Freedom for my people

Where have you experienced abundance living in God’s covenant? That was the question for this weeks study guide today.

The Reading is Isaiah 55:1-5 and the prophet enthusiastically describes what it will be like for the people when they are restored in God’s covenant.

These past two weeks I have been blessed to spend time with family and friends and to just really enjoy the abundance of love and relationships. We played games, ate food and everyone was having a good time. God’s covenant is about relationships with people and God and I am thankful for all the people in my life.

This Saturday we will have the opportunity to do the same on the 12th Night of Christmas celebration. Meet at the church at 6:00 and bring a snack food and/or a game to play.

Sunday we will begin a new sermon series called “Freedom for my people.” I will be preaching this Sunday then we will be welcoming Cynthia Washington to talk about liberation from an African American perspective on January 13th.

Last night as we got home late from spending time with family and friends, Brianna went to her room and I settled into the couch to watch some TV. During a break I went to her room to check on her and she wasn’t there. I looked in my bedroom, she wasn’t there. I called to Kendra, “I can’t find Brianna.” (I was reminded of when Brianna was not yet a toddler and Kendra ran upstairs, “I can’t find Brianna!” She had crawled under the computer desk and fallen asleep.) I called downstairs, Brianna, Brianna! Finally I heard here voice from the basement where she had curled up to watch TV since it wasn’t her bedtime yet.

Jesus tells stories in the gospels of God searching for the lost. Jesus understood that God had a passion for those who were outsiders. As LUMC joined the hundreds in the Diversity March, when LUMC decided to join the Reconciling Ministry Network and to open our doors to everyone we too aligned ourselves with God’s passion for the least the last and the lost.

Freedom for my people is a sermon series that reminds us of God’s passion for the lost and of the obligation of the church to be about God’s work of extending grace to all.

Grace and Peace,
Bruce