Needless to say, this will be a holiday season like none other.  Never before have we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in the midst of a pandemic. 

There is so much about this that just doesn’t make sense! We want to gather with family and friends, but one of the best things we can do for each other is to stay apart. We want to invite the community together to share lots of good food, but the church potluck dinner is on indefinite hold. We want to give that perfect gift, but the best thing we can give to those we love is to simply wear a face mask. Right now, some things just don’t make sense. 

And the same thing is true when it comes to God. No, really!  Let’s be honest, there are some things about God that don’t make sense if you stop and think about them. One of the biggest, is the “open-handed” generosity we receive from God in Jesus Christ. In Christ, God doesn’t offer us justice and not just mercy. In the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God offers us grace!  Click here to listen to more (November 22 sermon). 

In the words of Oswald Chambers, the miracle of redemption is that God turns us, the unholy ones, into the standard of God’s own self, the Holy One. God does this by putting into us a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ. 

That my friends, is the miracle and power of grace!

Your partner on the journey,                                                                                                                                                       Pastor Steve