What has 2020 been like for you? I am thinking that for some of you – and this is just a guess – it has felt less than stellar. And just the outrageous quantity of 2020-themed memes on social media shows that you are not alone in thinking that way. From pandemic to political clashes to protests and riots to wildfires and hurricanes… there has been a lot to take in. And that’s not even mentioning challenges and upheavals in our own communities and our own church family.
“Jeez, Pastor Marc. You’re really giving us a great pep talk here.” That’s the thing, though. We are a bible people. And the bible was written by people who had crazy-difficult challenges like these as their backdrop! Injustice and slavery, famine and heartache, political corruption and confusion, destruction and exile, defeat and oppression. And if the bible teaches us anything, it is that we come to know God most deeply in times like these. Not only that, but our God is the One who came down to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come for salvation!
So, I say that it is precisely now when, if we look for it, we get to see what is possible. It is precisely now when we can recognize the Light because it shines all the brighter in the darkness. It is precisely now when we get to see God’s hand move in powerful ways. It is precisely now when get to join in what God is doing to set people free, and to be set free ourselves!
Throughout October, in worship and in our lives, we are going to embrace one of God’s powerful four-letter-words: H-O-P-E! And we will see what God is making possible for us, right here and now! Come join us!
Sunday, October 4 – “Don’t Give Up, It’s a Little Complicated” (Isaiah 40:27-31)**
Sunday, October 11 – “Didn’t Have a Dime, but I Always Had a Vision” (2 Cor 4:6-9)
Sunday, October 18 – “Light Up Your Wildest Dreams” (Mark 10:46-52)
Sunday, October 25 – “Shooting for the Stars” (Matt 14:22-33)
**Drive In Worship in the church parking lot!
