January 11, 2023
Leadership Notes
It’s been a while, but following a holiday season hiatus, these weekly churchwide communications are back. Happy, happy, joy, joy.
Life is amazing. Through the ups and downs, God is good all the time. Every generation has experiences and challenges that are unique and always changing.
Did you know the ancient Egyptians thought the primary function of the brain was to create mucus? Makes sense.
Did you know the ancient Greeks thought giants once roamed the earth? Someone uncovered mastodon femurs but they had no idea there once were mastodons, hence giants. Makes sense.
Up until the early 1800s, people in Europe were unclear about where the birds all went as the seasons changed. They knew caterpillars turned into butterflies, so they thought perhaps there was some sort of transmogrification process going on. One theory was that birds turned into mice, since mice became more plentiful indoors from fall through winter. Another theory had it that birds hibernated under water. Finally, around 1822, a bird showed up with a wound with the weapon still stuck in it. It was from somewhere south of the equator. Now they knew.
A newly discovered comet will soon orbit close enough to earth to be seen, perhaps with the naked eye. The last time it was visible from earth was roughly 50,000 years ago. Which means it was last seen by Neanderthals. Which means, in my case, since I have a higher percentage of Neanderthal DNA than your run-of-the-mill human being, that perhaps one of my ancient ancestors saw it first. Makes sense.
The current administration is considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves/ovens. The grift continues, while the science is dubious, at best. None of this makes sense.
What an interesting world we live in. God has given us the honor and opportunity to be in this amazing world at this particular point in time. From before the foundation of the world, He knew us and loved us in Christ. God knew we would serve Him and have a positive Kingdom impact right here…right now. So praise the Lord!
So, what are we going to do with our time? Our study of the Letter of James will help us navigate life through a broken, fallen world. There is much sin-sickness in our world. But that doesn’t take away from the Biblical truth that this is the world God made and called good. We are called to be agents of redemption in our little corner of God’s world. What we do matters. Faith without works is dead.
Here we are. Some of what we know and think is right and true will seem absurd to future generations. I’m okay with that. Because the most important truth will never change…Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose again to redeem repentant sinners like you and me. Because of that, while life here is fleeting, we shall stand in the presence of our Risen Lord and Savior forever.
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard