Free is Better Than Half Price

A couple of years ago, I purchased a membership to a local arts organization.  It was a modest membership but it bought me some small graces.  I get advance notice of events and I can purchase movie tickets for half-price.  I suppose I know that a few dollars of my membership goes to support the work of that organization, but that was not my motive in joining.  I joined for the benefits I receive.

The Kingdom of God runs on a different operating principal.  As Christians, we believe that the grace of God is freely given – it can never be bought and it can never be sold.  To loosely quote Philip Yancy – there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less.  Isn’t that amazing?  Doesn’t that take your breath away?

But that extravagant grace comes with an invitation.  God has invited us to continue Christ’s work on earth and that is what Plymouth Church exists to do.  How can we not gratefully support the work of the church as an act of our God-given free will?  We can never match the extravagance of God, and we shouldn’t try, but we can give generously from our personal resources to support the faithful work of this community of Christians.

The Plymouth Stewardship Ministry is inviting you to go on record with your commitment for 2016-2017, and to do this prior to May 1. You can go online to make your commitment or use a commitment card available at the Stewardship table in Fellowship Hour. Alternatively, you can speak to a member of the Stewardship Ministry or staff who will be happy to assist you.

Please be generous in your support of the work of Plymouth Church.  Click Here to Make Your Commitment.

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Live Out Holy Week “In the Moment”

The problem with our observance of Holy Week is that we see it through the lens of Easter. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is risen – we know that good overcame evil and that the story has a “happy ending.”

Is there a way for us to disconnect from that knowledge? To put that sure and certain knowledge away for a few days, and try to live out Holy Week “in the moment” as the followers of Jesus did, with all its joy and horror?

Jesus had told his followers that he would suffer and die, and he would be raised. They didn’t hear him. They didn’t get it. And who can fault them? We probably wouldn’t either. So when they saw him flogged, when they saw him carrying his cross, when they saw him die, it was an ending – a horrific, crushing conclusion – and not a beginning. It was a time of personal loss, gut-wrenching despair, and hopelessness for what could have been.

In his book, The Gifts of the Jews, Thomas Cahill discusses at length the Biblical account of what we sometimes refer to as the sacrifice of Isaac. His analysis is riveting, built around a raw translation of the scripture. In his conclusion he says, “At the outset of this harrowing episode, the narrator, knowing that poor human readers could never bear the suspense, tells us that this will be a ‘test,’ so we know that Yitzhak will not actually be sacrificed, however difficult it is to keep that in mind during the ensuing action. It is a test for us as well. Can we open ourselves to the God who cannot be understood..? … Avraham passes the test. His faith – his belief in God – is stronger than his fear. But he now knows he is dealing with the Unthinkable, beyond all expectation.”

Can we close our minds to Easter for a few hours, even though we know the ending? Even though we know that the sacrifice of Yitzhak was a ‘test,’ Cahill continues, “… the narrator’s skill is great, leaving the reader speechless at the impending horror.” The gospel writers’ skill is no less evocative.

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In the Kingdom God Envisions

In the Kingdom God Envisions

In the kingdom God envisions everyone is free.
People formed in God’s own image live with dignity.
All are safe and all have voices,
all have hope and all have choices.
When we pray “your kingdom come” this is the world we see.

Darkened corners harbor victims hidden from our sight,
fragile people held as objects – lives devoid of light;
robbed of freedom, robbed of voices,
robbed of hope and robbed of choices,
trust betrayed and lives exploited, in this human blight.

Holy Spirit, guide your church to action and rebirth;
help us work for those forgotten – show their lives have worth.
We have freedom, we have voices,
we have hope and we have choices.
We are called to work for justice as your hands on earth.

Scripture: Luke 4:18
Topic: Human Trafficking

Copyright © 2013, 2014, GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Click here to view the Human Trafficking Awareness 2014 Panel and Concert program

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