Uplook - March 15, 2025
Beloved Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and Peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus. I intentionally started this way as I’ve been thinking about the “traditional” greeting found in most of the New Testament letters. This type of salutation was fairly normal in the form of Greek correspondence used in the first century. And yet, the Apostle Paul (and others) took what was seemingly traditional or normal and infused it with a new and exciting perspective and meaning because of the reality of the good news of the Gospel.
Consider the word …Grace. We have a plaque in our utility room which reads “Grace is when God gives us what don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve.” I love the distinction between grace and mercy… We deserve eternal death because of our sins and in God’s mercy, Jesus was offered on the cross taking punishment/death in our place. We don’t deserve deliverance/redemption or eternal life and yet God’s grace, also because of what Christ did, now offers us access to each of those things.
Consider the word …Peace. We live in a world fraught with turmoil, unrest, war, pain, noise, et cetera and I do not think it is a stretch to say that most long for peace both globally and more personally in their own families, homes, and lives. And yet, peace is not only the cessation of war or turmoil or noise. The Hebrew word “shalom” which translates roughly to our English word peace has a much richer and fuller definition. That definition could be understood as a thriving wholeness, and fullness of our created purpose, a bringing to completion that for which we were created and designed which is fellowship/communion with the God of all peace.
I am hopeful that you will never gloss over those words again in your reading of the Bible and that you will contemplate just how they apply in our lives and world today. I also wonder if there are traditional or “normal” phrases in our communication or actions which because of the reality of the Gospel, may take on a deeper and richer reality in the lives of us as believers.
Paul told the Colossian believers in their quest to “seek those things which are above” and “set your affection on things above” that “…whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:1-2, 17) He goes on to give instructions to wives, husbands, children, fathers, servants(employees in our culture) instructing them to live “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” May the Lord help each of us to live lives filled with Grace and Peace …seeking things above, and living heartily to the Lord.
Soup and Study will be this Wednesday 3/19. Be sure to come at 6:45 to get a hearty bowl of soup with bread and a simple dessert along with a healthy spiritual meal of God’s Word.
It is with a bit of sadness that we will bid the Heintz family goodbye as they move to Portland. We will miss them greatly …Bro. Tom’s warm greeting as an usher, Sis. Marlene’s quiet but warm smile and presence, Bro. Jeremy’s French Horn and faithful help as an usher, and Sis. Olivia’s exuberant love for the Lord and people. Our prayers will certainly be going with them. We hope they will visit often.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
Grace and Peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus. I intentionally started this way as I’ve been thinking about the “traditional” greeting found in most of the New Testament letters. This type of salutation was fairly normal in the form of Greek correspondence used in the first century. And yet, the Apostle Paul (and others) took what was seemingly traditional or normal and infused it with a new and exciting perspective and meaning because of the reality of the good news of the Gospel.
Consider the word …Grace. We have a plaque in our utility room which reads “Grace is when God gives us what don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve.” I love the distinction between grace and mercy… We deserve eternal death because of our sins and in God’s mercy, Jesus was offered on the cross taking punishment/death in our place. We don’t deserve deliverance/redemption or eternal life and yet God’s grace, also because of what Christ did, now offers us access to each of those things.
Consider the word …Peace. We live in a world fraught with turmoil, unrest, war, pain, noise, et cetera and I do not think it is a stretch to say that most long for peace both globally and more personally in their own families, homes, and lives. And yet, peace is not only the cessation of war or turmoil or noise. The Hebrew word “shalom” which translates roughly to our English word peace has a much richer and fuller definition. That definition could be understood as a thriving wholeness, and fullness of our created purpose, a bringing to completion that for which we were created and designed which is fellowship/communion with the God of all peace.
I am hopeful that you will never gloss over those words again in your reading of the Bible and that you will contemplate just how they apply in our lives and world today. I also wonder if there are traditional or “normal” phrases in our communication or actions which because of the reality of the Gospel, may take on a deeper and richer reality in the lives of us as believers.
Paul told the Colossian believers in their quest to “seek those things which are above” and “set your affection on things above” that “…whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:1-2, 17) He goes on to give instructions to wives, husbands, children, fathers, servants(employees in our culture) instructing them to live “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” May the Lord help each of us to live lives filled with Grace and Peace …seeking things above, and living heartily to the Lord.
Soup and Study will be this Wednesday 3/19. Be sure to come at 6:45 to get a hearty bowl of soup with bread and a simple dessert along with a healthy spiritual meal of God’s Word.
It is with a bit of sadness that we will bid the Heintz family goodbye as they move to Portland. We will miss them greatly …Bro. Tom’s warm greeting as an usher, Sis. Marlene’s quiet but warm smile and presence, Bro. Jeremy’s French Horn and faithful help as an usher, and Sis. Olivia’s exuberant love for the Lord and people. Our prayers will certainly be going with them. We hope they will visit often.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
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