The Possibility of Change

These past two Sundays, July 28 and August 4, we continued our exploration of the book of Acts.  Called to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to equip our witness for Jesus Christ to a watching world, we recognize that our call inevitably brings us into conflict with unfriendly forces.  On July 28 we considered the challenge of navigating our way in a world that places high value on money and power.  We were reminded that money cannot buy God’s gifts and that the power of God is meant to be used in service to those people God brings our way. This past Sunday, August 4, we acknowledged that we are often hamstrung by the stereotypes that cause us to fail to extend our Christian witness to certain groups of people.  Our text from Acts 10 made clear that we must be careful about calling unclean what God is making clean, that God has entrusted us with the privilege of opening doors to the kingdom, not holding them shut.  The kingdom of God revealed in Jesus Christ is where sinners are made into saints, where transformation is possible.  Our task is to help people find what they need, not simply what we think they deserve.

The next two Sundays we will not be meeting at the North Danvers Mennonite Church building.  On August 11 we will be joining the Danvers Presbyterian Church at Funk’s Grove for Sunday morning worship, and on August 18 we will be worshiping at Danvers Days.  We will meet again in the North Danvers sanctuary on August 25.

Looking around us at the kind of world in which we live, we should need little encouragement to pray.  We see the conflicts between nations, the often vicious rhetoric as our political process unfolds, the families that are suffering because of sickness and loss, and it seems clear that the answers to our world’s problems are not to be found in the places we are often inclined to look.  In his paraphrase of the scriptures Eugene Peterson offered this way of hearing Psalm 5: “Every morning You’ll hear me at it again.  Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on Your altar and watch for Your fire to descend.”  Let us offer to God all those things that rest heaviest on our hearts – things in our world, in our nation, in our community, in our families and in our own hearts.  Let us not grow weary in praying.

Once more, let us remember to pray for Pastor Brian Johnson and his family in this time of sabbatical, trusting God’s blessing for them all.

Praying God’s best for you all,

Paul Walles