Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today we awaken to a new and glorious day, given by the grace of God. Each of us will experience life today, and we will interpret these experiences from perspectives of body and spirit, emotions and expectations, relationships and personal hopes and desires. Individually, we experience things differently from one another, yet we are also connected by those experiences through our commonality, our humanity,  and, more indepthly, through our personal relationships we have with family, friends, and the people we bump into on a daily basis. These experiences will produce joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak, pleasure and pain, ambition and lethargy, stillness and restlessness, trust and doubt, vision and darkness, restoration and resistance, life and death.

And so we ask: What is to feed us through these experiences and how are we to interpret them in order to move beyond the present into the future? We might look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church in his second letter where he writes: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?- unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Here, the Apostle Paul encourages the faithful to always interpret and understand their personal and collective experiences through the lens of faith, that is, to be able to recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in all that we experience, to understand that the risen Jesus is right there with us to guide and direct us in all that we face moment-by-moment. 

Hopefully, whatever may come our way this day and all others, we will be able to know that Christ Jesus is with us, and that we can look upon his presence to help and guide us along the way, a way of trust and hope, a way of promise and renewal.

Grace and peace to all!  Pastor John

August 18th:

To the blessed followers of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he writes of the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). This peace is a result of the love God has shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ Died for us" (5:8). As such, Paul notes as "we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (6:5).

Our unity in and with Christ is in the sharing of the defeat of the power of sin and the possibility of walking in the newness of life. Again Paul writes, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (6:5). Because of this, Paul can affirm that we are now able to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (6:11). He adds, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (6:13-14).

The Apostle Paul's theological argument is intended to guide us, the faithful followers of Jesus, to understand that in and through Christ we have been freed from the bondage of sin, and therefore we are now able to walk the walk of faith, a faith that trusts in the grace of God for which we have received sanctification and the promise of salvation: "Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life" (6:22).

What does this freedom that we have from the bondage of sin look like, experienced in a world that still reflects the enduring consequences of sin that produces suffering for many? Again, Paul counsels, "We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (5:3-5).

In Christ we are freed from the power of sin and are equipped with the enduring character of faith, hope and love. Paul encourages with these words, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (8:11). "So do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (12:2).

Hold fast to the grace and promise of God given in and through Christ Jesus.   Pastor John