My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

 

I pray that you are finding the 40-day challenge rewarding and thought provoking. 

 

It is hard to believe that it has been two weeks since I invited you to join with me in a challenge to read through the New Testament beginning with Acts seeking to see God in our world and specifically attempting to answer the question: Who is God calling us to be as individuals and as a church as followers of Jesus Christ in the world today?

 

In my reading and reflection I have noticed the following:

 

  • I am intrigued by Galatians 1:3-5 —> “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” This needs to be unpacked and studied. What comes to my mind are the following questions for reflection:
    • Why did Jesus Christ die for our sins?
    • What are our sins?
    • Do we think of the age in which we live as evil?
    • What is evil?
  • In light of Galatians 1:3-5 how do you hear Galatians 5:16-26? Who is God calling us to be in the life of the Spirit?
  • Acts 17:-18:18 —> Why did Paul turn to the Scriptures? What role do the Scriptures (for Paul and the early church the Scriptures were the Torah, the Law, and the Prophets that is, the Old Testament for us) have for us? How do we comprehend the use of Scripture? I am influenced by the Lutheran tradition of Scripture being the “Norma normans” in Latin the “ruling rule” (http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=n&word=NORMANORMANS) for faith and life.
  • In First and Second Thessalonians how do we hear the call to live in holiness? (1 Thessalonians 4)

 

What are your observations?

 

What are our observations revealing to us about who God is calling us to be?

 

I leave the question open as I think we are always working out who we are called to be as followers of Jesus Christ. We may be called to “be” in a different role than previously based on the mission that God has for us as an individual or as a community of faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Tim

 

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