Welcome!
I welcome your comments regarding our shared ministry at St. Paul.
If you would rather comment privately please, email me at Prshepherd@westriv.com
"Two are better than one," says Ecclesiastes,
"because if one falls down, his friend can help him up."
I deeply desire to bring Christian comfort and the power of prayer to those who are challenged with sickness or circumstances in life. However, in this time of restricted visitation call me and I will attempt to contact them.
Please, assume that if you don’t tell us, we do not know.
Call me at 301-4956 if surgery or hospital stay is imminent or if a visit could be helpful.
Pastor Dennis
from my perspective…
Breaking News, or Headline News, is updated by the hour and minute. The programs are designed to get our attention and to sell advertising. (Big surprise!) On the other hand, the Good News of Jesus Christ was proclaimed and is proclaimed today for an entirely different purpose.
Mark begins his gospel with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mk 1:1, ESV) It sounds like Mark is reporting, “Breaking news! Pay attention! Something important has happened!”
Matthew begins his gospel, “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.” (Mt. 1:1) It sounds like Matthew is introducing a history lesson whereby we might learn something. Don’t get me wrong – I love history because I believe with George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” (Jn. 1:1) This is something totally different. John invites us to lay aside our daily concerns and ponder life’s Big Questions concerning God and “The Word of God.”
Each year, we might take a measure of our life on Tax Day, an anniversary, or any number of other milestones. Regardless of the circumstances, we go through a process of reflection, evaluation, and decision-making. We might reflect on the Big Questions of Life, like “Who are we? And “How do I fit in with family and society?” or “What positive difference am I making?”
I will grant that the most common daily question is, “Am I happy.” But I believe the Bible teaches us that happiness results from how we think of ourselves and our relationship with others. Therefore, John invites us to ponder anew our relationship with the One God of the Holy Scriptures, as opposed to mental or emotional gods of pleasure, wealth or self-importance.
In the church year, Lent is the season that encourages us to ponder our relationship with the one and only eternal God and one another or who we desire to become.
Join us as we explore Jesus’ great encounters with religious rulers, a disrespected woman from a disrespected people and His disciples. In John, Jesus, the Word of God, invites people to question who we are in God’s eyes and who He desires us to become to live a fulfilling life. (e.g. John 10:10)
As John informs us, Jesus, the true Word of God, comes into the world to save us from ourselves and the destructive temptations brought on by the evil lies of the great Satan. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV)
Please join us in our encounter with the Living Word of God, your pastor, Dennis.
For the sake of Christ - born again
by Pastor Dennis on 10/01/14
A
note on Paul’s letter to the Philippians 3…
Confidence is sometimes
misinterpreted as arrogance. Adversaries of the Gospel have come flaunting
their authority and insisting newly converted Christians must adhere to the laws
of Judaism in order to be included as the chosen children of God in the
covenant of God.
Therefore, the Apostle Paul lists
his Jewish credentials; not to boast but to reveal that his lineage and
authority. From his birth he was a God-fearing, Law-observing Jew and he
belonged to the most aristocratic Jewish tribe. Now he states, “But whatever
gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3:7)
The
Apostle Peter quoting Isaiah 40 held this perspective: “… you have been born
again [in Christ], not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the
living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory
like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word
of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached
to you.” (1 Peter 1:23–25)
There are many similar examples in
history, not the least of which is St. Francis of Assisi and Martin Luther, who
as the sons of the wealthy men were destined to inherit wealth and status and
gave it all up for the sake of following Christ with heart, mind and soul. By
their example, we are encouraged to look at our lives through an eternal perspective
rather than a worldly perspective.
