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828 W. Main St., Grass Valley • (530) 273-9631
A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Text for the Day: Luke 2:22-40 – Simeon & Anna in the Temple Images of the Temple: Revealing an unexpected salvation Luke’s gospel draws the Temple in Jerusalem as an important symbol. The gospel opens at the Temple, where a priest named Zechariah is chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and […]
Who gets God’s mercy? Not them! Jesus certainly seems to have a knack for upsetting the orthodox, religiously impeccable Jewish authorities. Their carefully defined practices for maintaining ritual purity have been debated by the wisest of rabbis over time and serve as their assurance that they will be received into the presence of the Most […]
Jesus would say it a different way. Jesus says, “You gotta die a little” in being a faithful follower of God. There is a giving up of self (that means our desire to control everything) in order to honor the father. One has to lose ones’ self to save life. There is dying in order to rise to his glory.
This is God’s truth. Salvation and healing are found in facing who we are. When we’d rather run, we are invited to stare at Jesus, hanging on the cross, the Son of Man lifted up for us. We are invited to come face to face with our sin – the sin which Jesus carried to the cross on our behalf.
God’s rainbow is the sign of a promise. It is a “covenant”, an agreement or a contract (they are all the same). Like modern day contracts, there are two sides with each having a responsibility in order for it to work. Each side keeps their part of the agreement.