In the early 1900's Edward Thorndike posed a theory of learning known as connectionism. The basic idea of the theory is that we learn as the brain compiles information from stimulus, forms neural networks, files these bits of information away and then recompiles them into learned information. Learning is reinforced by repeating the process (we exercise our memories by repetition), by positive or negative reinforcement (a good outcome strengthens the learned information and a negative outcome weakens the 'connection') and by how ready/willing (by our passion to grasp the data or by learning in an environment that is conducive to learning) we are to actually learn. I know this learning theory might seem a bit distant from what I usually write in my blog, but bear with me.
I will avoid the educational theory but when you think about it, God gives us His Son and His Word to teach us. He is "training up His children in the way we should go" so that when we are older we will return to it (God's path). God is truly into teaching, but how is His teaching different from what we usually experience? Most of us grew up in a western educational system that basically gives us information which places knowledge in our heads. That knowledge changes what we know and is very 'head-oriented" by nature. Hebrew teaching/learning is very different in it's goal. Jesus was a great example of the Hebrew process. Jesus provided information but didn't leave it there. His information was often given to us in a story that we must listen to and process. Part of the learning was the effort involved with placing out mind into the picture that he is showing us. It requires more than just storing information. In fact, the Hebrew learning process makes the learner repeat and reprocess the information because we must roll it over in our minds and replay the story/picture. Then, after the story, Jesus would give us a principle, sometimes as a question (i.e., "which one of these was a neighbor?" [in the story of the good Samaritan]) and then a command for action/application (same story, "Go thou and do likewise"). The learner, in order to get to the end of the learning process, must apply the truth and see what happens. The goal of the information, then, is the change in behavior (rather than the changed information in our brains).
When I look at this I believe this is why I see so many Bible studies, so many opportunities to learn and so little changed behavior. It is why I see us resist things that Jesus would have assumed as basic, God-led behavior (like tithing, caring for our neighbor, love for our parents, etc.). Our knowledge, if we are true to our faith, needs to begin to settle into our behavior or we haven't truly learned from the Biblical perspective. I don't know about you, but I will spend some time trying to apply the things I have learned ... then maybe I will begin to be molded by the God who teaches. I, for one, want to become a better student who applies his knowledge rather than keeping it in my head.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Most Freeing Thing Ever
I see a lot of people in various stages of bondage. They are bound by substances, choices, other people, jobs, relationships and all manners of external things. But there is one thing ... one thing that is truly a Messianic promise ... that can help in each of these circumstances and give us freedom wherever we are physically located. It is the most freeing thing ever!
Jesus continues to speak to us as He reads from Isaiah's scroll from Luke, Chapter 4. Jesus tells us He has been anointed to "preach Good News to the poor." Then Jesus says, "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind." Sunday we will break this down further, but for the purposes of our blog, let's focus on "recovery of sight to the blind." This is a loaded statement that deserves a bit of unpacking. First, let's look at recovery. You recover something you once had but somehow have lost. I believe this describes all of God's people who have been made in the image and likeness of God. We have been given the ability to see and perceive spiritual things ... a sense of the spiritual realm that is real but suppressed by this world in which we live. We are often told that somehow what we see every day is all that there is but deep down each of us knows and senses something bigger, greater and more real. St. Augustine called this a God-shaped hole in our heart that can only be filled by God-stuff. Carolyn Arends, in her song "Reaching" says:
"And later lying in the dark, I felt a stirring in my heart
And though I longed to see what could not be seen
I still believed
I guess, I shouldn't think it odd, Until we see the face of God
The yearning deep within us tells us, There's more to come
So when we taste of the divine, It leaves us hungry every time
For one more taste of what awaits, When Heaven's Gates are reached"
We long for a relationship and connection to God and, in its absence, try to fill that space with the inadequate things of this world.
But we don't just recover something lost ... as we grow spiritually we open our eyes and see what was there when we were blind. We see colors we never knew existed. We see beauty that only connection to God can reveal. And, and here is the most freeing thing ever ... we see ourselves clearly. All of our warts (and this is painful) and all of our beauty (this is almost too good to be true). One of my professors rightly talked about this trait of the "likeness of God" as transcendence. It is the ability to step outside of ourselves and see ourselves and others clearly. We honestly see our own motives. We see our situations as they actually are ... not as we would like to imagine them. We see our children as real people with real issues but also amazing beauty and promise. We see our lives clearly and become able to tweak, make adjustments and make real change (something impossible in the delusional world of blindness). And a church full of 1st century Jews are hearing Jesus read this beautiful promise and they have the chance to see themselves clearly as He reads and then teaches.
As I said, we will unpack this further Sunday, but I will leave you with a question. How did those Jews react? Did they leave enlightened and seeing, or did they leave blind? How will you leave Sunday? Will you learn from the one they called 'Teacher' or will you continue to live in the fog ... never becoming the transcendent creature you were created to be? Good questions I think! Pastor Randy
Jesus continues to speak to us as He reads from Isaiah's scroll from Luke, Chapter 4. Jesus tells us He has been anointed to "preach Good News to the poor." Then Jesus says, "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind." Sunday we will break this down further, but for the purposes of our blog, let's focus on "recovery of sight to the blind." This is a loaded statement that deserves a bit of unpacking. First, let's look at recovery. You recover something you once had but somehow have lost. I believe this describes all of God's people who have been made in the image and likeness of God. We have been given the ability to see and perceive spiritual things ... a sense of the spiritual realm that is real but suppressed by this world in which we live. We are often told that somehow what we see every day is all that there is but deep down each of us knows and senses something bigger, greater and more real. St. Augustine called this a God-shaped hole in our heart that can only be filled by God-stuff. Carolyn Arends, in her song "Reaching" says:
"And later lying in the dark, I felt a stirring in my heart
And though I longed to see what could not be seen
I still believed
I guess, I shouldn't think it odd, Until we see the face of God
The yearning deep within us tells us, There's more to come
So when we taste of the divine, It leaves us hungry every time
For one more taste of what awaits, When Heaven's Gates are reached"
We long for a relationship and connection to God and, in its absence, try to fill that space with the inadequate things of this world.
But we don't just recover something lost ... as we grow spiritually we open our eyes and see what was there when we were blind. We see colors we never knew existed. We see beauty that only connection to God can reveal. And, and here is the most freeing thing ever ... we see ourselves clearly. All of our warts (and this is painful) and all of our beauty (this is almost too good to be true). One of my professors rightly talked about this trait of the "likeness of God" as transcendence. It is the ability to step outside of ourselves and see ourselves and others clearly. We honestly see our own motives. We see our situations as they actually are ... not as we would like to imagine them. We see our children as real people with real issues but also amazing beauty and promise. We see our lives clearly and become able to tweak, make adjustments and make real change (something impossible in the delusional world of blindness). And a church full of 1st century Jews are hearing Jesus read this beautiful promise and they have the chance to see themselves clearly as He reads and then teaches.
As I said, we will unpack this further Sunday, but I will leave you with a question. How did those Jews react? Did they leave enlightened and seeing, or did they leave blind? How will you leave Sunday? Will you learn from the one they called 'Teacher' or will you continue to live in the fog ... never becoming the transcendent creature you were created to be? Good questions I think! Pastor Randy
Monday, January 7, 2013
Poor
Sunday we will examine a word that most of us don't like. The word is "poor." What do you think of when you hear the word "poor?"
Some of us think of those who have made bad choices and have ended up in poverty. Some desire to help this group. Some say, "They made their bed ... now let them sleep in it." Some feel duty bound to help the poor but they help reluctantly and suspiciously, feeling that the poor are dishonest and always out to scam the system. Some just want to ignore this version of the poor. The question for us is ... how does Jesus lead us to treat the poor.
Another version of "poor" is the poor in spirit (from the beatitudes). We have been taught that these are folks who might be beat down by life and beat up by others (sounds like most of us to me). Often we view these people as weak or unable to handle their own business. What does Jesus say about them?
Both instances use the word Ptochos which in the Greek means "poor and helpless ... one who needs lifting." The idea is that both groups cannot make it on their own strength ... they essentially do not have the capacity (without God) to navigate life and get to the place god has prepared without God's help. I like that definition. It describes all who understand our real dilemma in life ... we cannot (on our own power) get from our sin-filled and spiritually poor life to God's place where He makes all things new. It highlights the idea that when the praise band sings the song, "All the Poor and Powerless" the words describe the condition we must be in to receive what God has for us.
I meet too many people who say, "I can handle my on stuff ... God helps those who help themselves ... we can fix our own situation ... we are self-sufficient." The problem I see every day is ... these fixes don't work and at the end of the day we are left with useless cliches that contain none of God's power, forgiveness and provision. As I have seen life play our in so many families, self-sufficient is not sufficient at all! Jesus might say, "Come and I will give you living water from a well that never runs dry." Sounds like a good plan to me!
Some of us think of those who have made bad choices and have ended up in poverty. Some desire to help this group. Some say, "They made their bed ... now let them sleep in it." Some feel duty bound to help the poor but they help reluctantly and suspiciously, feeling that the poor are dishonest and always out to scam the system. Some just want to ignore this version of the poor. The question for us is ... how does Jesus lead us to treat the poor.
Another version of "poor" is the poor in spirit (from the beatitudes). We have been taught that these are folks who might be beat down by life and beat up by others (sounds like most of us to me). Often we view these people as weak or unable to handle their own business. What does Jesus say about them?
Both instances use the word Ptochos which in the Greek means "poor and helpless ... one who needs lifting." The idea is that both groups cannot make it on their own strength ... they essentially do not have the capacity (without God) to navigate life and get to the place god has prepared without God's help. I like that definition. It describes all who understand our real dilemma in life ... we cannot (on our own power) get from our sin-filled and spiritually poor life to God's place where He makes all things new. It highlights the idea that when the praise band sings the song, "All the Poor and Powerless" the words describe the condition we must be in to receive what God has for us.
I meet too many people who say, "I can handle my on stuff ... God helps those who help themselves ... we can fix our own situation ... we are self-sufficient." The problem I see every day is ... these fixes don't work and at the end of the day we are left with useless cliches that contain none of God's power, forgiveness and provision. As I have seen life play our in so many families, self-sufficient is not sufficient at all! Jesus might say, "Come and I will give you living water from a well that never runs dry." Sounds like a good plan to me!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Hard But Worth It
Yesterday I watched as the Dallas Cowboys football team lost their bid for the playoffs to a Washington Redskins team led by a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back. For those of you not into football, experience is a major factor in achieving your goals in the National Football League (NFL) and for these two rookies, it is amazing to see what they have accomplished. I believe they are where they are because of 1) considerable natural talent, 2) hard work and 3) remaining focused on the task at hand. Oh but if we could approach our pursuit of good things for our new year in the same way.
When I think of stories like the one above, I think truer, better and more important stories from Scripture which have been teaching us these virtues for a long time. One such story is that of Paul. Paul was possessed of 1) considerable natural talent (he was trained by the best), 2) great work ethic (it took time, dedication, energy, sacrifice and sweat to learn and become what he called a 'Pharisee of Pharisees') and 3) stubborn persistence (Paul pressed on toward the goal [for a while the wrong goal] well before he was called by God to be the greatest evangelist ever). Paul applied these virtues toward the persecution of this new group called "the way" (i.e., the early Christian Church). He followed them. He watched them and participated in their persecution (see Acts 7:58). But God has a way of calling us to higher purpose and better use of those traits that can be used for good or for bad. God used the natural talent of Paul ... his knowledge of Scripture ... his ability to pursue logical argument ... his understanding of the Law and its dangers. God used Paul's work ethic as the Holt Spirit inspired words like, "But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." [Philippians 3:12]. God used Paul's dogged focus to give him strength to persist in places like prison, shipwrecked on an island, in court and pressed on every side (2 Corinthians 4:8) by troubles.
2013 will be a year when we can choose to stay the course, go backward or go forward. Staying the course will be easy ... just do nothing and next New Year's day we can wonder why our world has the same issues and problems. Going backward is simple ... just revert to behaviors and practices that have brought us down every year up till now. Or ... just maybe ... we can go forward. We can embrace and apply our natural talent God gives us all to do His work (these are called Spiritual Gifts [1 Corinthians 12]). We can do the hard work of (every day) making hard choices, putting one foot in front of the other and reminding ourselves that following God isn't a microwave (instant) process, it is a crock pot (slow, persistent, methodical) process. And, we can realize that we are called to "run with endurance the race the God has set before us [Hebrews 12:1]." You don't have to be an experienced Christian to see results from this process. You only need to be open, usable and willing. In fact, you can be a rookie. All God needs is your yes! Pastor Randy
When I think of stories like the one above, I think truer, better and more important stories from Scripture which have been teaching us these virtues for a long time. One such story is that of Paul. Paul was possessed of 1) considerable natural talent (he was trained by the best), 2) great work ethic (it took time, dedication, energy, sacrifice and sweat to learn and become what he called a 'Pharisee of Pharisees') and 3) stubborn persistence (Paul pressed on toward the goal [for a while the wrong goal] well before he was called by God to be the greatest evangelist ever). Paul applied these virtues toward the persecution of this new group called "the way" (i.e., the early Christian Church). He followed them. He watched them and participated in their persecution (see Acts 7:58). But God has a way of calling us to higher purpose and better use of those traits that can be used for good or for bad. God used the natural talent of Paul ... his knowledge of Scripture ... his ability to pursue logical argument ... his understanding of the Law and its dangers. God used Paul's work ethic as the Holt Spirit inspired words like, "But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." [Philippians 3:12]. God used Paul's dogged focus to give him strength to persist in places like prison, shipwrecked on an island, in court and pressed on every side (2 Corinthians 4:8) by troubles.
2013 will be a year when we can choose to stay the course, go backward or go forward. Staying the course will be easy ... just do nothing and next New Year's day we can wonder why our world has the same issues and problems. Going backward is simple ... just revert to behaviors and practices that have brought us down every year up till now. Or ... just maybe ... we can go forward. We can embrace and apply our natural talent God gives us all to do His work (these are called Spiritual Gifts [1 Corinthians 12]). We can do the hard work of (every day) making hard choices, putting one foot in front of the other and reminding ourselves that following God isn't a microwave (instant) process, it is a crock pot (slow, persistent, methodical) process. And, we can realize that we are called to "run with endurance the race the God has set before us [Hebrews 12:1]." You don't have to be an experienced Christian to see results from this process. You only need to be open, usable and willing. In fact, you can be a rookie. All God needs is your yes! Pastor Randy
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Big and Small
Our Christmas Eve service revolved around a term from Scripture that is spoken of in the Pentateuch (the first five books of Scripture) and that is carried (thematically) through all of Scripture. The Christmas term is Immanuel, meaning "God with us." We really need God with us ... because we are the people Jesus spoke of when he said "Come all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest." We need God with us when we are confused and need someone with an eternal perspective. We need God with us when we have lost someone close to us. We need God with us when a disaster has happened and we are just trying to survive. We need God with us when we are "geographically-challenged" by being born in a place where God is not welcome or where someone who looks like me is oppressed. We need God with us when we are tempted to enter back into an addiction and need a higher power to help us through one more day. We need God with us when our teenage son or daughter is out of control and we need wisdom beyond our years. We need God with us when we wait in the doctor's office for a diagnosis that might be hard news. We need God with us when our adult children are struggling and we have helped all we can. We need God with us when we just cannot forgive without God's power. We need God with us when it is hard to pray. And we need God with us when our choices have made us alone in this cold, hard world.
C.S. Lewis had an amazing image of God which is both Biblical and helpful. He said God was the only power in the universe big enough to create the universe, direct the affairs of nations and princes and kings and yet make himself small enough to step down into our worst hurts and deepest miseries. God with us came into the humility and lowliness of our world. God with us lost friends to death. God with us was chased by people who wanted to kill him. God with us was beaten, spit on, insulted and nailed to a cross. God with us laughed and cried. God with us was a son ... a friend ... a preacher. God with us walked hard roads and served the Father placing His (Jesus') interests below God's plan. And God with us did something that only someone fully God and fully human could do ... he took all the sins of Adam's race upon himself. This Christmas remember that God with us made a promise that should give us comfort when we hear that God has been sent out of places like schools, our nation, our halls of legislation and any other place that allegedly has had God 'removed.' First, we have no power to remove God from any place God desires to be. We can ignore God and God can chose to remove His Spirit, His blessing and His peace. But we cannot do it. Second, God has (in Matthew 28) told us He will be with us even unto the ends of the earth. So ... carry Him in your heart. Let Him into your workplace. Invite Him into your day. Let Him into the little things and the big things. Watch for God with us in the comfort, bravery, grief, struggle and stories of places like Sandy Hook Elementary, 911, Afghanistan, the Mexican border, the inner city and the jungles of Brazil. For where the brokenhearted are ... God is close by. That gives me strength, comfort and calm. God with us is as big or as small as He needs to be to meet us, lead us, save us and carry us to our destination with Him. THAT ... is Good News.
C.S. Lewis had an amazing image of God which is both Biblical and helpful. He said God was the only power in the universe big enough to create the universe, direct the affairs of nations and princes and kings and yet make himself small enough to step down into our worst hurts and deepest miseries. God with us came into the humility and lowliness of our world. God with us lost friends to death. God with us was chased by people who wanted to kill him. God with us was beaten, spit on, insulted and nailed to a cross. God with us laughed and cried. God with us was a son ... a friend ... a preacher. God with us walked hard roads and served the Father placing His (Jesus') interests below God's plan. And God with us did something that only someone fully God and fully human could do ... he took all the sins of Adam's race upon himself. This Christmas remember that God with us made a promise that should give us comfort when we hear that God has been sent out of places like schools, our nation, our halls of legislation and any other place that allegedly has had God 'removed.' First, we have no power to remove God from any place God desires to be. We can ignore God and God can chose to remove His Spirit, His blessing and His peace. But we cannot do it. Second, God has (in Matthew 28) told us He will be with us even unto the ends of the earth. So ... carry Him in your heart. Let Him into your workplace. Invite Him into your day. Let Him into the little things and the big things. Watch for God with us in the comfort, bravery, grief, struggle and stories of places like Sandy Hook Elementary, 911, Afghanistan, the Mexican border, the inner city and the jungles of Brazil. For where the brokenhearted are ... God is close by. That gives me strength, comfort and calm. God with us is as big or as small as He needs to be to meet us, lead us, save us and carry us to our destination with Him. THAT ... is Good News.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Some Changes
OK ... usually we devote the blog entries to those things that might make you think ... about your relationship to God ... about your relationship to your church ... about things less logistical and more reflective. Today we are going to change course for a week. The reason for this is simple. We (Good News and the Church in general) is charged with making meaningful connection to people so that we might introduce them to an amazing, holy and awesome God who is declaring His past/present/future reign constantly. We make these connections in many ways including interpretation of Scripture, preaching, teaching, fellowship, sacrament and nurture. In today's world we also make these connections through the communication systems in place today ... our website, the local newspaper and the tried-and-true word of mouth. Sometimes being consistent in these communications requires us to have some continuity in what we do on a weekly basis. Over the past several years a 'glitch' in this consistency has been our custom of having a joint worship service on the 5th Sundays which fall about every three months.
From a fellowship standpoint this has made some sense. In practice, however, it has not done what we would have intended. It has made communicating through our media outlets (website, newspaper, verbal) confusing and inconsistent. It has created confusion for people who are visiting and have come to worship only to find that that particular Sunday there is only one service. The 5th Sunday has been consistently our lowest attendance Sunday. Finally, some of our people have been confused over whether the service will be traditional or contemporary. So ... we will be making a change.
Beginning immediately we will have all Sunday worship follow our usual (and advertised) pattern. Our traditional worship will be 8:50am each week and our contemporary worship will be at 11:00am. This means that December 30th of 2012 we will have two normal worship services ... 8:50am and 11:00am. For those who like their normal style of worship this should make life easier. For those who can't keep the 5th Sunday idea in their heads or on the calendar, this should give you the comfort and consistency that every Sunday's pattern will be the same. For those who might visit or be coming here for the 1st time, this should make their choice of worship services simple.
And remember ... we WILL be having our amazing Christmas Eve communion service at 5:30pm on December 24th (oddly enough, Christmas Eve). I hope you will invite family and friends to this time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the promise of new life, the love of a giving God and the life that we are offered through one small child, born in Bethlehem. Come and see the hope ... hear the songs ... and remember that night when everything changed. Pastor Randy
From a fellowship standpoint this has made some sense. In practice, however, it has not done what we would have intended. It has made communicating through our media outlets (website, newspaper, verbal) confusing and inconsistent. It has created confusion for people who are visiting and have come to worship only to find that that particular Sunday there is only one service. The 5th Sunday has been consistently our lowest attendance Sunday. Finally, some of our people have been confused over whether the service will be traditional or contemporary. So ... we will be making a change.
Beginning immediately we will have all Sunday worship follow our usual (and advertised) pattern. Our traditional worship will be 8:50am each week and our contemporary worship will be at 11:00am. This means that December 30th of 2012 we will have two normal worship services ... 8:50am and 11:00am. For those who like their normal style of worship this should make life easier. For those who can't keep the 5th Sunday idea in their heads or on the calendar, this should give you the comfort and consistency that every Sunday's pattern will be the same. For those who might visit or be coming here for the 1st time, this should make their choice of worship services simple.
And remember ... we WILL be having our amazing Christmas Eve communion service at 5:30pm on December 24th (oddly enough, Christmas Eve). I hope you will invite family and friends to this time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the promise of new life, the love of a giving God and the life that we are offered through one small child, born in Bethlehem. Come and see the hope ... hear the songs ... and remember that night when everything changed. Pastor Randy
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Someone
Ever had a time in your life when you needed someone? Someone who might be a bit wiser ... someone who has a different perspective ... someone who will tell you like it is ... someone who will say what needs to be said while being your best friend? Those someones are very hard to find ... but Mary had someone.
The someone for Mary was her cousin Elizabeth. Older ... dealing with issues of her own ... and someone who, at that very moment, was sharing an experience that would be part of this world-changing event we call Christmas.
Elizabeth lived about nine days journey from Nazareth where Mary lived. Isn't it odd that Mary's family would allow her to make a nine-day journey through rough country to go and see Elizabeth? I believe it says a lot about the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth. The Bible calls Elizabeth barren in her old age ... Mary called Elizabeth friend and confidante. These two women were both drawn together by relationship and pulled together by the common experience of what was about to happen. Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. John would be in charge of announcing the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. He would live an extraordinary life and die a horrible death, all in service to a God who could redeem all of it. Elizabeth would give birth to John about six months before Jesus would be born, but Mary would spend months sharing stories, hearing her advice and receiving Elizabeth's encouragement. I believe both women were blessed by their relationship. And their love and friendship was honored by God.
This part of a larger story reminds us the value of that someone in our lives who will love us no matter what and will share our deepest desires, our greatest failures, our biggest successes and our most painful hurts. When you have a friend like that, never let them go. Cherish them. Hold them close. Pray for and with them. And be as good a friend to them as they are to you.
Sunday we will share some of this story and this great friendship as Mary is encouraged by Elizabeth. Elizabeth is helped in her pregnancy by Mary as they both share part of the greatest story of all time. We will learn about the Biblical meaning of 'blessed.' We will learn that Elizabeth and John knew the identity of Jesus 10 days after conception (I think that baby was pretty viable at 10 days of life). And we will learn not to ignore this story as we move through the Christmas season on our journey to the manger in Bethlehem. Join us!
The someone for Mary was her cousin Elizabeth. Older ... dealing with issues of her own ... and someone who, at that very moment, was sharing an experience that would be part of this world-changing event we call Christmas.
Elizabeth lived about nine days journey from Nazareth where Mary lived. Isn't it odd that Mary's family would allow her to make a nine-day journey through rough country to go and see Elizabeth? I believe it says a lot about the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth. The Bible calls Elizabeth barren in her old age ... Mary called Elizabeth friend and confidante. These two women were both drawn together by relationship and pulled together by the common experience of what was about to happen. Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. John would be in charge of announcing the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. He would live an extraordinary life and die a horrible death, all in service to a God who could redeem all of it. Elizabeth would give birth to John about six months before Jesus would be born, but Mary would spend months sharing stories, hearing her advice and receiving Elizabeth's encouragement. I believe both women were blessed by their relationship. And their love and friendship was honored by God.
This part of a larger story reminds us the value of that someone in our lives who will love us no matter what and will share our deepest desires, our greatest failures, our biggest successes and our most painful hurts. When you have a friend like that, never let them go. Cherish them. Hold them close. Pray for and with them. And be as good a friend to them as they are to you.
Sunday we will share some of this story and this great friendship as Mary is encouraged by Elizabeth. Elizabeth is helped in her pregnancy by Mary as they both share part of the greatest story of all time. We will learn about the Biblical meaning of 'blessed.' We will learn that Elizabeth and John knew the identity of Jesus 10 days after conception (I think that baby was pretty viable at 10 days of life). And we will learn not to ignore this story as we move through the Christmas season on our journey to the manger in Bethlehem. Join us!
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