|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Forgiveness moves us from victim to victor
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 (53 reads)
 At UPC, our change from “debts” to “trespasses” when we say the Lord’s Prayer in worship was designed to help us more fully understand and apply some key texts from the Bible. In these passages Jesus teaches about forgiveness. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” is found in our Lord’s prayer as he taught it during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:12. And just two verses later, in verse 14, Jesus uses the word “trespasses.” On another occasion, in Luke 11:4, when the disciples found Jesus praying, they asked him to teach them to pray. So Jesus gave them an example of a prayer similar to the one he gave earlier during the Sermon on the Mount, saying “forgive us our sins ….” He used all three words at various times: sins, trespasses and debts. There are any number of ways to describe the wrongful hurts we suffer. The key word is “forgive.”
Read More |
|
Jesus Is Lord
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 (129 reads)
 The first creedal statement of the early Christians was a simple one: Jesus is Lord. Long before the Nicene Creed, The Apostles Creed, or the Westminster Confession, Christians defined their faith with those three words.
But I wonder if we humans fully embrace that simple sentence. As Christians, we are accustomed to referring to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but often we are more excited about the Savior part than the Lord part. But the two are inextricable. We can trust Jesus to be our Lord because he is our Savior. But he cannot be our Savior unless he is our Lord. Jesus longs to save us from more than just our sins. He also wants to save us from wrecking our lives by the sinful choices we continue to make. He wants to give us the overflowing, abundant life he came to offer. But in order for us to experience that abundant life we must follow him as Lord.
Read More |
|
Discipline, in the Best Sense of the Word
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 (118 reads)
 Periodically, I still laugh out loud at myself. The guy who grew up never traveling further than Genesee, Idaho or Westport, Washington. The person who never even boarded an airplane until I was graduating from college has now been all over the world. Ministry-related trips have taken me to Costa Rica, to China and to Africa twice. Who would’ve thought?
In each of these international location, I have been especially interested to see how the church of Jesus Christ functions. What are the strengths? The weaknesses? How do churches in cultures with rampant poverty or crime minister the gospel? What can we learn from them? How might we help?
Read More |
|
Steel Lake Youth Help Rebuild New Orleans
Friday, September 07, 2007 (206 reads)
 Groups from many of the Seattle Presbytery churches have spent some time in the South, during the past two years, helping rebuild homes for people who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. In August of this year, a group of high school youth from Steel Lake Presbyterian joined the ranks. They spent a week in New Orleans, working in tempatures up to 119 degrees, tearing down walls, and doing final preparations for families who had been living in FEMA trailers for the past two years.
The youth went to help others, and even though they were the ones doing all of the hard work, they realize that they were only part of a team. The Steel Lake congregation as a whole, worked together to change lives. As one student put it, "You, the congregation, are a part of our team. Withouth your love, support, prayers, and financial help we never could have done this. You came with us, and you helped change these lives!"
Click the link above to view the video about their trip.
Read More |
|
Cho receives Laymen’s Great Award
Thursday, September 06, 2007 (72 reads)
Former General Assembly Council chair is first American citizen to receive rare honor from the Presbyterian Church of Korea.
by Emily Enders Odom Associate,
Mission Communications
DURHAM, N.C. – In recognition of his faithful service at every level of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the National Laymen’s Association of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) presented Elder Youngil Cho with its Laymen’s Great Award on August 15. In the church’s over 100-year history, only three people have been so honored.
Read More |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|