Summer is here, although it seems to me like the weather is lagging about a month behind since our Snowpocalypse event last February. Every once in awhile when we get a break in the rain the sun comes out and the wildflowers are gorgeous. Be sure to take note of that. By August, when everything is brown, we’ll look back on this fondly. It has dried up once or twice just long enough for Dan to mow and so far we haven’t had a visit from our herd of wild hogs yet this year, so the church grounds aren’t looking too bad these days. Also, we haven’t had a visit from our auditorium snake again, so that’s good.
In case you missed it, I managed to install two new toilets in our bathrooms (with some help from Jim). These are not additional toilets, they’re replacement toilets. So far no runs, no drips, and no errors. In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not a plumber. But I did have toddlers and therefore I have had to pull toilets and pull out objects more than once in my life. So I had plenty of experience going into this. If you haven’t seen them be sure to check them out. Also, feel free to use them. 😂
I promised you a quote Sunday from Martin Luther, one that I had intended to include in the sermon but forgot. No worries—the sermon was long enough as it was, but I enjoyed the quote so much I wanted to get it to you. I found it in Philip Graham Ryken’s Reformed Expository Commentary—Galatians. I love the quote because Luther seemed to live where we live. Here’s what Ryken writes to introduce the Luther quote:
“What does it mean—in practical terms—to serve one another in love? It means, wrote Martin Luther,”
performing unimportant works such as the following: teaching the erring; comforting the afflicted; encouraging the weak; helping the neighbor in whatever way one can; bearing with his rude manners and impoliteness; putting up with annoyances, labors, and the ingratitude and contempt of men in both church and state; obeying the magistrates; treating one’s parents with respect; being patient in the home with a cranky wife and an unmanageable family, and the like…But believe me, these works are so outstanding and brilliant that the whole world cannot comprehend their usefulness and worth.”
Isn’t that great? We sometimes think that people like that lived in some ivory tower and that everything must have been perfect for them. A quote like that reminds us that all of us have messy lives and that Christ has taught us to love in spite of that. It reminds us that love is the light that this fallen world needs to see, and that the gospel is something that not only needs to be proclaimed verbally, but in action as well. Love is eminently practical.
Be sure to check out the sermons page while you’re here for any sermons you may have missed. The Genesis sermons from Sunday evenings are foundational for a solid biblical theology. The gospel is all over Genesis and the number of references and allusions to early Genesis in the rest of the Bible is astounding. So check those out and also anything in Galatians you may have missed. I’ve already started ordering books to prepare for the series in the Gospel of Luke which is coming up fast. I’m looking forward to that and I hope you are, too. Be sure to greet our visitors and make them feel welcome. We’ve had first-time visitors each of the last three Sunday mornings. I look forward to seeing all of you once again this Lord’s Day coming. God bless!