Trinity Sunday

I'm a little late getting this one out, but prep for this Sunday is Romans 5:1-5, a truly remarkable reflection of Paul's on the nature of God and the experience of living out discipleship by grace through faith!

We often bring to Church our best selves, and accomplishments for the approval of God and everybody else. This passage encourages us to consider suffering, trial, doubt as potentially positive aspects of living out faith.

Perhaps instead of turning to God with requests to deliver us from trial, we should be praying that we grow out of and through it, and somehow, grow in our understanding that God is the one who transforms our lives?

Food for thought...hmmn, communion anyone?

Pentecost

The whole month of scripture readings and sermons has been building to this very special service we are going to celebrate/experience this coming Sunday.

We take a step back in Acts, from chapter 9, 11, and 16 to chapter 2: back to the beginning, "back to the future"!

What does it mean for the Spirit to fall on God's people? Is this a singular event? What about before this moment, the approximately 4,000 years of God's people being faithful in their own time and place? What about the 2,000 years that have passed since this singular event?

what about now?

I would encourage you, as I will be doing myself, to read this passage, ask these hard questions, and then look and listen for possible answers or encouragements throughout the week...

prayerfully,

Pastor Rich

Mother's Day

As I prepare for this Sunday and look at the text we'll be prayerfully examining, Acts 16:9-15, and its intersection with the celebration of Mother's day I'm wondering, what is it about Mother's that like Lydia does with Paul in v.15 "persuades" us so efficiently to do the things we ought, perhaps timelessly expressed in the proverb, "Mother knows best." - any thoughts, or stories?