The Shepherd Journal | Fall 2020 by Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church

the

SHEPHERD JOURNAL FALL 2020

isolated hopeless lonely afraid stressed

the SHEPHERD JOURNAL FALL 2020

FALL ISSUE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.â&#x20AC;? - Richard Rohr

REV. DR. LEON BLODER LEAD PASTOR

A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR LEON

race and Peace Shepherd Family!

Hope USA and Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio

Welcome to our fall digital edition of the Shepherd Journal! In the wake of the COVID crisis we have re-imagined the Journal and in many ways have been able to do much more with it than when it was in print—in large part thanks to our awesome contributors.

Over a hundred members and friends of SHPC took part in our Conversations on Racial Injustice weekly class, learning, listening and lamenting over the sin of systemic racism in America. And we are discerning where God might be leading us next as we begin to turn from reflection to action.

Since the publication of our last edition of the Journal a lot has changed in our world. I think that most of expected that we would be back to “normal” by now—free from lockdowns, quarantines and virtual living.

Our church family has also continued to gather virtually for fellowship, classes, events, game nights, and discussion groups. There are opportunities for each of these nearly every week for people of all ages.

I also suspect that most of us never expected to experience the massive protests and worldwide backlash over racial injustice that we experienced over the last several months.

It will be some time before we are able to gather together for in-person worship, but we are thinking creatively about the way forward this fall. We hope to be able to offer opportunities for small, safe, outdoor gatherings as soon as we are able to do so responsibly, so stay tuned.

So much has changed around us—life will be different going forward, for sure. But in the midst of all of this, our church has continued to fulfill its mission—to Love God and Love Everybody, and to do so in creative and imaginative ways. Our church most definitely never closed.

The many articles in this edition of the Journal reflect our current cultural climate, to be sure. But they also reflect the defiant hope that we all should share. We may be wondering what happens next, but we don’t have to wonder Who to turn to no matter what.

We have been able to provide financial support and encouragement to our global mission partners in Mexico, Guatemala and Africa, in spite of our inability to travel to them this year.

God is with us. God has never left us. And we will continue to love God and love everybody with everything we’ve got.

We’ve also continued to support our partners who minister to the homeless and at-risk families here in Austin. And we’ve been able to provide financial assistance to families in crisis through our partnerships with Kids

Counting it all Joy, Pastor Leon 5

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CHURCH OFFICE

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Steven Carr

Writers Rev. Dr. Leon Bloder Kelly Bratkowski Sarah Dixon Rev. Britta Dukes Allen Gunter Caralee Jane Beth Mueller Rev. Rob Mueller Ellen Perkey

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SHEPHERD STAFF Rev. Dr. Leon Bloder Lead Pastor Rev. Britta Dukes Associate Pastor Chris Gordon Senior Director of Family Ministries Beth Mueller Senior Director of Worship Arts

Neil McKown Director of Student Ministries

Steven Carr Communications Coordinator

Sarah Dixon Youth Ministry Intern

Kelly Bratkowski Missions Coordinator Pastoral Intern

Pattie Lawrence Preschool Director Holly Spink Financial Coordinator Cathy Williams Administrative Coordinator 6

Caralee Sadler Young Adult Community Builder

TABLE OF CONTENTS

10 12

THIS TABLE

OF JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

THE ART OF REBELLION

BIBLICAL CONCEPTS TO GUIDE US IN TROUBLED TIMES

PSALM 139

SHINE A LITTLE BRIGHTER

A GIFT FROM GOD YOU MAY NOT LIKE

A UNIQUENESS THAT FELT REBELLIOUS

SIN IN THE CAMP

CAN WE PRAY THE CRAZY AWAY?

THE SYSTEMIC & GENERATIONAL STAIN OF THE SIN OF SLAVERY

DISCUSSION GUIDE & SERMON NOTES 7

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UPCOMING

SERMON SERIES

SEPTEMBER 6 - 27

Following Jesus isn’t easy. It was never meant to be. As followers of Jesus we are challenged to stumble after Christ on the Way of the Cross, realizing that the Way sometimes demands a radical, counter-cultural and even rebellious kind of sacrificial love on our part. This series will explore what that means for you and me within our new reality.

OCTOBER 4 - 18

These past several months have been difficult for all of us as we’ve been forced to shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, quarantine… and isolate. For many of us, this forced isolation has been too difficult to bear at times. But within the challenges we are facing is an opportunity for growth and new life. This series will explore what it means to find joy where you are—no matter what. 8

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UPCOMING

SERMON SERIES

OCTOBER 25 - NOVEMBER 1 Pastor Leon will be preaching this two-part series at the height of the national election—On the Sundays before the election. As Christians, not only do we have a duty to be good citizens of our country, but we also have a greater duty to be model citizens of the kingdom of God. Now more than ever we need to be embodying God’s kingdom/ shalom to the world, and demonstrating our trust in God’s greater purposes.

NOVEMBER 8 - 22

Everything is changing around us. The world that will emerge on the other side of the many crises we are facing will be completely different. How do we discover our purpose in life when everything we used to use to guide us is changed? This series will take this on and seek to discover what’s next. 9

THIS TABLE BY REV. BRITTA DUKES ASSOCIATE PASTOR

Host beckons The invitation: Come RSVP and be received Into the warmth of welcome Eternal embrace awaits Inhale divine grace Here Holy One serves The hungering gathered Grain, grape and grace Into hands cupped and craving Banquet of remembrance Proclamation of promise Abundant feast Accepted High Priest prays Glorify Me; I Glorify You Unity and oneness revealed Into communal imagination Modeled to be mirrored Threshold crossed Othering ends Belonging

THE ART OF REBELLION BY CARALEE JANE YOUNG ADULT COMMUNITY BUILDER

hen Chris Gordon asked me to write something for this issue of The Shepherd Journal, I was hesitant, doubting myself and doubting that whatever I had to say would be of any interest to this congregation. However, as soon as Chris shared with me this month’s theme, “rebellion,” a quote from Caroline Caldwell immediately came to mind. Written on some inspirational Instagram post many moons ago, I came across her wisdom that “in a society that profits from your self doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act.” So instead of continuing to doubt myself, I thought it was time to sit down and write what I have to share with you.

mighty oak, but “could have” doesn’t quite have the same weight to it as “it did”. If I leave anything with you all today, it’s that I challenge you to dare to love yourself in this world that benefits from us doing the exact opposite. We have been sown, and now it’s up to us to blossom. With the constant unveiling of social immorality, from police brutality to environmental degradation to billionaires profiting from a global pandemic, the world appears to be more corrupt when in fact it has been this way all along. The revelation of these injustices is a form of rebellion. By shining a light on abusive systems, we can finally start to tear them down. Speaking truth into history is often overlooked, but it is consistently one of the most powerful acts of rebellion we can achieve.

What do you think about when contemplating rebellion? Acting out in defiance of your parents? A teacher? The system?

It feels almost like human nature to push back against the weight that so adamantly tries to hold us in place.

While studying abroad in Valparaíso, Chile, I had the opportunity to choose a topic for my final research project. This assignment, that was designed to take a month and a half to complete, could be anything we wanted it to be. While carefully considering what Chilean culture had to offer, I couldn’t escape the beautiful murals and graffiti that helped to define this port city. Every street was known for these living and ever changing mon-

Is that because we are meant to move and to grow? If we are stunted, do we surrender to those in power while sacrificing what could have been? If a seedling doesn’t push its way to the surface of the soil, what becomes of it? Perhaps it could have been a

uments that represented the people and the history that once filled those pueblos. As I started researching the history behind these artworks, it became clear that this was more than an expression of beauty and spray paint. It was a way to communicate in a dictatorship that took away the people’s voice.

following would bring in bold colors and fill in the spaces that were left. Over night, people had taken back their power to communicate with each other, spreading the message and feeling of injustice while letting their neighbor know that they were not alone. Together they suffered, but together they would survive.

In 1973, Chile experienced a coup d’etat that placed it into the Pinochet dictatorship until 1990. During that time, books were burned, newspapers were canceled, and curfews were set in place to keep people from gathering and spreading information that went against the government. Even my host father’s Boy Scout Troop could no longer congregate for their weekly meetings. Power was forcefully put into place and the people were silenced.

This communal mural painting reminds me of the “Black Lives Matter” murals popping up throughout the United States. The images on social media showing hundreds of people coming together to write bold and clear messages against the system is inspiring us now, and it will continue to inspire those into the future. I am proud to say that just recently, a “Black Lives Matter” mural has been painted in front of my high school in Decatur, Georgia. These pieces of art serve to connect and empower the oppressed and those who are tired of seeing their neighbors beat down in front of their eyes.

Whole-heartedly believing that there was another way to life, a few underground rebels quickly and quietly started to act. By word of mouth, these rebels started designing and erecting murals throughout the country.

From these examples, that span decades, we can see that art is a medium for our rebellion. It is within art that we find the truth of the human experience. We have learned that our history books come with their own agendas and biases. The publishers and funders may want us to remember things a certain way, but it is the art of the people that brings balance to these narratives. By making art, we not only push through the surface and into the light, but we make way for those who come after us.

They did it in waves. Groups of people would take to the streets at night, timed perfectly so that there weren’t enough people to draw attention to their mutiny. Each group would come with a different color to fill in missing parts. The first group would have black paint and create a bold outline of the image they hoped would be there come morning. Each group 14

It’s in Proverbs 31:8-9 (NRSV) that we receive the words to “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” By making art, we achieve this. By sharing our truth, we strengthen our communities.

California to join him in gardening and cultivating public lands. He calls it his form of graffiti. So instead of using a paint can, he uses a packet of seeds. The medians transform from blank canvases to colorful forests of food. These public spaces become food for the masses, which fights a system that perpetuates food insecurity. By gardening, Ron Finley provides food to his neighbors. If you have time, I highly recommend his TED Talk, “A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA”.

So what is your art? Do you currently have a practice, or is it still waiting to be discovered? Instead of sitting around and consuming the art of others, do you contribute to the basket with the loaves and the fishes? If everyone contributes, then surely there will be enough to nourish us all.

Ultimately, it is up to you whether or not you choose to create or consume. Personally, I like to do both. I create gardens so that I can consume lots of veggies. It’s in these creative spaces and final products that we amplify our voices and the voices of those around us who don’t have the power and privilege to speak out. They say that what makes humans unique to other animals is our ability to think creatively. So let’s do just that. What will you create today? Or tomorrow? You never know, it might help someone feel like they’re not alone in this ever expanding world.

My art is simple, but it takes time. I choose to garden, but mostly I choose to cook. I take both of these art forms and share them with my students, hoping that they will reap the benefits of recognizing our deep connection to the Earth and food on our plates. There is an artist, and a gardener, who inspires me. His name is Ron Finley. He calls himself a “Guerrilla Gardener” and he asks youth and people in 15

OF JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BIBLICAL CONCEPTS TO GUIDE US IN TROUBLED TIMES

BY REV. ROB MUELLER LEAD PASTOR, DIVINE REDEEMER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

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ustice and Righteousness are both central concepts within our Scriptures. Across the nation and even the world today we are hearing voices long silenced cry out for various forms of justice:

In a similar way, Justice and Righteousness go hand in hand. We cannot fulfill one without the other for they require one another. Typically, Justice—Mishpat is understood to be the justice that is delivered by a judge or a court of law. It is the distribution of the rule of law without prejudice. In our society we often portray Blindfolded Justice with her scales to symbolize that justice is not to be a respecter of persons, or status, or wealth, but equally and evenly weighed out for any and all who come before her.

-reform to the criminal justice system -justice in race relations -economic justice -gender justice In the Hebrew Scriptures the two words that describe the foundation stones for the community of God’s people are:

The Hebrew Scripture understands that without a rule of law, equally and independently applied, a society cannot remain peaceful. The unjust application of the rule of law to some but not to others because of their wealth, their privilege, their position or the color of their skin will require the intervention of God and God’s prophetic agents to make right the wrong.

Mishpat, typically translated Justice and Tzedakah, typically translated Righteousness These two are quite often paired in the same sentence because they are two sides to the same coin. Just like the Two Great Commands to Love God and to Love Others which cannot be separated, for we cannot fulfill one without the other. When we love God we are immediately convicted to love what God loves and has made. And when we Love our Neighbor, we are in essence also loving God, for we recognize that others are made in the image of God and are the temple of God’s very Spirit.

Righteousness—Tzedakah is perhaps best translated social justice and refers to a different dimension of fairness within society. In the Hebrew understanding of the world, “The earth(land) belongs to Yahweh, and all that it produces; the world and all of its inhabitants.” Psalm 24:1. Everything belongs to God, our role 17

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is to steward the gift according to the wishes of the Creator. The Creator gave creation to be the means of supporting ALL the creatures, not just the few to the detriment of the many. Righteousness-Tzedakah requires that those resources be shared so that every person may have what they need to live a dignified life. Those with more-than-enough are required to be socially just by sharing what is needed for others’ dignity, not simply legally just by doing whatever the statutes may say. This is not at all what I learned in my early Christian education! The concept of righteousness revolved exclusively around a list of do’s and don’ts that supported an image of personal piety and purity codes. Don’t drink, don’t dance, don’t smoke, don’t have sex, etc. To be righteous was to conduct myself with these constraints.

Covenant and Conversation “Judaism is concerned not just with salvation (the soul in its relationship with G-d) but also with redemption (society as a vehicle for the divine presence). A law-governed society is a place of mishpat. “But mishpat alone cannot create a good society. To it must be added tzedakah, distributive justice. One can imagine a society which fastidiously observes the rule of law, and yet contains so much inequality that wealth is concentrated into the hands of the few, and many are left without the most basic requirements of a dignified existence. There may be high unemployment and widespread poverty. Some may live in palaces while others go homeless. That is not the kind of order that the Torah contemplates. There must be justice not only in how the law is applied, but also in how the means of existence – wealth as G-d’s blessing – are distributed. That is tzedakah.”

NEVER was I taught that righteousness had to do with how I shared my wealth, my power, my privilege with those who had little or none.

Rabbi Sack’s description of what can occur within a society that is for ‘Law and Order’ (Mishpat) but which denies social or distributive justice (Tzedakah) is eerily descriptive of what has occurred within American society as we have watched a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom half of our people to the top few percent. And all

Rabbi Johnathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi in the UK and a member of Parliament defines the difference and the relationship in a post on his blog: 18

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of it done legally.

Happiness will flow from a life that is lived within the law, but goes beyond the law in compassion and generosity toward others.

The Scriptures are FILLED with examples of the call to live by the twin principles of Justice and Righteousness.

When society is not working right and injustice prevails: Amos 5:24

Let’s consider some of them and what they indicate to us about how we should live:

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Gen 18:19—Why did God choose Abraham?

Jeremiah 22:3

“For I have chosen him (Abraham), so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

“Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.”

From this text we learn that The Way of the Lord…is what is right and just. God chose Abraham in order to propagate these concepts, and the embodiment of them is what grants Abraham (and us) the security of God’s Promises.

Both prophets are responding to national circumstances that have become intolerable for the most vulnerable. They are not receiving their fair share of the nation’s wealth, nor are they treated impartially in the courts of law. These prophets are equally clear that when such injustice prevails against the vulnerable there should be a sweeping torrent of Mishpat and Tzedekah to wipe out the social failure…Whoever is not being treated right, not receiving their fair share of wealth should be delivered from that circumstance and God (and God’s

If you want to be happy/ blessed/content? Psalm 106:3 “Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.” This brief text invites us to understand that our very Contentment and 19

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agents) will act to ensure that the scribes how God will use the Plumb departure from the Way of the Lord is line of Justice and the level of righcorrected. teousness to rebuild the leadership of the land. They will be the measure by When you seek a new leader: which the current leaders are examJeremiah 33:15 ined and found inadequate. Their ‘refuge of lies’ and their legal “In those days and at that time I will ‘shelters’ will be destroyed. cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and God clearly desires that these two righteousness in the land.” principles/actions should define the human community’s way of being… When Jeremiah was imagining a way because they reflect God’s way of forward for the Israelites in exile, being…”the Way of the Lord” and are they were looking for new and solid what we are called to as God’s chilleadership, once again the qualities dren who bear God’s image. that the prophet holds before them are someone who embodies Mishpat We must look at four areas where we and Tzedakah. The new leader should are struggling as a society right now be both law-abiding and compassion- to live out these biblical values: ate toward the vulnerable. -racial justice When poor leadership needs -economic justice and access to be removed: Isaiah 28:17 to health care -gender justice “And I will make justice the plumb line, -criminal justice and righteousness the level; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters Let’s consider together what is will overwhelm the shelter.” broken, and what the world mending tasks are to which God is now Isaiah’s context was leadership that calling us. believed itself invincible. They were the chosen ones, and could not fall from God’s grace. Isaiah’s message was Bendiciones, Pastor Rob quite the opposite: Using the metaphor of a carpenter’s tools he de-

PSALM 139 BY KELLY BRATKOWSKI MISSIONS COORDINATOR/PASTORAL INTERN

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I prefer to go running in the very early morning. A time when the city is not yet awake, aside from a few solitary souls. I recognize the woman at the bus stop, sitting in her own world which interacts with her through her headphones. I pass a fellow runner and we smile at each other with the smugness in knowing that even if the rest of the day falls apart, at least we have accomplished this task. I see the vacant cargo truck in the alley with its engine running. A symbol of the dependable delivery driver who is making his (or her) rounds before the storefront doors are unlocked. I suddenly become aware of my vulnerability as a female runner on a dark street when I pass a middle-aged man in torn clothes stumbling ahead of me. I accelerate my pace, not in fear of the person, but of the unpredictability that accompanies an intoxicated state of mind. I look up and notice a few stars scattered across the sky, straining to be seen before they take their place, hidden by daylight. These souls that I have encountered, so easily identifiable in the quiet morning hours, will also soon become invisible. Lost amongst the cars and crowds that will reliably appear and litter these streets. I wonder. How is it that God â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our God who is infinitely more expansive than the stars in the sky â&#x20AC;&#x201C; claims to know every one of them intimately, aware of their movements and thoughts and words, while I so effortlessly lose sight of just the few who are right in front of me?

SHINE A LITTLE BRIGHTER BY ELLEN PERKEY MEMBER

1 John 2: 7 - 8 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. I love this particular passage in scripture. The idea that the light of God’s kingdom is already shining really struck me when we studied this verse in a small group. Growing up I always envisioned the kingdom of God as

something that would happen someday in the future, unaffected by our actions here on earth. I understood it would come unexpectedly, so we better not miss it the way the women in the parable with the lamps fell asleep and missed the coming of the bridegroom. The fulfillment of God’s kingdom was one of those things that just happened, like a lightning strike or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God decides its time and BOOM, kingdom of God on earth. The concept of the coming of God’s kingdom as something that I could help with or effect in any way didn’t really sink in for me.

The thought of the kingdom of God being something for us to work towards is both daunting and deeply hopeful for me. In the time of John the Elder people thought the coming of the Kingdom was near at hand, something that the Christian community saw moving closer each day. Their community too had once had the idea that the return of Jesus would be sudden and soon; but as he did not return for a longer time their hope for the Kingdom changed. “To John [the Elder], the second coming of Christ is not one, sudden, dramatic event but a process in which the darkness is steadily being defeated by the light; and the end of the process will be a world in which the darkness is totally defeated and the light triumphant.” - Barclay This idea of a steady trickle of light overcoming darkness feels like something that I can contribute to and motivates me to try to make small differences where I can. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be changed; having this outlook makes me realize that even the small things can help bring about God’s kingdom. Now when I support organizations promoting change or donate something to people who are in need I feel like it’s one more drop in the bucket trying to fill the world with Christ.

On the flip side, the fact that I am in part responsible for bringing about God’s kingdom is sobering. When I am silent instead of speaking up in a situation where hurtful words are used I am not helping fill the world with Christ. When I turn away from those in need I am not working towards the kingdom of God.

Because of our faith we are called to fulfill the commandment that is both new and old - to love others in the way God loves us. What if the Kingdom of God is not something to wait for? What if God has already given us the tools and information and commandments we need to bring it about? What if God is waiting on us? It changes how I approach the work of the church in the world. Suddenly I don’t feel so helpless, even if I’m not a person who is a big change maker in the world. All the small things I do work to fill the world up more with the love of God. Even when our world is in crisis we can still work towards the end goal, a world so overflowing with love it is transformed into God’s Kingdom.

A GIFT FROM GOD YOU MAY NOT LIKE ALLEN GUNTER MEMBER

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’m sure you will completely agree with me that the most precious gift from God is life. And not just life like a tree or rabbit, but a life of self-awareness, skills and talents, the ability to think ahead, consider alternatives, to create and to love. Over the ages we have used that gift to improve our lives creating ways to stay warm or cool, vehicles of various types to get from here to there, processes to do things faster and better, ways to help others and serve God.

tionship with math has been, shall we say, troubled? And be assured that I am not about to launch into a math lesson. Instead, I am going to make the case that math is a very special gift from God. I hereby present… Exhibit I: A quote from Martin Gardner, a writer of many texts on recreational math (yes, math can be fun!). “If two dinosaurs joined two other dinosaurs in a clearing, there would be four there, even though no humans were around to observe it, and the beasts were too stupid to know it.”

And while we could not have done any of that without God, neither has God required anyone to create the airplane as a condition of the life God gave them. We wouldn’t have been able to create much of anything, though, without another precious gift from God. Before I tell you what that is, take a moment and think about life, the universe and everything. What is the one thing that has been essential for us to be able to create all that we have? Something we didn’t invent but have been gradually discovering more and more about over the ages?

Isn’t that great?! It’s so easy for us to think of mathematics as something we have created when it’s totally independent of us! The development of mathematics has been a process of discovery evolving out of intellectual curiosity about how the world around us works, what “rules” govern it. It has consistently been the egg that came first, hatching later (often many, many years later) in some physical way.

I’m talking about (dare I say it?) mathematics!

Exhibit II: In the beginning…

STOP! PLEASE don’t go on to the next article yet! I know that “math” is a bad word for many whose rela-

Come back with me to ancient Greece to visit with Pythagoras (ca. 572-497 BC) and his groupies. He 27

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was a multi-talented philosopher – influential as both a scientist and a religious thinker. In fact, Pythagoras is given credit for coming up with the words that we know as “philosophy” and “mathematics”, two concepts he believed were completely linked. The Pythagoreans spent a lot of time thinking about numbers which had both physical and abstract significance for them. They saw the number “1”, for example, as the starting point for getting all other numbers, and who can argue with that? But they also believed it to be the metaphysical unity at the source of all creation. (And we all know who that is!) Given the shortage of #2 pencils and lined notebook paper at the time, the Pythagoreans used sticks and stones. In fact, they developed a whole numerical “language” using stones in various patterns like this one: Very symmetrical and orderly, with each section having an odd number of stones. Now look at the first two sections together. You’ve got 1 stone in the first and 3 in the second for a total of four stones, and the pattern for those four is a square. So you have a physical square and a mathematical square: 1 + 3 = 4 = 2 times 2 or 22.

No big deal, right? But take a look at the first three sections: 1 + 3 + 5 = 9 = 32. And the first four sections: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 16 = 42. And on it goes, “to infinity and beyond!” to quote Buzz Lightyear. What’s that? You’re wondering what good any of that is? Of what use? But that’s exactly my point: Mathematics is about discovery, discovering the structure of God’s creation. It doesn’t have to have an immediate use. But don’t you agree that you can’t build an airplane unless you know the mathematics behind aerodynamics? Exhibit III: Measuring the world. You want useful – you get useful, courtesy of an ancient Greek by the name of Eratosthenes (ca. 276 - 194 BC). Eratosthenes used survey data and previously discovered mathematical relationships to calculate the circumference of the Earth. And he was within 1% of the official circumference! Think about that. More than 2,000 years ago, when the known world was very limited, someone accurately calculated the size of this planet! Exhibit IV: Breeding rabbits. Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician who lived in the late 12th, early 13th centuries. In his writings, he set out this problem: 28

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“A certain man put a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded on all sides by a wall. How many pairs of rabbits can be produced from that pair in a year if it is supposed that every month each pair begets a new pair which from the second month on becomes productive?” And he answered it with what has become known as the “Fibonacci Sequence”: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 44, etc. (each new number is the sum of the last two). Now we all know that rabbits don’t “beget” according to some fixed schedule, although it turns out that the sequence does conform rather closely to the actual breeding habits of rabbits. Even better, some plants grow leaves in a pattern that follows the Fibonacci Sequence. This allows all leaves to get sunlight! You even have the Sequence inside you – it’s been discovered that the structure of DNA correlates to numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence!

God’s mathematics has been with us from the beginning, just waiting to be discovered. Exhibit V: One good discovery deserves another. Remember playing with blocks when you were a kid? Imagine you’re doing the same thing, only with squares, not blocks. Squares with different sizes based on Fibonacci numbers. As you fit them together in different ways, you suddenly realize that those squares fit together quite neatly if you arrange them in order following the Fibonacci Sequence. Wanting in on the fun, your 6-year-old comes along with a crayon and draws diagonal arcs through the squares and Voila! – the Golden Spiral! What’s so special about it? See for yourself:

By the way, while most standard math books give Fibonacci credit for this pattern of numbers, it was known in India hundreds of years before Fibonacci published his rabbit problem. 29

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Exhibit VI: Seeing the “un-see-able”.

shapes found in nature; in this case, the hexagon: The obvious: A beehive

It would be some time yet before anyone would actually be able to measure the size of an atom, but that didn’t bother Albert Einstein – his calculations told him what it had to be. And sure enough, when scientists later developed the technology to actually measure atoms, Einstein was exactly right. Jim Gates, a physicist at the University of Maryland, said it perfectly: “Einstein used mathematics to see a piece of the universe that no one had ever seen before.” Going way outward instead of way inward, math said there should be something out there in space in places where nothing could be seen. For quite a while, it was thought that the math results were an anomaly. But sure enough, physical observations confirmed the existence of what are called “black holes”. Einstein himself asked: “How is it possible that mathematics does so well in explaining the universe as we see it?” Because, of course, mathematics was created by God! (At least that’s what I would have told him if he had asked me…)

The not so obvious: The way bubbles connect on the surface of water

The obscure: Snowflakes (Yes, ALL snowflakes!)

Exhibit VII: The shape of things. Just a few examples of the geometric 30

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Closing Thoughts: In addition to supporting my claim that mathematics is from God and of God, the previous exhibits were chosen in the hopes that you would find them interesting. I also deliberately avoided anything that would require any complex mathematics. There are so many more examples of how discovering God’s mathematics led to advances in technology, knowledge, health, etc. Many by people whose names you’d recognize, and many by people you’ve probably never heard of.

God Exists

God does not exist

Believe in God

You win everything

Break Even

Don’t believe in God

You lose everything

Break Even

I doubt Pascal really believed it was a simple as that, and I know you don’t either. But it does have a way of putting things into perspective, doesn’t it?

So I’ll just leave you with two closing thoughts: 1. The next time you’re talking with someone on your cell phone, listen carefully to their voice. Because you’re not really hearing their voice. You’re hearing a mathematical recreation of their voice. That’s how cell phones work – they convert sounds into very precise and complex mathematical models and then send that out for the receiving phone to convert back into sound. Ain’t mathematics great?! 2. The probability part of mathematics says that you should believe in God. Known as Pascal’s wager, it works like this: 31

A UNIQUENESS THAT FELT REBELLIOUS SARAH DIXON YOUTH MINISTRY INTERN

t wasn’t until recently that I realized that I’ve had a uniqueness within me when compared to my surroundings. Growing up in Flower Mound, a suburb of Dallas, I was often a lone liberal in a sea of red. My family was more liberal, I grew up in a PCUSA church, and my family was rooted in social justice and talking about politics. My grandma grew up in Germany during WWII and was a lifelong advocate for justice and Jesus’ vision for this world. I love telling her life story because I am proud of her, and her radical view of love and the world has set my family on a course for faith, justice-work, and love. My grandma, Christa Klingbeil, was cut from a different cloth because her family hid Jews in their German Christian home, then she was a German woman in the U.S. after WWII with a very German name. She then became a trailblazing woman in ministry. Because of her, I’ve wanted to be different from those around me.

In Flower Mound, I was a liberal, a Feminist, a Presbyterian, and an OSU fan. I loved being different in those ways! In college, I was also one of the few liberals involved in the evangelical ministry I volunteered with. I was basically the token liberal in one of my friend groups in college. I liked being different in this way. During my YAV (Young Adult Volunteervolunteer year with the PCUSA) year in Denver I worked at a drop-in center for homeless youth, and I was not the only liberal this time, but I was a Texan and a Christian. I was the only church-going Christian in my workplace, I felt very unique and offbeat. Now as a seminarian at a PCUSA seminary, I am one of the few who has spent time in an evangelical ministry and doesn’t view the word evangelism with fear and disdain. With all these differences I’ve brought into the spaces I’ve been in, there comes a feeling of uniqueness and rebelliousness, and also a lot of self-

placed pressure. I often feel like I have to be the spokesperson for every group I represent. I had to be the not-too-extreme liberal, the not-crazy Feminist, the chill-liberal Christian, the-*insert desired adjective based on the situation* liberal Christian woman working towards a life of ministry representing Jesus Christ and the Church, as well. I put this pressure on myself, and also recognize the privilege I carry in all these situations as a young white woman. I may feel like the odd person out sometimes with my beliefs, but I know that this pales in comparison to the degree of feeling “other” that so many feel in our country. I can blend into places because of how I look, and these differences I carry are things that I can choose to disclose to others. Also I’m sure when people disagree with me, it is done in a more gentle way than it could be to someone who was black, brown, LGBTQ, homeless, or an immigrant. This self-imposed and society-imposed pressure of being the token *blank* in a variety of spaces, makes me feel like I have to be the perfect representation of all these things because people who have held these labels have hurt others.

I want to help heal the wounds that Christians, evangelicals, and liberals, had inflicted on others.

It is when I make these things about myself, and not about Jesus’ full and affirming love, that they become crippling weights and parameters. Jesus was and is the ultimate counter-cultural, unique, Christian, evangelical, progressive, feminist, rebel to ever be on this earth. Looking to him as my example in how to carry this load, and also the privilege of being a Christ-follower in a divisive world, is what comforts me. I don’t have to feel like I carry this burden of being the perfect person or representative of my differences in the spaces I exist in. It’s OK to be unique and rebellious because in these ways we can truly walk in the steps of Jesus, and find comfort in our ways of quiet rebellion.

Simple acts of love and kindness are acts of resistance. I will remember this when I feel the societal pressures of perfectionism and capitalism. We are set apart from the structures of this world simply because we follow a divine being who showed us how to step in someone else’s shoes with grace and truth. May we give ourselves grace when we fall short, and know that a radical love holds us and dwells within us when we feel like we only have the energy to just “be”. Let that radical and pressure-relieving grace be enough for us today, tomorrow, and forever.

SIN IN THE CAMP THE SYSTEMIC & GENERATIONAL STAIN OF THE SIN OF SLAVERY BY REV. DR. LEON BLODER LEAD PASTOR

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n the Hebrew Scriptures’ book of Joshua there is a story that has always troubled me—from the first time I read it when I was a kid, until this day.

of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. We find out later that he pocketed a really nice Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a fifty shekel gold bar simply because he “coveted them,” which means he broke #10 out of the Ten Commandments at the very least.

In Joshua chapter 6 the Hebrew people have an incredible victory at Jericho when the Scripture tells us that the walls of the city fell miraculously, and the city was conquered by Joshua.

When you take a close look at that first verse, you might wonder if there’s a reason why a disobedient Achan’s genealogy is put on display (son of Marmi, son of Zimri, etc.) and then juxtaposed next to the phrase, “So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.”

It’s a violent text, to be sure. And there’s a lot of ink that has been spilled about the troubling nature of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land. History is often written by the victors, as we ourselves have seen in recent memory.

If you did wonder, the reason is quickly revealed when the Israelites launch an attack on the city of Ai, which should have been an easy target, according to the Hebrew spies who went out to gather information on it. Only Ai turns out to be anything but an easy target and the Israelites are routed.

But there’s a lesson to be learned in all of it, in spite of the violence as evidenced in this story when God commands Joshua to tell the Israelites that they are not to take any plunder from the city. You can tell that something bad is about to happen by the virtue of that command alone, and it plays out in Joshua chapter 7, which begins with these words:

Achan’s disobedience results in a disaster for the entire group. But it doesn’t take long to uncover what he did, which he finally admits to in front of the tribal leaders. Then Achan is forced to pay the price for his disobedience—along with his

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, 35

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entire family, livestock and all that he had. The troubling bit for me in that passage has always been this: Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. Like I said, it’s a violent text, and it’s texts like this that ended up turning me off to the Old Testament God, which I had been taught was the same God in the New Testament. But what I didn’t realize is that both expressions of God were actually of the same God only viewed by different people in different stages of sociological development. In other words, they tended to “see” the God they could “comprehend.”

I’ve had more than a few conversations about systemic racism over the past few months—fueled of course by the circumstances surrounding the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests all over the country, including here in Austin. In my experience, when you ask white Christians what they think about issues of racial injustice in America, the most often repeated response sounds something like this: “I know that slavery is a sin, and it was a terrible chapter in U.S. History. BUT (there’s always a “but”) nobody in my family owned slaves, so why should I have to pay the price for what some bad people did a long time ago?” I also hear things like this: “America is a land of opportunityeveryone has a chance to make it.” “There are laws against discrimination now, it’s not like it was in the past.” “I don’t know why we need to only say ‘black lives matter’ when God loves everyone and all lives matter to God.”

But underneath the violent narrative, there is something important to be learned about systemic sin, and how it affects everyone in the community, and for generations. And this lesson is one that we need to be guided by now All of these kinds of responses nein our current culture. glect to acknowledge the generational impact of the sinful stain of slavery in America—a systemic impact that has 36

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been passed down from generation to generation until now.

We have come to realize that even if we believe ourselves to have clean hands and pure hearts when it comes to these issues, we will not turn away from the sin that is hidden in the camp any longer, come what may.

The systemic impact of slavery is America’s “original sin” or (more apropos to our discussion here) our own “Achanic” disobedience. It is not something that can be legislated away, although changes in laws are a beginning. It’s not something that can be protested away, although protests are a way of bringing it to light.

Because in the end, this is our wrong to right— regardless of its origins. And we must acknowledge and uncover at last how the systemic blight of this Achanic disobedience, has served to create these wrongs and do everything we can to make them right, or else continue to suffer the consequences of it—generation after generation.

The systemic racism created by slavery and it’s blight on our culture is something that is buried deep within our camp, and it must be uncovered, confessed and repented of—despite what such a confession might mean to those who have indirectly or directly benefited from slavery’s stain.

I hope that you will join with me in this journey toward wholeness and unity. We will soon be forming a Racial Injustice Steering Team to help guide our church family on the way, and to keep these issues before us, help educate and inform us, and lead us to repentance, reflection and then action.

There is pain in this process, and an acknowledgment of what systemic racism has done to us all, what it has cost us all, and how it has affected every aspect of our communal life together. Over the past several months, our congregation has been engaging in issues of racial injustice, holding discussions, having conversations, reading, listening, learning and also lamenting and repenting of our silence and complicity.

If you are interested in being a part of this process, please contact me directly at leon@shpc.org. Let’s keep stumbling after Jesus together. Counting it all Joy, Pastor Leon 37

CAN WE PRAY THE CRAZY AWAY? BY BETH MUELLER SENIOR DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP ARTS

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t is an incredibly challenging time in our country. Everywhere we look there is conflict, anger, contention, and battle. It’s hard not to lose hope. It is hard to know how to respond out of faith. Can we just pray all this crazy away? Here are a few thoughts: God doesn’t cause all things, but God uses all things for good

Even though we sometimes wish it were not so, we humans have free will, and can and do choose to live in ways that are selfish and self-serving, instead of in ways that honor God, neighbor and community. It’s hard to imagine what good could come out of the current political climate, but I be-

lieve that God is holding up a mirror to our country, showing us where the path of selfish greed will lead us. The moment of change, like childbirth, is difficult, and painful, and feels devastating, but change does come. As more and more people become aware, and make choices for community and greater good, our country will shift, perspectives will change, and transformation will happen. I believe we can pray for the coming of God’s kingdom on earth, and we can pray for the transformation of our national identity to include everyone. God plays a long game We cannot see the big picture, or even imagine God’s dreams for us

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and our planet, but rest assured that there will be redemption, somewhere, somehow, because God is in the resurrection business. Sometimes we lose sight of this promise, because the moment we are living in is a death moment. Death is necessary for transformation and new life. I believe we are in death times, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed, discouraged and without hope. Collectively, as people, communities and a country, enough of us have to be willing to transform, for collective transformation to happen. Each of us must open ourselves to the pain of transformation, and to pray for transformation for our communities and country, even though we cannot know exactly what that transformation will look like. And we have to accept that transformation may not come when we want it to. Sometimes we have to pray our pain and lament “How long, O Lord, how long?” God is God, and we are not So often we forget that it is God that transforms, not us. This is a time of action, and I absolutely believe that we are being called to stand up and call out injustice, inequality, greed,

and selfishness. But I also know that we cannot create transformation by ourselves. If we truly trust God to transform the world, we must confess that we don’t understand it all, that we don’t know as much as we think we do, and remember that God’s mercy and goodness is for all of us, even our enemies. News and politics are presented to us in duality; good and bad, right and wrong, black and white. When we recognize that there is no duality, only Oneness in God, we can begin to shift from a perspective of absolutes, enmity, punishment and tribalism, to a perspective of acceptance and trust. The trap for you and me, is that we say “I’m doing that, but the other guy isn’t, so I have to fight with him and make him see it like I do.” This just creates more duality. Our belief that we know what is “right or good” is always limited, because we are not God.

We have to work for the things Jesus worked for: justice, mercy, equality, compassion. But we have to do that with humility. We can’t work only for a final

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result or a destination, because we then miss God at work all along the way. When we pray, we articulate our heart’s desire, but we follow that with “Thy will be done,” as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane.

generosity, compassion, diligence and justice. Today (and tomorrow), I pray for Christ’s peace when we feel hopeless, for Christ’s passion for justice when we feel helpless, and for Christ’s compassion, when we feel hateful.

It’s hard to know what to DO. It’s hard not to lose hope. Democracy is a human institution, and requires human labor to maintain. We use our faith to guide that work. God cannot do it for us, but God can transform and redeem us, and in turn our communities and our country. Mostly, I think we can pray for God to move in us, and to guide us to be people of

If you are interested in more writing on duality, Oneness in Christ, and transformation, I’d like to recommend Fr Richard Rohr daily meditations, found at www.cac.org.

DISCUSSION GUIDE & SERMON NOTES

REBEL

SEPTEMBER 6 - 27

ISOLATED

OCTOBER 4 - 18

YOUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OCTOBER 25 - NOVEMBER 1

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEXT? NOVEMBER 8 - 22

REBEL

Take Up Your Cross THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Mark 8:34-38

THIS WEEK’S THEME Following Jesus is a counter-cultural journey.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION What do you make of Jesus’ words in verse 34 of this passage? Read them carefully again, and think about what stands out for you. What would it mean for you to “take up” a cross? How do people in our current culture go about trying to “save” their lives, only to lose them? Why do you think this is the case? What do you think Jesus meant by using the word “ashamed” in verse 38? Based on what you know about Jesus is this in keeping with his overall message of love and acceptance? What does this passage mean to you?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6

REBEL

The Greatest THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE John 19:18-22

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION John’s Gospel offers up a stark scene here with Jesus being executed along with two others who (other texts reveal) were guilty of sedition against the government. Think about modern examples of people who spoke about injustice and were labeled “criminal” by the government. What does this teach us about Jesus’ crucifixion? Why do you think that Pilate wrote “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” on the sign he placed on Jesus’ cross? What message was he trying to send? The chief priests lost their argument with Pilate over the sign, why do you think this is important? Think about how religious institutions in our own culture often find themselves too close to political parties or leaders, and end up getting burned. What does this passage teach us?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13

REBEL

Millstones, Necks, & Hacked Off Limbs THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Mark 9:42-50

THIS WEEK’S THEME Following Jesus is a radical choice.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Jesus talks about “little ones” in this passage—it could mean a child (since he’d been talking about the faith of a child earlier). But what else could it mean? What does it mean to you? Jesus seems to be advocating for some radical transformation in this passage. What do you make of the rather violent literary devices he uses: millstone around the neck, hand cut off, foot cut off, eye plucked out? Jesus speaks of “hell” here but the place he is referencing is Gehenna, a trash heap that constantly burned outside the city walls of Jerusalem—a forgotten, unclean, hopeless space. How does this change your understanding of this text?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20

REBEL

We Have Left Everything THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Mark 10:17-31

THIS WEEK’S THEME Following Jesus rebels against the status quo.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION The young man who asks Jesus about what he needs to do to obtain “eternal life” is disappointed by what Jesus tells him to do (give away all his possessions to the poor and follow). What clues does the passage give us as to why Jesus answered him this way? Do you think Jesus literally meant what he said about a rich person, a camel and the eye of a needle? If he did, how does that change what you think about his words? Jesus seems to be proclaiming a kind of “prosperity gospel” message at the end of this passage. What do you think he meant by his promise of “a hundred times as much… along with persecutions?”

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27

ISOLATED

The Cry of the Lonely THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Psalm 139

THIS WEEK’S THEME There is no such thing as isolation from God.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Read through Psalm 139 and sit with the text for a moment. What images come to your mind? What phrases stand out for you? This passage speaks to the ever-present love and guidance of God in our lives—even when we can’t perceive it. Take a moment and think about times when you have felt God’s presence in your life. Think about the times you haven’t. How does it feel to reflect on those times after reading Psalm 139? There’s a lot of language at the end of this passage that doesn’t sound very loving or forgiving. How do you relate to the person who is speaking? Does this resonate with you, or make you wonder, or both?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY OCTOBER 4

ISOLATED

Understanding The Prayer Of Jabez THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

THIS WEEK’S THEME Your identity isn’t defined in the pain of isolation—but your character is.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION This verse has often been used to promote a prosperity-based kind of faith. What about that kind of theology is troubling to you? Where have you seen it go astray? So what if the passage isn’t about merely getting more things, material possessions, power, etc.? What do you think it might be about instead? Could it be about your capacity to love, to share, to give? What are some ways that you could be praying the kind of prayer that Jabez prayed? What areas in your life do you want to find more capacity?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY OCTOBER 11

ISOLATED

Pure Joy THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE James 1:2-4

THIS WEEK’S THEME Joy is found in the most unexpected places.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Read verse 2 of this passage slowly and then reflect on it. What comes to mind for you as you do? It seems impossible to find pure joy in trials and challenges, but there are plenty of examples of people who have discovered it. Can you think of any? What do they teach you? James says that faith produces perseverance. What does that mean to you? Is there another word you could substitute for faith that might make this passage more accessible? Would the word “trust” work, too? Reflect on how that might change the meaning of this for you.

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY OCTOBER 18

YOUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Avoiding Election Infection THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Romans 13:1-7

THIS WEEK’S THEME The kingdoms of this world are not anything like the kingdom of God.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Lots of people use this passage to silence Christians who speak out against injustice or systemic sin in our culture. What would make someone do that? Do you see evidence for silence in the face of injustice in these verses? There’s a theme of trust in this passage—trust in God who is above all earthly powers. Given that the leader of the known world at the time was the decadent and debauched emperor Nero, how does that change the way you see Paul’s words here? Implicit in this passage is an admonition to those who are in power. Can you see where Paul is lifting this up subtly? What do you think he was trying to say?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY OCTOBER 25

YOUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Now What? THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Mark 10:42-45

THIS WEEK’S THEME There isn’t any red or blue in the kingdom of God.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Jesus acknowledges a stark reality here in this passage—in the end, we all have to serve somebody. How does this inform the way you feel about the role politics plays in our society, and the quest for power in general? Regardless of how elections turn out, humility and service must be the hallmarks of our way forward if we are going to have unity in our diversity. How does this notion inform how you feel about the election? Jesus came to serve and to sacrifice. What if we all took this as our “job descriptions” when it came to being a good citizen of our country, and the kingdom of God?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1

WHAT’S NEXT?

Experiencing God THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Psalm 46:10

THIS WEEK’S THEME Slow down, sit still, stay open.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION Read this verse through once. Sit quietly and think about the words. Read it again. What words stand out for you? What feelings does this verse invoke? Have you ever had a time in your life when you were able to be so still, so quiet that you began to feel the presence of God around you? What forms did God’s presence take? How did it make you feel? What do you make of the last part of this verse? Perhaps what the writer is saying is that there is something so completely “other” about God that it transcends all our categories. Does this ring true for you? Why or why not?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8

WHAT’S NEXT?

Finding Freedom THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 3:17

THIS WEEK’S THEME True freedom is a spirit-led feeling.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION There is a claim that is made at the beginning of this verse about God. What is it and why is that so important? Paul states that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is “freedom.” So does that mean that in the spaces in our lives where we don’t feel free… or where there are people who are actually enslaved in one way or another that the Spirit of God isn’t there, too? What would it look like in your life right now if you could be free of all of the things that are keeping you from being your truest self?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15

WHAT’S NEXT?

Discovering Purpose THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Ephesians 2:10

THIS WEEK’S THEME You have eternal purpose.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION What does it mean to say that “we are God’s handiwork?” How does that make you feel? Do you feel as though God created you as God’s “handiwork?” Why or why not? Paul asserts that we are “created in Christ Jesus” to do good things in the world that “God prepared in advance for us to do.” What does this mean to you? Do you feel this is true in your life? Paul seems to be saying that God has a purpose for each of us that has been put into place long before we begin to move toward it. How does this change the way you see yourself?

SERMON NOTES | SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22

LOVE IS NOT SHUT DOWN