Pastor’s Message for June 2023

Greetings, Friends!

     We live in an anxious world. Our culture thrives on worry, anxiety, and depression. We live in one of the most prosperous, peaceful periods in human history and yet you wouldn’t know it based on the way we think and act. We worry about the weather. We worry about what people think of us. We worry about crime. We worry about what people say on social media. We worry about everything! Our culture feeds into this constant state of anxiety. Whether you get your news from conservative or liberal or non-partisan sources, we worry about what the other side is doing. And if you’re not worried about everything, then our culture will have you worried about not being worried!

     So what are we to do? I wish I could say the church is a source of peace in this anxious world of ours, but I know that’s far from the truth. In fact, the church is sometimes the source and cause of even more stress! Is this the way God wants us to live? I think the message of scripture tells us otherwise. The Bible is full of examples of God speaking words of comfort and peace into this anxious world of ours. Jesus said, “Peace, be still” to the chaotic forces of nature, but it was the disciples who really needed to hear those words. Moses told the Israelites on the shore of the Red Sea “Fear not! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” In other words, “Chill out and quit worrying about everything.”

     God has given us all one day at a time. When we worry and fret over everything, we tell the world that our God is just as weak and fearful as we are. We tell the world that we put our trust in ourselves and our own abilities, not in our God. We become agents of chaos, rather than agents of peace in our world. What would it look like if we became the non-anxious presence which is so needed in this world of ours? Would the world look a little more like the Kingdom of God if God’s people refused to give in to the temptation to give in to our worldly anxiety?

     The peace of Jesus Christ be with you all.

God loves you, and so do I,
Pastor Jim