From the Pastor

Jesus Christ gives us hope that life can be different and grace filled. Erring people can indeed have a relationship with a holy God (Luke 15:1-10). Jesus and Moses showed mercy to erring people, and this is perhaps where we have our problems with Jesus and Moses: We want mercy for ourselves but justice and judgment for others, especially those erring people whose sins are more obvious and greater than ours (at least in our estimation).

In the Gospel of Luke (14:25-33), Jesus warns us about possessions in relation to being a disciple (learner) of his. Do possessions control us? Or do we use possessions for the doing of good? Does your following of Christ cause you to look at possessions differently? Following Christ is blessed, but it is not necessarily easy.

In the book of Hebrews, Christ became the final sacrifice to end all sacrifices, and I add to end all forms of scapegoating that sacrifice others to appease our anger. Hebrews tells us that “without faith, it is impossible to please God,” and our specific Scripture Reading relates two more ways to please God: Giving thanks and sharing with others (Hebrews 13:15-16).