Faith LINK

“GOD IS MERCIFUL”

(No 7 in series: The Attributes of God)

“The Lord is grac ous and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy ”

Psalm 145:8

By Rev Dan M nor - revdminor1945@gmail com

I love the old Methodist Hymnal Communion

Ritual (1939) which began with these words: “We are not wor thy so much as to gather up the cr umbs under Thy table But Thou ar t the same Lord whose proper ty is always to have mercy

WHAT IS MERCY?

Mercy may be defined as God’s loving kindness extended to all who seek it God’s mercy is an illustration of God’s grace; a demonstration of God’s unconditional love and a demonstration of God’s empathy and compassion

DO WE NEED MERCY?

In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus told the stor y of two men who went to the temple to pray One man, a Phar isee prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers –or even like this tax collector ” The tax collector prayed, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner ” Which prayer did the Lord answer? The second one, of course! The parable ends with these words, For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled a n d t h o s e w h o h u m bl e t h e m s e l ve s w i l l b e exalted ” There is no room for conceit in our relationship with God The reason for this may be those who are conceited don’t need God Rather, the Lord honors those who have a sincere need for God

RECEIVING GOD’S MERCY

It takes more than humility to receive God’s mercy

It takes honesty Some examples from the Bible include King David, Apostle Peter, Apostle Paul, an adulterous woman and the thief on a cross All o f t h e m r e c e i ve d m e r c y, n o t b e c a u s e t h ey deser ved it, but because they were honest about their sins

EXTENDING MERCY

T h e wo r l d ’s way i s h a t e, ve n g e a n c e a n d vindictiveness The way of God’s kingdom is love and mercy The way to receive mercy is to give mercy Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7)

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to show the same kind of mercy to others that You have shown to us In Your strong name Amen.

Edward Lee HOWRIGON

AGE 81 - PLAINWELL MI

Ed passed away peacefully in his home on July 25, 2023 He was born in Plainwell, MI on July 22, 1942, the son of Marshall Howrigon & Lena (Pease) Howrigon (Hollis Henry) Ed married Sandy (Mengel) February 9, 1988 in Las Vegas, and they have been inseparable ever since Ed was preceded in death by his parents, 3 brothers, Don, Ron & Marsh Howrigon He is survived by his wife, Sandy, his daughter Michelle (Scott) Kamp and Sandy’s daughter, Wendy (Wade) Larner, grandchildren, great grandchilden, nieces & nephews Ed served in the army, participated and was active with the VFW The last of his many jobs was with the Community Shoppers Guide He absolutely loved riding with Sandy on his motorcycle and forever loved his many horses Per his wishes, cremation has taken place A celebration of life will be announced at a later date

Geraldine “Jeri” BERNER

AGE 89 - OTSEGO MI

Geraldine passed away Thursday, July 20, 2023 in Otsego She was born December 28, 1933 in Otsego the daughter of John and Jennie (Arendson) Boerman Jeri graduated from Otsego High School and worked for Otsego Public Schools for many years As a young woman she liked helping out on the family farm, running the horse drawn hay mower In her free time she enjoyed tending to her flower gardens, knitting, crocheting, quilting, masonry, woodworking, baling hay and loved being a grandma Jeri was a member of the Trowbridge Community Church On February 25, 1956 in Otsego she married William Berner who preceded her in death in 2011 Surviving are her children, Tom (Dawn) Berner and Marcia (Bill) Sorensen; 4 grandchildren, John, Jenny, Chelsea, Andrew; 10 great grandchildren along with several nieces and nephews She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brothers, Ken and Robert Boerman; sister, Evelyn Klein; an infant sister; and her grandson, Dale Knobloch Funeral service took place Monday, July 24, 2023 at Winkel Funeral Home, with Pastor Greg Carlson officiating Burial followed at Mountain Home Cemetery in Otsego Contributions in memory of Jeri may be made to Wings of Hope Hospice Arrangements by Winkel

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