Blessings in Abundance: Lift Your Hands in Praise

When was the last time that you completely and wholly gave praise to God? Was it when you finished that big project at work? When one of your family members married the love of their life? Did you receive the recent rain with great thanksgiving? Have you just been grateful for being allowed to breathe the crisp air in the mornings? Have you ever felt the urge to stop what you are doing, lift your hands to the sky and give a strong ‘Praise be to You, Giver of life’?

Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 and Psalm 65.

What about the times in your life when things aren’t so joyous? Do you take time to admire your Creator as a dear friend suffers through stage four cancer? How do you feel as your best friend struggles to find a new job after being laid off after numerous years of hard work and dedication? How about your sister who isn’t able to become pregnant? When your teenage cousin is killed in a car accident because a driver was texting, do you still raise a prayer of happiness?

As we move about through our daily lives, we take advantage of all of the blessing that are freely given to us from our Writer of life. The overflowing gifts that are offered to us on a daily basis quickly add up as the weeks and months go by. The speed of time seems to accelerate at a faster pace every time we turn around. Our Redeemer doesn’t ask for thanks or praise, but it is well deserved. We wouldn’t have the ability to overcome the difficult circumstances that we are faced with if we didn’t have those around us to support and lift us up when needed. God is often called upon in a pleading manner when we are overwhelmed with our schedules and lists of ‘to-dos’. How can we change the way that we call upon our Lord as we are challenged throughout life? In what ways can we begin to give back or share our blessing in order to honor God more for the everyday miracles that we benefit from?

Grace and peace,

Melissa Ansberry

Stewardship Chair

Blessings in Abundance: Turning Blessings into Praise

What’s the last big transition you went through in life? A job change? Divorce? Birth of your child? Consolidating and moving to a smaller house? Your child’s wedding? Death of a loved one? At Trinity, we’re currently going through a pretty big transition time – Pastor Shelley has retired, and Pastor Alex has yet to start. We are living patiently and a little anxiously through a liminal space, continuing to journey on, wondering what is on the other side.

Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 & Luke 17:11-19. 

Jesus encounters the lepers in Luke in a liminal space – the border of Samaria and Galilee. Jesus was on His way to somewhere else, until the lepers made themselves known. After their encounter with Jesus, the lepers then also start a journey to somewhere else, and, while on their way, they are healed of their isolating disease. The healing is freely given and freely received, and the lepers can be restored to their community. 

The healing story in Luke clearly mirrors our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The ten lepers did not earn their healing in any way. Out of His goodness and compassion and love for the lepers, Jesus makes them whole once more. Out of His sacrificial love and desire for reconciliation, Jesus went to the cross and was resurrected three days later, making us whole again and again. 

The healing and the saving power of Jesus Christ are freely given blessings from God, blessings in abundance. The question that both Luke and Paul present to the reader is how will you respond to these blessings? Are you the one leper, who comes back to praise Jesus, who turns his blessing of healing into praise? Are you cheerfully sharing your abundant blessings for every good work through Trinity? Or are you hedging your bets, waiting to see what’s on the other side, waiting to see if you really want to share your blessings, waiting for this liminal space to end? 

Jesus is with us at Trinity through this liminal space, on the border between pastors. Jesus continues to pour out blessings in abundance at Trinity, regardless of our hopes and fears during this time of transition. And God continues to challenge us to share all our blessings in abundance so we may share in every good work. How can you share your time, your gifts, and your money with Trinity so that we may glorify God, share Christ’s love, and make new disciples? Through our commitment and our giving, we may show the world the gratitude we feel for the blessings we have freely received. Through our commitment and our giving, we may continue our ministry to the least of these, even in the liminal spaces. 

Grace and peace, 
Pastor Kate

A Little Bit Sheepish

Have you gotten your flu shot yet? Seen your doctor for your annual checkup? Sometimes we can get a little nervous going to the doctor, wondering what they might find, or hearing again that we need to lose weight or eat less sugar. Sometimes we get hard news from the doctor, but it’s only because the doctor cares about us and wants us to have the best health possible.

Read Psalm 100 and Matthew 25:31-46.

Rev. Lindsey Armstrong compares this Gospel passage to a doctor check up, saying that this passage is less designed to condemn people than it is to inspire us to check up on how we are living out our salvation. 

How did you feel reading this Matthew passage? Did you identify with the goats, or did you feel a little sheepish?

Either way, it’s important to remember that as Jesus tells this story, both the sheep AND the goats are surprised by what he tells them. The sheep did not care for the least of these because they knew it would earn Jesus’ favor. The sheep served their brothers and sisters because they were living out the salvation they had freely received.

Jesus once again points out that how we live today really matters – that how we treat each other matters to God. Mission Sunday is about having a check up on our faithful lives – are we living out our salvation? Are we actively caring for the least of these? Are we being faithful to our commitments to Let’s Help, Doorstep, Topeka Rescue Mission, and VIDA? Psalm 100 calls us God’s people, God’s sheep in the pasture – are we living up to that identity?

Lest we think we are too good to associate with the hungry and the thirsty, Matthew makes it clear: the powerful One on the throne is also the hungry, the thirsty, the poor. Our shepherd king who knows His flock is also the vulnerable, weak, and dependent. As we serve those in need, our hearts and our lives are transformed by the power of the Spirit, and we see in the least of these not just the face of Jesus but our own image as well. Praise be to the God of the least of these. May we all be a little more sheepish.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate