For Your Sake, We Receive God's Grace

Dear Friends,

In my back yard, there is a sports complex with a fairly new high school baseball and softball field. Tonight, the field was all lit up and could be seen for miles because there was an evening game. The temperature was in the mid-80s with humidity high enough that it looked like an evening fog. Although I was never a ball player myself, I love to hear the shouts from the fans cheering on the players.

What’s are some of your favorite summertime memories? Maybe your summertime stories are anything but ball games, fairs, farm-life, pools, camping outdoors, or even Iowa heat and humidity. Maybe summers were the time for traveling, sightseeing, or visiting family and friends all over the country. Your memories or maybe even this 2021 summer is all about being on the road and meeting new people along the way. With this big National Holiday weekend, maybe you think of how much you love fireworks on the 4th of July. Just remember that for many people and our furred friends, the sounds of explosives are terrifying.

The stories of our joys and challenges, celebrations and fears explain how we understand the world around us. Sometimes our stories seem familiar or unfamiliar, boastful or humble, truthful or impossible or even just plain confusing!

In our passage this week from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, it can be a bit confusing, at least for me. Paul was trying to share the story with the people in Corinth about how he knows a lot of things, important things. He says that he doesn’t have to boast, but he could because the things he knows are the truth. Then there some other things mentioned; it’s a lot to ponder. (Uff dah!) until the very end of passage when Paul basically sums it all up by saying, (Pastor Katie’s translation), God, in my hardships and in my joys, in my story of life, the truth is: your grace is all I need. So, thank you for loving all of your children of your own making and continue to give them your strength, your love, and your promise of life everlasting.

What’s your story of God’s gift of grace? To share our stories, we need to gather together! Come to worship this weekend, invite friends over, or meet people right where they are and listen to one another’s story of highs and lows, joys and sorrows, the stories of God’s gift of grace.

This weekend, we celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism with Elle Elizabeth Meseck and Andrew Joseph Parrish and their families. We look ahead to the amazing week of VBS and Day Camp. We will have a special summertime Next Steps with Pastor Katie for prospective members on July 18 after 9:45 worship. We end the month of July with a Youth Mission Trip – with 4 open spots that still simply must be filled! Our summertime at Holy Trinity is God-honoring and simply - vibrant!

Go to our website holytrinityNL.org for the most up-to-date information and invitations.

See you at church,

Pastor Katie