It looks really bad. Worse than we thought.
When we look out at the world the evil is staggering. When we look in at the shape of our own hearts, at best we are a mix of truth and error, compassion and selfishness, love and hate. Even when we look at the condition of the Church it is really no better, sometimes worse. What are we to make of all this mess? What hope do we have of becoming the people we long to be? How can we together, in our evil and mess, bring love and hope to our world in so much need? What do we have to offer really?
2000 years ago the apostle Paul wrote a personal letter to a church community he knew well. He knew the details of their lives in all their messiness and sin, and this practical letter addresses much of it. Far from the tight categories and overly precise theology we sometimes experience, this letter takes the central message of the bible and unpacks it in the confusing, brokenness of real life. As we will find, that is actually where Jesus shines, where we experience all that he has to offer. Jesus did come for the sick after all, not the healthy.
This Sunday we begin our journey into the book of 1 Corinthians. Read, reflect, and meditate on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Ask yourself, what is the shape of God’s faithfulness?
I can’t wait to worship together.
Pastor David
