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Published: 09 August 2020

Have you heard that phrase before?  Have you ever been paralyzed in life because you were trying to find the perfect will of God and couldn’t seem to locate it?  Have you ever had something go really wrong and assumed that it was because you missed the perfect will of God?  Have you ever sought the will of God only in an effort to be safe?  Have you ever been disappointed with God because you thought you did His will but then things didn’t turn out like you planned?  Living for perfection can get a little complicated.  Sometimes we check all the boxes and things still don’t work.  Few people really believe that God simply causes everything.  Of those that believe humans have at least a measure of free will, some would like their will to be in harmony with God’s will.  They even pray as Jesus taught, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  But what if God’s will is to leave some things to our will?  What if there are some decisions that God has no particular will about and therefore whatever we choose is within the perfect will of God?  These are the kinds of questions that come up as we read Acts 21.  We’ll be returning to the narrative in Acts this week and Paul’s decisions raise some interesting possibilities.  I hope we’ll see you under the tent for worship and a textual journey with Paul to Jerusalem.

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Published: 31 July 2020

Were you ever given that command?  Have you given that command?  Generally, there is some ritual goes with that command.  It usually means, “washing up,” perhaps it includes a change of clothing.  Sometimes, it might even mean “get your attitude cranked around.”  Gathering for dinner should be a fixture in homes but sadly, too often, people are eating alone at different times and in different places.  Dinner should be a time of nourishment for body and soul.  It’s no mystery why Jesus gave us, “The Lord’s Supper.”  It too should be a time of nourishment for body and soul.  We receive a simple wafer and a cup of juice as a reminder of the banquet to come.  But those elements are merely reminders of the greater nourishment that Jesus has made available to us through His work on the cross and His resurrection.  One author put it this way, “We should rejoice at the Lord’s Supper!  There is a God, He loves us, despite what deserved, He saved us and made us His own.  He, the infinite, eternal, self-existent and self-sufficient God, the best of all beings and first of causes, the highest of powers, the richest and kindest of benefactors, the fountain of being and bliss, the Father of lights and mercy, the God of all hope and all comfort is mine and I am His!”  Wow, no wonder we should examine ourselves and make sure we are ready when we come to “The Lord’s Supper.”  Get ready for dinner!