A postcard from the 4th Sunday after Pentecost 6/20/21
When God leads
A lot of folks in the church are wrestling with what the post-pandemic church will look like. There is a general agreement that it will be different than what came before, but then there is little agreement on what exactly that will look like.
We are perhaps tempted to be like Saul and Goliath and make ourselves strong by getting all the newest music, prayers, technology, or programs. But when we read the story of David and Goliath [1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49], we see that when we let God lead we do not need all of that stuff. David refuses the armor and sword and goes to meet Goliath with the simple tools of the shepherd and a deep relationship with the living God. We hear the foundation of our faith from David when he addresses both Saul and Goliath: the living God saves! David can point to moments in his life that he has experienced the saving acts of God and from that, he knows that he will be saved again.
As the church emerges from the pandemic, I hope we are careful to not find ourselves in a stalemate, overburdened with our new stuff and relying on our leadership. Now is the time to let God lead and for us to get to the heart of our faith: the living God saves!
A sermon from Messiah in Heflin:
Coming next
- June 27 – St. Peter’s, Talladega / “God Saves”
- July 4 – St. Barnabas, Roanoke / “God Unites”
- July 11 – Messiah, Heflin / ***New series begins – No Longer Strangers: Exploring Community through the letter to the Ephesians***
Notoriously Episcopalian 