09 Jun Pastor’s new Summer Series for Sundays and Wednesdays

“One today is worth two tomorrows” This saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin is a good reminder of how fragile this life is, and that it’s important to value the time we have NOW.

I’m grateful to have resumed in person on June 7th; it’s obvious that we are not all ready to come back for corporate worship. And, as I’ve said before, this is absolutely fine. This is a must time for grace and mercy to abound in our church. Each of us remains in a different place and space as it relates to the COVID-19 virus. However, I do want to move us forward with new preaching and teaching themes.

On Sundays this summer, I’ll be preaching out of the Psalms. This has been a practice of mine for the last several years, and I have found it to be meaningful not only on a personal level but also for the church as a whole.

If there’s ever a time we need to praise God, receive encouragement during difficulty, and recognize that we are not alone in our trials, it’s now. Some of the most beautiful words in our Bible are located in the Psalms. Many of us look to these passages of Scripture for guidance and reassurance during the most difficult times of life. We can also find the most lofty words of praise and adoration to lift our spirits and position us for both the joys and challenges before us.

Also, I’m beginning a new Wednesday night series on the Parables of Jesus from the gospel of Luke. These stories are recorded only in the third gospel, and are notably located after this noteworthy statement: “As the time approached for him to taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9.51).

Christians have both a destination and a path to follow. Jesus told those first disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” and significantly, other believers became known as “followers of the Way” (Acts 9.2). The people of God are a journey of Christlikeness, and the only way this can be accomplished is by a lifestyle of discipleship.

Salvation involves past, present, and future realities: “I am saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved.” The church must reflect an active followship of Jesus Christ in order to remain viable in our world. Indeed, people outside the church are confused when our words of love and peace run counter to our actions of prejudice and injustice.

Jesus told stories to bring out eternal truths about how to live and how to treat others, especially those whom we would ordinarily overlook due to skin color, social, or economic status. Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for the religious leaders of the day, while “sinners” found a place and wholeness in his presence. In fact, Jesus was the most “fully present” person who ever lived; Jesus lived in the moment without looking over or beyond those who were in his path.

I’m looking forward to this journey through these parables of Luke; I suspect many of them are familiar to us. However, I also believe that we will find new meaning and applications to what is going on in our nation and world.

I’ll be live-streaming on our church Facebook page at 6:30 PM on Wednesdays–hope to see you then!–DC