In Spirit and Truth

Sing For Joy! This week's song is HYMN 21 by Charles Wesley in the collection "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" Hymn XXI. 1 God of unexampled grace,     Redeemer of mankind, Matter of eternal praise     We in thy Passion find: Still our choicest strains we bring,     Still the joyful theme pursue, Thee the friend of sinners sing     Whose love is ever new. 2 Endless scenes of wonder rise     With that mysterious tree, Crucified before our eyes     Where we our Maker see: Jesus, Lord, what hast thou done!     Publish we the death divine, Stop, and gaze, and fall, and own     Was never love like thine! 3 Never love nor sorrow was     Like that my Jesus show’d; See him stretch’d on yonder cross     And crush’d beneath our load! Now discern the deity,     Now his heavenly birth declare! Faith cries out ’Tis he, ’tis he,     My God that suffers there! 4 Jesus drinks the bitter cup;     The wine-press treads alone, Tears the graves and mountains up     By his expiring groan: Lo!

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, " This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. " In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, " This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me ." —1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Has it ever happened to you? You walk into a room and suddenly the sight, smell, or feel of that room transports you thousands of miles to your grandmother’s house? In an instant you are 10 again. It is so real that you could almost walk to the kitchen and grab a cookie. What you have just experienced is the power of a memory. Our brains catalog, not just the sequence of events, but the sounds, sights, smells, tastes and touches of those events and places as well. And every time we come into contact with those senses again, our brain, quick as lightni

“Then he said to them all, ‘ If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ’” —Luke 9:23 A couple of weeks ago, during staff devotion, we were reflecting on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ weeks leading up to Good Friday. As we pointed out his sense of urgency to convey his message, and his determination to reach Jerusalem, Rev. Erma Pregler made a comment that has followed me throughout my Lenten journey. “I wonder,” she said, “how my life would be different if I had a cross in my future.” As the words left her lips, a thousand possibilities entered my head. Would I be more like Christ? Would I elevate people over tasks? Would I listen more intently, or express God’s love more overtly? How would my life be different if I had a cross in my future. This, I believe, is one of the primary purposes of Lent. Not only to reflect on the Cross of Christ, but also to reflect on the Cross that Christ bids us bear. Because, for thos

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. —Psalm100:4-5 At Wal-Mart the doors are clearly labeled “IN” and “OUT,” however, I rarely pay attention. It’s not on purpose, I just take the path of least resistance. The doors always open for me, regardless of the side I choose. Lately however, we’ve been shopping at Target, and Target is serious about those signs. I can stand in front of that “OUT” door all day long, and the door will not open for me. There have been times in my life that when I would come to church it felt as though I were standing in front of a door that just would not open. My prayers, it seemed, bounced off the ceiling, and an automatic sliding door stood between me and the presence of God; opening for others, but not for me. It would be easy to begin to think that the invisible barrier was normal, a

“You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in his ways...And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession...He has declared that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.” —Deuteronomy 26:17-19 You’ve heard it, and if you are like me, you may have cringed a little bit. 1 Peter 1:15 says, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." I am reminded of God’s perfection and righteousness; I think of God’s goodness and unconditional love, and know that I do not match up. In this comparison, anyone would feel a little spiritually inadequate. But what if “Holy” were less of a spiritual term, and more of a practical one? What if it were possible, even probable that we could all achieve holiness? The word “Holy” simply means that something is “set apart.” We often speak about a holy or sacred place, and have an understanding that certain things are not allowed there