People of Hope,
When I was a kid, Esther was my favorite Bible story. That was in large part due to a dramatization that I listened to over and over. It’s also just a good story, full of political intrigue and dangerous situations. Without retelling the whole story here, there’s a moment when Mordecai asks his cousin and adopted daughter Esther a “what if” question. What if you are here for such a time as this?
People of God, what if you are here for such a time as this? A time like the one we’re in with all its pain, suffering, conflict and uncertainty, as well as its joy, hope and promise.
And what if you don’t need to wait to be different or better or certain to continue discovering what it means that God called you for such a time as this.
The One who created you has called you. The One who loves you has also appointed you. For such a time as this.
There are many things that collectively and individually may have left us feeling powerless in our lives and in our communities. This is common in all the “call” stories of the Bible - feeling powerless or inadequate to the task, the mission or the journey ahead. So, thanks be to God, we’re in good company if we feel this way!
But I sense that God is drawing our community into a time of discovering anew what it means to be called and appointed. Not only as the body of Christ, but each of us, uniquely and differently. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live each day in the assurance of God’s presence in our life. We continue to “wait, hope, renew” (last year’s theme) and we also stretch out for the sustaining power of the Spirit who calls us forward.
So, join me this year in reflecting on our new theme: Called and Appointed. Just as the Lord told Jeremiah, the Lord tells us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you….See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:5, 10)
By the power of Spirit, we will discern what needs to be uprooted and what needs to be planted. Let’s discover the Spirit’s leading together in 2022.
Peace,
Pastor Liz
When I was a kid, Esther was my favorite Bible story. That was in large part due to a dramatization that I listened to over and over. It’s also just a good story, full of political intrigue and dangerous situations. Without retelling the whole story here, there’s a moment when Mordecai asks his cousin and adopted daughter Esther a “what if” question. What if you are here for such a time as this?
People of God, what if you are here for such a time as this? A time like the one we’re in with all its pain, suffering, conflict and uncertainty, as well as its joy, hope and promise.
And what if you don’t need to wait to be different or better or certain to continue discovering what it means that God called you for such a time as this.
The One who created you has called you. The One who loves you has also appointed you. For such a time as this.
There are many things that collectively and individually may have left us feeling powerless in our lives and in our communities. This is common in all the “call” stories of the Bible - feeling powerless or inadequate to the task, the mission or the journey ahead. So, thanks be to God, we’re in good company if we feel this way!
But I sense that God is drawing our community into a time of discovering anew what it means to be called and appointed. Not only as the body of Christ, but each of us, uniquely and differently. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live each day in the assurance of God’s presence in our life. We continue to “wait, hope, renew” (last year’s theme) and we also stretch out for the sustaining power of the Spirit who calls us forward.
So, join me this year in reflecting on our new theme: Called and Appointed. Just as the Lord told Jeremiah, the Lord tells us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you….See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:5, 10)
By the power of Spirit, we will discern what needs to be uprooted and what needs to be planted. Let’s discover the Spirit’s leading together in 2022.
Peace,
Pastor Liz
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