Retelling the Story

 one more week until

Its been quite a last few years, hasn't it? 

From our family's point of view, the last three years has been enough to make you want to cry. (Happy to share our story over a cup of coffee some morning if you have time.)

But, if we are honest, this world didn't just get messed up in the last few years. It's been a jumbled mess of incoherent garbage long before you and I came along. It was a mess when our Savior stepped into our human existence some two thousand years ago. John records the facts in his Gospel stating that, "He came to those who were his own and his own received him not." Have you seen the glory of the Lord in the turmoil and pain of the last couple, three years? It is easy to lose sight of what is important when the trouble around us gets to a boiling point. 

John and the rest of the disciples could not have had it easy. They walked everywhere they went. They worked their fingers to the bone trying to make it in a riches or poverty world. "Middle class" was not truly a thing back then. We could not all that they did not have back then versus what we do have today. Maybe we are better off. Maybe their life was easier without all the gadgets and tools we can useful today. In the midst of it all, John records what was important. They saw Him. They saw the glory of the Son of God. Later in his Epistles, John would use wording to suggest that they saw it with their own eyes. They laid hands on it. They witnessed the Glory of God in a personal manner and it forever changed their lives. There is nothing quite like being grounded in grace and truth to bring our focus back to a good center. 

It is this time of the year where we try to make such noble sentiments a reality. Turning a corner. Re-focusing. Making an adjustment. A new list of priorities. Trying to improve our outlook and our outcome. It's worth a gander into our own little world. Given certain predicaments a changes in our current circumstances - can we fix the rook here? Can we repair or replace those AC units? Can we bounce back with a stable and growing attendance? Can we find an adequate offering to keep our operation afloat? More importantly, the basis that truly will stabilize all those other matters - are we willing to give of our hearts and lives to cause of sharing Jesus Christ with the world around 6th Avenue and the city of Lancaster? PICKUP HERE

As we enter 2026, we will go forward with the Book of James and learn some of the basics of the Christian faith. Grace and Truth and the basics of the Christian faith will be our subject matter as we go forward. It all starts with what we end with here. The Glory of the Son of God. Who is He? What do you believe about Him? Why is that so important to us? We will take the time understand all of this as we turn the corner into 2026. Won't you come with me? It will mean some extra study. It will cause us to think and reflect. It will move us into a new area in our journey with Jesus. It is a journey, let me emphasize that. We are not here to just sit and wait. We are going somewhere with all this. 

Despite all the pain and hurt, going through all the turmoil and suffering, the best thing we can do with our lives and our faith is turn the corner and keep moving ahead.