April 15, 2019

May God's grace be with you today.

     Monday night saw our Holy Week worship services land us at Converse UMC.  Last night we kicked things off by talking about the crowds that received Jesus to Jerusalem.  Monday, Pastor James Schroeder, of Jalapa Chapel, dove into Peter's experience with Jesus.  Pastor James took the audience on a winding journey through the four Gospels to explore Peter's relationship with Jesus.  Peter is, by all accounts, the leader of the disciples and one of Jesus most intimate friends.  He is often the first to speak up and take action, often before thinking.  He pledged to stand by Jesus, even to death, but like everyone fell away.
   As Pastor James points out, Peter often gets a bad rap.  Peter is chosen by Jesus, and God reveals to him the truth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  Most importantly we learn that Jesus loves us and will never abandon us.  Despite the failures and stumbles, Jesus always reaches out to care for Peter and restore him.  This love is available to us!
   The lesson for us today is that it is never to late to run to Jesus.  His arms are wide open waiting for us to return to him, so He can sanctify us.  Pastor James reminds us that it is only when we are close to Jesus that we can really know him.  By God's grace, it is our faith in that relationship that brings salvation. 
   It is that Good News that we need to celebrate and share with the world.

See you Tuesday Night at Herbst UMC, where Pastor David Steinke will be preaching about Judas.

Grow closer to Jesus tonight,
Pastor Jeremy