Hi everyone,

Welcome to the new layout and design of our website! I’m really excited about this long overdue refresh. It is easier to use, easier to read, and easier to find the right stuff you’re looking for. It’s just… more modern.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Being modern and more user-friendly is just how things need to be in this fast paced Western society. It’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just how it is. But I do think there is a potential for there to be a problem when we over-modernize, in that we modernize only for the sake of modernizing, we change only for the sake of change, we claim relevance thinking that it will be our salvation.

I’m not just talking about church websites here, but in many areas of life. Like I see many people who act outside their age, thinking that will actually make them “cool”. I see people participating in things they shouldn’t participate in, hoping that they will fit in. And in relation to today’s sermon, I see people buying things they really can’t afford, perhaps expecting that it will bring them respect, clout, and maybe even love.

Don’t get me wrong, I think you should do you. But the “you” really should be “you”, as a beloved child of God, redeemed and saved, welcomed for who you are, not what you try to be. We just can’t earn this salvation. We can’t make ourselves more lovable by God. We can’t change this unchanging good news.

Here are the readings for next week:
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
And a video of these readings being read:

In the midst of a changing world… it is good to see that our God doesn’t change. Well, perhaps our understanding of God changes. How we see God working in the world changes. Even where we see God moving might change. But God in God’s promises of grace, mercy, and love? That doesn’t change.

It might be hard to understand, like how Abraham (nee Abram) didn’t get how he could have a child at his age. It might be hard to believe like how the audience of Hebrews needed a bit of encouragement and education on faith. It might even be hard to trust in, as Jesus reminds us all that we have nothing to fear.

Yes, we might change. Our community probably would change. The world will definitely change. But God remains God, ever loving, ever gracious, and ever willing to give good things to all of God’s people, which includes us, those around us, and all people.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!