amazing love

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
Today's reading and the verses we'll get the next couple of days are a wonderful summary of the good news. God loves us, and loves us so much that he sent his son Jesus to save us from our sins. We can wonder and debate all day what it means for Jesus to be the "atoning sacrifice for our sins," but I think it's more helpful to think about what that reveals about the amazing depth of God's love. When we really believe God loves us that much, it becomes much easier to love others.


God bless,
Sam


1 John 4:7-16

7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.


10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.


14And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

all we like sheep have gone astray

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading continues Tuesday's theme of God's suffering servant bearing the sins of the whole community. One really insightful comment that came in on Tuesday's reading through facebook wondered how it would change our sense of compassion if we thought of people who suffer in terms of the whole community's sin rather than the sin of the person who suffers. Interesting thought.

God bless,
Sam

Isaiah 53:6-12

⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. ¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

on trial again

Good afternoon friends,
Today we think about our Jewish neighbors observing Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. As you spend time in prayer today, pray for a spiritually useful time for them. Our reading today gives us Paul's defense in front of Agrippa and Festus. He tells his story to show how God's calling changed his life. Reading Paul invites us to consider our story. How has God's calling shaped your life? How would you like it to in the future?

God bless,
Sam

Acts 26:9-23

9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. ¹¹By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

12 ‘With this in mind, I was travelling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.” ¹⁵I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. ¹⁷I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

19 ‘After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. ²¹For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²²To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: ²³that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.’

God is love

Good morning friends,
There's a lot going on at and around Laurelton this week as we remember the last week before Jesus death. I'll get the schedule of events on the website as soon as I can. Tonight at St. Ambrose (Culver and Empire) there will be an ecumenical tenebrae service at 7:30. In the tenebrae service we tell the story of Jesus' passion with readings and music. As the story moves towards Christ's death, candles are extinguished and the sanctuary grows darker. We've participated in the service the last three years, and it is quite powerful.

Today's reading comes from the Apostle John's first letter. John reminds his readers that God is love, so we should love each other. He also emphasizes that we know God's love best through Jesus' life and death for us. This week is all about entering into the mystery of Jesus' suffering. Try to take some extra time each day to reflect on Christ's love and walk the road with him.

God bless,
Sam

1 John 4:7-21

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows

Good evening brothers and sisters,
Today's reading is a beautiful word from the Book of Isaiah about God's suffering servant who is sent to bring Israel back to God. This passage wasn't written about Jesus, but we believe Jesus fulfilled the hope expressed here. God's servant takes the sins of the people on himself and receives the punishment we deserve in our place. It isn't fair, but the servant agrees to "take one for the team" in a big way. In worship today we read this passage once in good Presbyterian intellectual engagement and once trying to let the passage speak right to our heart about God's love and redemption for us in Christ. If you have the chance this evening I'd suggest doing the same thing: read once for "head" understanding and once more to let God's love sink into your heart. Jesus loves you.

God bless,
Sam

Isaiah 53:3-12

³He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. ⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. ¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

atonement

Good evening friends,
Thanks to everyone who participated in the prayer vigil yesterday and today, especially to Christy for organizing it. Thanks also to those who joined in the two services for Ash Wednesday; both were small, but participation was enthusiastic. At least for me, it was a good way to start the lenten season. Our reading today reminds us that we all sin; anyone pretending otherwise is fooling themselves. Fortunately, sin doesn't have the last word; because in Christ God's love conquers sin and sets us free. We know that freedom when we come to know Christ. Knowing Christ has consequences for our daily lives; if we don't put our faith in action, we don't really know Jesus. I hope this word from John will be a blessing to you as you finish the week.

God bless,
Sam

1 John 1:8-2:6

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

³Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. ⁴Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; ⁵but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: ⁶whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

a merciful example

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading makes the case that since Christ came to save humanity from sin Christ had to be human. By taking on every part of human life, Jesus serves as our faithful high priest. Like the priests of the old temple Jesus offered a sacrifice to take away our sin. They offered lambs and goats and cattle; Christ offered himself. Because the sacrifice is perfect and the priest offering it doesn't need to offer sin offerings for himself, the one sacrifice frees us from sin forever.

Since Christ is our brother he shared the struggles of being human and understands our weakness. That means we can always bring our fears and struggles to Jesus in prayer because he understands us and can sympathize with human weakness. He also sets an example for us by living a perfect human life. Jesus brings us home to God and makes God understandable to us. Thanks be to God.
Enjoy your freedom in Christ today,

Sam


Hebrews 2:10-18

10It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you." 13And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given me."


14Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. 16For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. 17Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.