Rev. Cory Smith has been the full time pastor at Woodland UMC since June 1997. He and his wife Alicia have a young daughter, Sarah Morgan, and they live in the church parsonage on Vaughn Road. Cory's father is also a Methodist minister, who pastors a church in South Alabama. Cory is a graduate of Southern Mississippi University, the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and is currently taking courses for his doctorate.
In this devotional message Cory shares his interpretation of the story of Martha asking Jesus to tell Mary to help her with the meal preparation (Luke 10:38-42
; See Pastor Ron's sermon on this passage for Sunday July 22, 2007 in these blog and podcast archives). Instead of complying with Martha’s “prayer,” Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part by staying with Him. Cory emphasizes Martha's distractedness with worldly concerns, which resembles how many Christians are distracted from staying focused in prayer with our Lord. Mary stays focused the way we should stay focused in prayer without ceasing. Ironically,
Pastor Ron used Luke 18:1-8
with the insistent widow repeatedly asking the unrighteous judge to vindicate her against her accusers - so as to convey the same need for focus and persistence in prayer. Both Pastors concluded with the common act of breathing as a key to experiencing physical and spiritual discipline in prayer, since this is a common human activity we all live by and share.
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