Sunday: Acts 23-25 Monday: Acts 26-28 Tuesday: Ephesians 1-4 Wednesday: Ephesians 5-6 Thursday: Philippians 1-4 Friday: Colossians 1-4 Saturday: Psalms 129-132

VETERANS DAY WORD LADDER

Our country’s veterans were BRAVE in the face of

danger. And some of them were fliers in the Air

Force. Here is a Word ladder that begins with

BRAVE and ends with FLIES. Using the clues

provided, change only one letter for each clue.

“Grandma, what’s a percolator?” Little Eva is visiting her grandmother. Eva is 11 years old. In their conversations, grandmother has mentioned many things Eva doesn’t understand. Her mother said to Eva, “Why don’t you keep a list and ask grandma someday?” So today is the day. Pretend you are the grandmother. How would you answer these questions?

1. What is a fender skirt?

2. What is a steering knob or “necker’s knob”?

3. What was an emergency brake? Is that the

same thing as a parking brake?

4. What is a “foot feed”?

5. Why do you talk about “store-bought” things?

6. What does it mean if someone is “in a family

way”?

7. What’s a percolator?

8. What’s a rat fink?

9. What’s a mimeograph?

10. Why do you say “durn!” a lot? Activity: If you don’t know the answers to Eva’s questions, chat with your neighbors about this list. Or, make this a topic of conversation with the next person who visits you. Do you recall other words or objects of a bygone era that sound strange to us today?

B R A V E

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ a serious situation

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ fruit on a vine

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ complain

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ holds tightly

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ multiple vacations

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ several attempts

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ favorite cooked

potatoes

F L I E S

SOLUTION TO WORD LADDER: brave, grave, grape, gripe, grips, trips, tries, fries, flies.

Verse to Remember

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,

forgiving one another, as God in Christ has

forgiven you. ⎯Ephesians 4:32



Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:4-20

Although the world is full of suffering,

it is also full of the overcoming of it. ⎯Helen Keller

ne night last spring, the residents of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo were

frightened by noise … big noise. They knew what it meant. Mount Nyiragongo was

erupting again after being silent for 19 years. In 2002, the volcano blew up, killing 250 people

and making 120,000 homeless. Now it was happening again!

A mass evacuation began, but fortunately, this time no one died during the eruption, but there

was considerable damage to thousands of homes.

It is terrifying when one is forced to leave one’s home. This happens in California almost

every year when wildfires run rampant through the hills and countryside.

Sometimes a fire strikes a nursing home, and residents have to be evacuated quickly.

Here’s a question for you: If you had three minutes to get out of your home, whether it is a room in a care facility or a big house, what would you grab on your way out?

Perhaps you wouldn’t grab anything. Above all else, you value your life, so you would make

certain that you got to a place of safety as quickly as possible!

But many people are tempted to take something with them. It is an understandable impulse.

Perhaps there’s a cherished photo album, a box of jewelry, an original oil painting, a book of

poetry or a Bible that needs to be saved. Or maybe, the first thought in an emergency evacuation

is about your mobile phone, or a laptop if you have one. Perhaps there’s a shoebox of love

letters from years gone by that must be saved. Don’t forget the wad of cash you’ve been saving

in a mayonnaise jar!

What we take with us in such an emergency reveals something about our values.

The authorities who direct evacuations in emergencies warn us not to take anything. If there

is a crisis on an airplane, for example, passengers are sternly admonished not to leave the

airplane with a suitcase or bag. Leave it where it is!

This is a reminder, that someday we will leave everything behind. For what is death, but an

evacuation of this mortal body, when we leave it to be with the Lord?

When it is time for this evacuation, the question is not what we will take with us, but what

are we leaving behind for others? One would hope that we will leave an example, a template, a

model of how to live on this earth with gentleness and grace, kindness and a forgiving spirit.

For these are the things that make the life of anyone who possesses them rich indeed!

—Timothy Merrill

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, I pray for those who are in crisis right now around the

world, for those in danger of losing everything. Bring help to them and comfort them in their

time of loss. And I thank you for providing for my daily needs. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Activity Page


Daily Bible Readings Sunday: Hebrews 1-4 Monday: Hebrews 5-7 Tuesday: Hebrews 8-10 Wednesday: Hebrews 11-13 Thursday: Philemon; 1 Peter 1-2 Friday: 1 Peter 3-5 Saturday: Psalms 133-135

Blue and blew; Mail and male Directions: A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another English word (like blue and mail in the

title above), but both its meaning and its spelling are different. Each sentence below contains a pair of

homophones. See if you can do this exercise without peeking at the word list below.

1. A house helper is a ____________, but it sounds like ____________ . 2. A couple might be called a __________ , but it sounds like this fruit ________ . 3. If you are correct, you are _________, but it definitely sounds like _________ . 4. Although it sounds like _________, a person who is not strong is ________. 5. The flesh you eat is called _______, but please, don’t eat the people you_____! 6. The square root of 64 is __________, but don’t try to spell it as ________. 7. There’s a large animal called a ______; without its fur it would be __________ . 8. My daughter’s brother is my ________, although a lot of people spell it _____. 9. A witness guaranteed he had _______ the __________. 10. You can only ______ if you listen; you can only stay if you’re already ______.

Word List: ate, son, made, bear, pair, right, meat, seen, write, week, here, meet, eight, maid, bare, sun, scene, pear, hear, weak.

ALPHABET TEST! Use all of the letters in the alphabet to complete these words:

b a __ __ a i n; l __ __ g e r ; d y __ __ s t y ; __ __ g o t e; s a __ __ a t i o n ; d i __ __ p a n ; p u m __

__ i n ; d e __ __ a y ; b o __ __ a r ; d i __ __ i t ; s u n __ __ r n ; o b l __ __ u e ; l i __ __ o f f .

Answers: Blue and blew; Mail and male: 1. maid, made; 2. pair, pear; 3. right, write; 4. week, weak; 5. meat, meet; 6. eight, ate; 7. bear, bare; 8. son, sun; 9. seen, scene; 10. hear, here. Alphabet Test: baRGain, lODger, dyNAsty, ZYgote, saLVation, diSHpan, pumPKin, deEJay, boXCar, diMWit, sunBUrn, oblIQue, liFToff.

Verse to Remember Now faith is the assurance of

things hoped for, the

conviction of things not seen.

—Hebrews 11:1



Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8

It’s not the years in your life that count, but rather the life in your years.

⎯Author unknown

ne of the unluckiest landlords ever was a French attorney, André-François Raffray.

In 1965, he signed a contract to buy the apartment of 90-year-old Jeanne Calment, giving

her life-rights to live in the place until she died.

Madame Calment defied all expectations, living 32 more years. At the time of her death in

1997, at the age of 122, she had lived longer than any other human being. She outlived her

landlord, who had died two years before her at age 77.

Part of the contract required Monsieur Raffray to pay his tenant a small monthly stipend. The

attorney’s wife continued paying it after her husband’s death. By that time, the Raffrays had

paid Madame Calment more than double the purchase price of the property.

There are about 92,000 centenarians in the United States as of 2020. By 2060, that number is

expected to rise to more than 585,000! Do you think it’s possible that any of those centenarians

will live more than 120 years?

We might live a long life, but it’s more important to live well. What constitutes a well-lived

life?

Some people think it’s important to have a lot of money, or a big house and a fancy car. But

the Bible tells us that wealth is not the key to a life well-lived. “Don’t wear yourself out trying

to get rich,” wrote Solomon in his book of proverbs (Proverbs 23:4, CEB).

For the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, virtue was the key to a life well-lived. He

thought of virtue as a tendency or ability to make good choices. Do this, and you’ll do well.

But he also thought that friendship was a critical component of happiness. In this,

psychologists today agree. Truly happy people have good, loving and long-lasting relationships

and a purpose in life.

If you have friends, good health, a purpose in life, love and acceptance, you are a rich person.

And if, with all of these riches, you are given a long life, you are indeed blessed! —Timothy Merrill Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the riches in my long life ⎯ the riches of my friends and

family, and the wealth of love. Amen.

O


Activity Page


Daily Bible Readings Sunday: 2 Peter 1-3 Monday: 1 Timothy 1-3 Tuesday: 1 Timothy 4-6 Wednesday: 2 Timothy 1-4 Thursday: Titus 1-3 Friday: 1 John 1-2 Saturday: Psalms 136-138

A. Two children can sit on this __ __ __ __ __ __ and go up and down. 1 16 X 18 14 17 B. Something to keep wet ink __ __ __ __ __ __ __ from smearing. X 10 11 5 7 9 12 C. Precise middle of the day. __ __ __ __ 3 6 19 15

D. One of the words an auc- __ __ __ __ __ tioneer uses to close a deal. 4 X 2 20 21 E. A nail has one. __ __ __ __ 8 X X 13

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

VERSE TO REMEMBER

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.

—Psalm 138:8

PSALM PUZZLE Using the boxes below, find the theme of this psalm (96). To discover what it is, write a word on the blanks provided

that best fits each definition. Then, transfer the letters to the numbered boxes. Spaces with an X below the line indicate that those letters are not used.

Answers:

A. se

esa

w

B. blo

tter

C. noon

D. goin

g

E. head

“Sin

g

to t

he

Lord

a n

ew

song.”


First Sunday of Advent, November 28, 2021

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

The beauty of Christmas is not in the presents, but in the Presence. ⎯Anon.

popular Christmas song you may hear on the radio, or piped into the halls where you are

living, or through the ubiquitous speakers of the Target or Walmart store where you’re

shopping is “We Need a Little Christmas.” The tune comes from the Broadway musical Mame

and was first performed by Angela Lansbury (also famous for her role as a detective in Murder,

She Wrote) in a 1966 production.

According to one source, “the song is performed after Mame has lost her fortune in the Wall

Street Crash of 1929, and she decides that she, her young nephew Patrick, and her two

household servants ‘need a little Christmas now’ to cheer them up.”

For we need a little Christmas, / Right this very minute,

Candles in the window, / Carols at the spinet.

Yes, we need a little Christmas, / Right this very minute,

Need a little Christmas now!

Today is the beginning of Advent. The journey toward Christmas begins. And there’s nothing

wrong with needing a little Christmas, is there? It’s what so many are searching for on their

expeditions through the wilds of the shopping mall. Armed with checklists and coupons,

supplied with sensible shoes and plenteous plastic charge cards, these latter-day explorers are

vigilant and wise in the ways of merchandising.

They’re looking for the perfect gift: an expression of love (or, at the very least, high regard).

Christmas shopping is a wonderful, caring thing to do. It’s fun, most of the time. That is, until

you encounter one too many surly clerks, or discover that the perfect sweater you’ve chosen is

excluded from the sale prices, or realize to your dismay that this shopping trip has gone on too

long, and you’re footsore, hungry and weary.

Is a little Christmas really what we’re looking for?

Or, might we be looking for a really Great Christmas? Not the coming of the beautifully

wrapped gift under the tree, but the coming of our savior Jesus Christ into the world?

Yes, we need a little Christmas, and even more: We need a lot of the Christ of Christmas! —Carlos Wilton and Timothy Merrill

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am ready to turn my thoughts toward the meaning of this season. Help me

to see beyond the bright lights and to hear more than the joyful carols. Help me to also

understand the depth of the sacrifice you made to join us in our humanity. Amen.

A


Activity Page


Daily Bible Readings Sunday: 1 John 3-5 Monday: 2 John, 3 John, Jude Tuesday: Revelation 1-3 Wednesday: Revelation 4-6 Thursday: Revelation 7-9 Friday: Revelation 10-12 Saturday: Psalms 139-141

MAY I HAVE A VOWEL PLEASE? The answers to these clues all contain the vowel A and only A. There are no other vowels in the answers except

A. Use the clues to fill in the blanks.

1. This man was Jacob’s grandfather, but the father of Ishmael (Genesis 18:1). __________________

2. By the way, his wife sometimes laughed inappropriately (Genesis 18:12). __________________

3. This little bird is both a color and species. Did it come from the Islands? __________________

4. This word might signify a hat, canal, country or an isthmus. __________________

5. A popular song a few years ago advised us: “Don’t worry, be (this).” __________________

6. This is the country with the largest area in the Western Hemisphere. __________________

7. Look in a dictionary under A. This animal is likely to be the first animal

mentioned. __________________

8. Mom said, “Go to the basement and get one of jelly, but don’t leave the

door in this condition.” __________________

9. A tree with compound leaves whose pliable but strong wood makes good

canoe paddles, or basket splints. If you burn it up you will still have it. __________________

10. To get results, a magician might say this. __________________

11. The mountain where Noah’s Ark rested, according to Genesis 8:4. __________________

12. Check out the man in Numbers 22 who had a talking donkey. __________________

13. This brand name might mean you own a motorcycle or a piano. __________________

14. A U.S. state with eight letters.

__________________ __________________

An

swe

rs:

1. A

bra

ham

,

2. S

arah

, 3

. can

ary,

4. P

anam

a,

5. h

app

y,

6. C

anad

a,

7. a

ard

vark

,

8. a

jar,

aja

r,

9. a

sh,

10

. ab

raca

dab

ra,

11

. Ara

rat,

1

2. B

alaa

m,

13

. Yam

aha,

14

. A

rkan

sas.

Documents

Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17