Happy New Year! God is going to do some wonderful things in this New Year. We should look closely at what God is doing in our daily lives as we closely watch the news. I think that would change our daily perspective. I have been rereading some sections of my G.K. Chesterton biography. C.S. Lewis credits his salvation to the writings of G.K.Chesterton. G.K. stands for Gilbert Keith. Gilbert grew up in Victorian England from 1874 to 1936. He was raised in a moderately Christian home. England was at the height of its global influence and financial powers. Unfortunately that pinnacle of success lead to a widespread indifference to the things of God. In can be said that the British Empire reverenced the power of human ingenuity. Gilbert went along with this ideology for awhile but realized eventually how empty it was. At one point he said, “I can’t worship humanity”. He eventually joined the Catholic Church and participated in the sacraments for the remainder of his life. He was asked once why he became a Catholic. His response, “to get rid of my sins”. Gilbert talks about gratitude in much of his writings. If I may summarize, he also believed that ingratitude can be one of the gravest mistakes a human being can make. He also was known for his laughter and merriment. He even loved his enemies and regarded them with warm respect. I like G.K.Chesterton. Read some of his stuff sometime. He wrote “Everlasting Man” which was about Jesus Christ. After C.S.Lewis read it he was indelibly changed.
This Sunday I will be delving into the topic of Israel. I have entitled the message “What About Israel’s Past & Present?” Romans 9,10,11 It is too broad of a topic to tackle in one Sunday sermon but I will give it my best shot. Israel is much in the news of late due to the war in Gaza. There is a lot of high voltage rhetoric flying around and it can be difficult to know what to believe. The Bible has a lot to say about Israel. We have a Jewish Messiah. A crucial question that comes up in this arena is this: “Does God love Israel and not the Palestinians? The answer is “NO”. II Peter 3:9 says, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God loves the Palestinians and wants them to be saved. God loves Israel and wants them to be saved. God loves everyone and wants them to come to faith in Christ. Israel has made mistakes because they are sinners. Palestinians have made mistakes because they are sinners and the same can be said for all of us. Of course in times of war a great deal of ruthless tragedies take place on every side. That fact of history has been the case since Cain killed his brother Abel in Genesis. Yet in spite of this we can’t ignore or overlook the significant role of Israel in the Bible. It is hard to talk about these subjects in the volatile political climate of our day. But we will attempt to do that on Sunday.
I am getting excited about the dinner on January 20. Be sure to sign up Sunday. It will be an encouraging evening sharing what God has done in the past year.
God Bless You
Pastor Drew
