Go into the World: Hope

Dear Friends,

In these days where winter and spring are enmeshed into one another, I find myself reaching for my phone to look at the weather app wondering (a) what to wear, (b) how will the roads be today, and (c) is it a coffee or ice water kind of day? It is during this season I find myself most comfortable being uncomfortable. There are days I am content to remain in my winter hibernation. Meanwhile, I am welcoming the hint of joy that comes when all things are lovingly made new!

In these winter/spring days, in this very day, are you thriving or surviving? Is this a day where you have stepped in your own way or the way of others and your actions have caused disappointment, hurt, or confusion? Is this a day that you have enjoyed and, with a smile, you can’t wait until the morning shine on a new tomorrow?

We are invited this week to hear the words from Psalm 51. The passage is credited to the heart-wrenching act of King David in which he begs God for grace assuming that his transgressions, his sin, will only result in a forever broken relationship with God. But that’s not how the story ended for King David then and we are promised it isn’t how it will end for us today.

Together we will live in the tension of conversations that seem at times repetitive as we ask for forgiveness. Here are a few things we will talk through:

1. The energy it takes to confront issues we thought we had already tackled. “That issue” and yet, here we are – again!

2. How strength can be oppressive unless it is strength fueled by and through Jesus Christ with grace.

3. How our act of asking for grace doesn’t make it happen. It is God’s gift freely and abundantly poured upon us time and time again.

4. How experiencing radical grace through the loving gift of life from God through Christ, that goes beyond our understanding, opens up the window for us to let in a new season, a new life, and a new hope.

How is your story of a life of grace going today? Come to the place, this place known as Holy Trinity, and experience love that sings out in our hearts – forever!

Blessings to all,

Pastor Katie