Can the Church be Saved?

Lectio Divina: Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4, NRSV:When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Lectio Divina: Psalm 106:6-9

Psalm 106:6-9:We have sinned the way our forebears did,gone astray and given in to corruption.Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,didn’t perceive your wondrous works,didn’t remember your abundant love,but there by the sea, by the Sea of Reeds, they rebelled.Yet you saved them, O God, for the sake of your Name,to make your mighty power known.You rebuked the Sea of Reeds, and it became dry;you led them through the deep as if it were a desert.

Lectio Divina: Exodus 3:10-12

Exodus 3:10-12,   Egalitarian Translation(YHWH said:) "Now, go! I will send you to Pharaoh, to bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you, and this is the sign by which you will know that it is I who have sent you: after you bring my people out of Egypt, you will all worship at this very mountain.”

Lectio Divina: Psalm 27:11-14

Psalm 27:11-14 -NRSV
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,    and lead me on a level path    because of my enemies.12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,    for false witnesses have risen against me,    and they are breathing out violence.13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord    in the land of the living.14 Wait for the Lord;    be strong, and let your heart take courage;    wait for the Lord!

Lectio Divina: Selections from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Selections from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Egalitarian Translation“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view…If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to God’s self through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. …In Christ, God was reconciling the world to God’s self…and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we…entreat you on behalf of Christ, BE reconciled to God.”

Lectio Divina: Luke 11:33-36

Luke 11:33-36:
You don’t light a lamp only to hide it in the cellar or to put it under a bucket. You put it on a stand where people see it when they come in. The lamp of your body is your eye. If your eye is sound, the whole body is filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your body is filled with darkness. See to it then that the light in you doesn’t fade into darkness. If your whole body is full of light, however, with no darkness in it, it will be completely lit—the way it is when the light of a lantern shines on you.

Lectio Divina: 1 John 1:5-2:2

1 John 1:5-2:2 (The Egalitarian Translation)This, then, is the message we heard from Jesusand declare to you:God is light,and in God there is no darkness at all.If we say we have intimacy with Godwhile still living in darkness,we are liarsand do not live in truth.But if we live in the light,as God is in the light,we are one with each other,and the blood of Jesus, the Only Begotten,purifies us from all sin.

Lectio Divina: Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8:When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him (Jesus). And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.

Lectio Divina: Psalm 118: 19-21

Psalm 118: 19-21:Let the doors of righteousness be opened;we will go in and give thanks to the Lord.This is the gate of the Lord;it is opened for the righteous.We will give praise, for God has heard usand has come to save us.

Lectio Divina: Psalm 119:103-105

Scripture: Psalm 119:103-105How sweet is the taste of your promises--sweeter than honey in my mouth! Through your precepts, I gain discernment, and because of them I hate every wrong path. Now I know your word is a lamp for my steps, for the path just ahead of me.