First United Methodist Church of Bridgeville, 244 Station St, Bridgeville, PA (2026)

We are located at 244 Station St, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Worship Service:
Sundays at 10:00am

06/20/2023

Justified by Faith - Romans 5:1-8

I saw a bumper sticker that read, “If Jesus is the answer, what was the question?” For every question we have about life, Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the answer to whether there is more to life than our natural world. Are we only flesh and bones? Are we only cells and organs? Are we destined to become food for worms after we die? Jesus told his apostles, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you may be also. If it were not so I would have told you. In my Father’s house are many mansions. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Jesus is the answer to the question of salvation and eternal life. As human beings, we have a part of us that is immortal and eternal. Whether we call it a soul or a spirit, there is a part of us that lives on after our bodies die. Jesus is the great answer to all the deep questions we have about life, our purpose on this earth, and the hereafter.

From creation, God wanted to enjoy fellowship with us, but we committed sin and became separated from God. Sin pushed us farther and farther away from God and makes us rebels against God. Sin means we want to overthrow God and take over God’s Kingdom. After the first rebellion in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3 tells God drove out Adam and Eve and banished them from paradise. That rebellion affected all of us. In Christian theology we call it original sin. Just as we inherited certain qualities from our biological parents through our DNA, so we have inherited our sinful nature from Adam and eve through our spiritual DNA.

When Adam disobeyed God, all humans inherited that spiritual tendency to disobey God. God loved our first parents Adam and Eve so much he wanted them to return to paradise and be in fellowship with him, our heavenly Dad and creator. God wanted them to return to paradise and be in fellowship with God; but how was that going to happen? The only way was through justification. In Abraham, we see examples of justification. Sarah was 90 years old, and Abraham was 99 when God visited them and promised them a child. Although Sarah laughed, Abraham believed. No matter how long it seemed, Abraham believed. Justification is trusting that whatever God says, God will do.

Fast forward to the New Testament, Jesus came and took our place on the cross and offer himself for our salvation and redemption. Paul understood what Christ did on the cross, so he began this discussion by saying, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith…” The word, “justification is a legal term. Imagine living in the house of the most powerful king and judge of the whole world. One day, we are arrested and sent to court and charged with a crime. The king, who is also the judge asks whether we are guilty or not guilty. We know we are guilty because Adam and Eve confessed when they told God, “We hid from you because we were afraid and naked.” We tell the judge we are guilty, and we know we deserve the prescribed punishment which is death. Instead of giving us the punishment we deserve, the judge offers his son in our place. We are asked, Do you accept the death of the son of the judge in your place? The minute we say, “Yes,” we are set free. Not only are we set free, but we are also told we can return to paradise to live with the King. The best happens when the King and Judge tells us, we are now adopted into the royal family. We who were once accused of sin, have now been set free because the son of the king who is also the judge, died in our place, and by receiving his death as our own, we are declared righteous and free of all guilt. As we walk out of the court room, we ask ourselves how did this happen? Why did it happen? What does it mean to be justified by faith? I’m happy to inform you it means only good things. In this passage, there are three things that happen because we have been justified by faith. The first is God is accessible to us. In verses 1 to 5, we read, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

To be accessible to God means we can enter the presence of God. This is what prayer does. It takes us into the very presence of God. It is such a blessing to be able to enter God’s presence and speak to our King and Dad. Since we have access to God, we have access to the Grace of God. With access to the grace of God, we are able to handle anything that comes our way. Paul wrote we will be able to glory in our suffering. When we have the Grace of God, we can endure suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” A Christian writer said when believers experience suffering, God is wrapping us in a cocoon adding, “remember, He is transforming you from an ugly Caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Hang on because if we come out of the “cocoon” before God’s “appointed time” it would result in serious under-development of your “wings”. God does not cause suffering. God allows suffering to prove the devil is a liar. In our times of suffering, we are never alone. God is with us to take us through. In Isaiah 43, God told Israel as he tells us now, Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” This is what access to the Grace of God will do because we are justified by faith. Not only do we have access to God, but We are also now acceptable to God. Verse 6 reads, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” God was so upset and offended by what Adam and Eve did, Genesis 3 tells us when God threw them out of the Garden of Eden, God placed cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. It was unacceptable that they should get ack into the Garden to have access to the tree of life. Yet out of His pure and boundless love, God found a way to make us acceptable. Jesus came to show us how to be acceptable to God. Before Jesus came, we saw how Abel made an offering more pleasing to God. In Psalm 51, David demonstrated the best way to return to God and be acceptable. David wrote, have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Later in the same Psalm David wrote, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” God will accept a heart of contrition, and humility. In 2 Samuel, chapter 3, we read about a priest named Eli, who did not discipline his sons to do the right thing. When God sent Samuel to warn him about his sons, instead of saying how sorry he was for his son’s behavior, he said, “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.” Our God is a merciful God. We remember what happened in 2 Kings 20, when God told King Hezekiah to get his house in order and get ready to die. Hezekiah pleaded with God and wept bitterly. When God saw the humility of the king, God added 15 more years to his life. A broken and a contrite heart is acceptable to God. In Luke 18, Jesus told the story of two men who went to the Temple to pray. One was boastful about his righteousness while the other was sorrowful. Jesus concluded the story by saying the man who was more humble “went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” When we are justified by faith, we become acceptable to God. Thirdly, when we are justified by faith, we and God enjoy Atonement. In verse 8 we read, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In verses 9-11, though not assigned as the reading for today, we hear Paul say, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” The word Paul used to explain the atonement is “reconciliation.” Atonement means, “reconciliation,” “restoration,” “renewal,” “reunion,” and “resolution.”

Atonement means Jesus opened the door to paradise and we can return to the Garden of Eden. A major assignment of the church is to seek reconciliation between humans and God, and between humans. Atonement is one of the difficult Christian principles because it requires us to give up our desire for revenge and payback. Atonement is the Prodigal son return home to a loving Father. I heard the story about Steven McDonald a young police officer, who in 1986, was shot by a teenager in New York’s Central Park, and became paralyzed. Officer McDonald said, “I forgave [the shooter] because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart.” While the younger man was serving his prison sentence, McDonald corresponded with him, hoping that one day the two could work together to demonstrate forgiveness and nonviolence. Unfortunately, the young man died in a motorcycle accident three days after he was released from prison. I’m told McDonald still travels the country to deliver his message of forgiveness, atonement, and reconciliation.

Even as we celebrate Father’s Day, let us remember we are the Prodigal Son who leaves home to do his own thing. Let us remember God is the loving Father, the heavenly Dad who loved him, wished him home, and welcomed him with open arms.

I believe the most important word in Christianity is salvation. Salvation is the most important word because it is the reason why God became human in the person of Jesus Christ and came into the world. Another word for salvation is atonement, what Christ did on the cross.

Jesus is the answer to what question? Jesus is the answer to questions about life, about faith, hope, and love. Jesus is the answer to how we are justified and set in a right relationship with God. We have been justified by faith. It was like we appeared in court before a King who is also a judge because we committed crimes of sin and were scheduled to die, but this loving king and judge sacrificed his son for us, set us free, adopted us, and allowed us to return to live with the king. This is what it means we have been justified by faith. To be justified by faith means we have access to God, we have been accepted by God and we and God enjoy atonement. May we enjoy accessibility, acceptability, and atonement with God. May God bless us all. Amen!

06/07/2023

Commissioned for Mission: Matthew 28: 16-20

We are in commencement season. During this season, kids graduate from kindergarten and preschool to elementary school, teens graduate from high school to college, and young adults graduate from college to professional life. In the same way, Pentecost season is like Commencement season for the disciples. They graduated from being disciples to being apostles; they graduated from being followers to being leaders, from being students to being teachers.

People who are commissioned are given authority directly from a higher power to undertake the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position. I am told that those who are commissioned in the United States military take an oath. In that oath, they declare, “I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” There are some who add these words and say, “I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will, well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So, help me God.”

When Jesus gave this commission to the apostles, he was giving it to all of us. When we receive this commission, it is important to remember we have been commissioned for a mission. The church has no mission except the mission of God. The vision of the church is a reflection of God’s vision for the world. No mission or vision statement of any church is complete without including the Gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Some people think mission is cross-cultural planting of the Gospel and missionaries are those who go to other cultures. I have good news for us. Mission is taking the Gospel from anywhere to everywhere. A pastor wrote, “Mission work includes more than rain forest hikes and travel overseas. You have a mission field right on your doorstep. Just because you are not a missionary by occupation, does not mean you don’t live on a mission field. We can fall into the trap of thinking that we aren’t “doing mission work” until we have left our homes and sacrificed comfort, health, security, family, and friends. The mission field doesn’t only exist “in the great unknown,” because the mission field is not a place; it’s people who need to hear the good news of Jesus. This means we are all missionaries, and we can begin taking the Gospel to our own culture, in our own community and neighborhood, in our own backyard. We have all been commissioned for a mission. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus gathered the disciples and commissioned them. This commissioning has several parts to it. The first part is we have been authorized to go everywhere. In Matthew 28:18, we read, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, God has given us the authority to go everywhere with the Gospel. There was a time when that meant physically leaving home to travel by foot, by boat or ship and by plane. Today, our world is connected by the Internet and by technology. There are very few places in the world where there is no internet. Many nations of the world have Christian radio and television stations broadcasting programs in their own languages. Today there are even Internet Christian radio stations. Most of those radio and television programs were produced by faithful Christians in the United States. Today, not only do we have radio and television stations, but we also have computers where people can get access to Christian Gospel materials through Yahoo, Google, Twitter, YouTube, and other websites. Some people think the Internet is being used by Satan and his dark forces to trap and destroy lives. If Satan and his forces can use the Internet, I don’t see why God and the Church can’t use that same Internet for the good of the world to the glory of God. The church and the people of God must use the Internet for good. I’m sure the more we send out positive, healing, and wholesome messages into the atmosphere, we will help to cleanse it and purify it. For example, we place our weekly divine worship service on YouTube; wherever people are in the world, they can watch our service, hear the great hymns of the church, pray with us, and be blessed by the Gospel message. God has commissioned us for a special mission. The first part of that mission is the authority to go everywhere. We can add that we have been given the authority to go everywhere by all the means available to us. Let us take Gospel by Word and Deed; by talk and action; by mission and ministry; by day and night; by radio and television; by phone and laptop; by word and music. By all the means we can find, we must take the Gospel everywhere because we have been commissioned for mission and we have been given authority to go everywhere with the Gospel.

Second, we must accept everyone and give them the Good News. Verse 19 says, we must baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism means to be initiated into the family of Christ.

At a local church, one of the active and faithful members was told he had an extremely aggressive form of cancer. By the time the doctors discovered the cancer, he was already in the late stages and was only given a short time to live. His name was mark. Mark's biggest worries were not for himself but only for his wife and two children. Who would take care of them? Would there be people to love and support them throughout his ordeal?

After one month, his worries were taken care of, Mark and his family heard noise outside; they opened the window and saw that the street was filled with Christian friends from their church. After surrounding the house, all the friends joined hands and prayed for Mark and his family. They let Mark and his family know they were loved. Mark was too sick to receive visitors, but the show of love continued. These Christians continued their public display of love throughout through the next six weeks. During that time, as each day went by, between 2-20 people gathered in the corner of the yard to pray for Mark and his family. Because Mark was so sick, they kept a prayer register on the back porch so that Mark would know who had been there. These Christians did more than pray. Many faithfully sent cards of encouragement. Some helped with transportation and other needs for the children. Mark and his family said, "We truly felt a hedge of love encircling our home." Mark fought hard but within three months of the same year, he succumbed to the cancer. Mark passed away knowing that his wife and children were loved and taken care of by their church family. Several neighbor families witnessing the love of Christ in action obeyed the Gospel and started attending church, some went to the church Mark was a part of while others went back to their old churches they had stopped attending.

Everyone can use Good News. We Christians have lots of Good News to give. Our good news is that everyone matters to God; everyone is loved and cared for; God knows us all by name; When we call upon God in the day of trouble, he will hear us and answer us. God knows our need before we ask; In Isaiah 65:24, God says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” We can insert our names in this promise, and it will still be true. We can read it like this, “And it shall come to pass that before Canonsburg First UMC call, I will answer and while the folks of Canonsburg First UMC are still speaking, I will answer them.”

We have been commissioned to be in mission for the Gospel. This means we must accept everyone and give them the Gospel.

We have been commissioned to be in mission for the Gospel. This means we must accept everyone and give them Good News. This means we must accompany each other to grow together for the Kingdom. Matthew 28:20 says, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In this passage, we hear God say, He will not send us out alone; He will go with us. Just as God will not send us out alone but will accompany us, so we must accompany each other. There is a reason why Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. When we accompany each other on our faith journey, we encourage each other, we edify each other. When we accompany each other on our faith journey, we can support each other and stand by one another. When we accompany each other, we are reflecting God because God never lets us walk alone.

There was a local church that heard that mothers in their community were having a tough time after they gave birth. New mothers were suffering from post-partum depression, a condition where a new mother will experience a range of emotions, such as fear, excitement, joy, or anxiety. The women’s group of a local church came up with a plan when a young wife in their local church gave birth, the women organized themselves to take food to the new mother and her family for two months after she returned from the hospital. They also arranged to go and help her care for the baby. Later, this young mother told them she didn’t know what she would have done without them. When her other child went to school and her husband went to work, the food and the company they provided kept her from feeling depressed. This is what it means to accompany each other on our faith journey.

We have been commissioned for a mission. We take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that we will, faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which we have been commissioned, with God being our helper. Our mission is God’s mission. When Jesus left and the Holy Spirit came, it was our commencement. We are graduating from being followers to becoming leaders. We are graduating from being students of the Gospel to becoming teachers of the Gospel. We are graduating from being disciples to being apostles. On this mission, we have authority to go everywhere using every means necessary. We must accept everyone and give good news to all, and we must accompany each other on our faith journey and grow together. May God bless us all. Amen!

05/29/2023

Bridgeville Memorial Day Parade

05/14/2023

Acts 17:22-31 “Desiring to Know God More”

A man decided to go in search of God on a high mountain. The mountain was very high, so he took two days to climb to the top. When he got to the top of the mountain, he stood up and yelled, “God where are you? I’m looking for you!” From the bottom of the mountain, he heard the voice of God speaking to him, saying, “Why are you looking for me on the mountain. I came down to the valley to find you.”

This is how it was with the people of Athens in Greece. Paul was on his second missionary journey traveling with Silas and other companions. It is so nice when we can travel in our faith with others who share our beliefs. The proverb says, “If you want to travel fast travel alone, but if you want to travel far, travel together.” In chapter 16, we read about Timothy joining Paul and Silas on the missionary journey. Timothy was a young man and so it was important for him to learn the faith by observing the elders. It is important for elders to live in such a way that the young people can learn about God from us. Paul and Silas traveled to Macedonia and then to Philippi where they were falsely accused of introducing unlawful customs for people who were Romans to follow. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison where they had their miracle at midnight experience. After they left Philippi, they traveled to Thessalonica, where they were accused of turning the world upside down. The truth is that the world was upside down, they were trying to turn it right side up. This is how it has always been and even now, we live in an upside down world. Our role is to turn the world right side up. From Thessalonica, Paul and Silas traveled to Berea, and then to Athens.

When they arrived in Athens, Paul was troubled by what he saw. He saw a city full of idols. He also saw a city full of all kinds of philosophy and human teachings. Paul also saw a structure with the writing, “To an unknown God.” This made him curious, so he went to the hill that used to serve as the Supreme Court where the Greeks made major decisions. Now, this was where people usually gather to discuss old ideas and new one. At this hill, Paul talked to them about Jesus. We should never miss an opportunity to tell people about Jesus, no matter where we are.

Paul began by telling them “I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” He was saying to them, I can see you are searching for God. I can see you desire to know God more. The God you want to know is the God I have come to tell you about. Just as these Greeks had a desire to know God better, we too should have a deep desire to know God better. You’re probably asking yourself, is it possible to really know God? Good question and I’m glad you asked. It is true we can never know God fully and completely. But we can know God a little more than just, “The Man upstairs,” or “The Higher Power.” In his sermon to these Greeks, Paul showed them a few things to know about Jesus. The first is that God is Lord. From verses 24 to 28, Paul said, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.” Our God has many names. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider. He is Jehovah Nissi, our banner. Jehovah Rapha, our healer; Jehovah Shalom, God of Peace, and more; but the one name that is the most powerful is Jesus.

Last Saturday, there was a coronation in London, England where King Charles was crowned as King of England. I asked myself when did God have a coronation to become the King of the universe. It became clear there was never a coronation of God because God’s kingdom has no beginning, and it will have no end. Our Jesus is God, and he is the sovereign Lord of all. Jesus is Lord not of some things in our lives but over everything, even things that seem small and insignificant.

A farmer was out working near his fence line near the road when he saw a neighbor from a few farms down driving toward him. The neighbor stopped and the farmer saw that he had two cows in a truck. "Where are you headed with those cows?" the farmer asked him.

"I'm heading into town to sell them,” the neighbor replied.

"You mean, if it's the Lord's will, you are going to sell them," the farmer corrected his neighbor.

"Well," says the neighbor, now feeling a little disturbed by the rebuke. "The Lord had nothing to do with this. I bought them, I raised them, I milked them, and now I'm gonna sell them, and nobody is going to stop me from doing it, not even the Lord can stop me, and I don’t think the Lord cares one way or another.”

"Oh, alright," says the farmer, and off down the road goes the neighbor with his cows.

About thirty minutes later the neighbor came driving back the other way, his clothes were ripped, and he looked beaten and bruised. "What happened to you?" asked the farmer.

"Well,” the neighbor replied, “I got a few miles down the road and some guys in a truck, blocked my truck, pulled a gun on me, jumped me, beat me up, and stole my cows."

"Oh no," says the farmer, "What are you going to do now?"

"Well,” the other farmer said. "I'm going home to bandage up my wounds...if it's the Lord's will!”

When I was growing up, when you say to someone, “I’ll see you tomorrow, the person always answered, “By God’s grace.” It is by God’s grace and mercy that we wake up every day. We don’t want to be like the rich fool in Luke 12 who was so sure of himself and his future that he said, “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ Our God is Lord over everything in our lives. We cannot breathe without God’s help. Our hearts cannot beat with without God’s power. This past week, we had another mass shooting in our country. That mass shooting made it number 199 in this year alone, and we have not reached 199 days in 2023. This is a reminder that we should place our times in God’s hand because everything is so uncertain. Only God can keep us safe.

In our desire to know God, we will find that Jesus is God and God is the sovereign Lord over our lives. God is also life. Verses 29 and 30 read, “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” God is life. Paul wrote in the Philippians 3:10, that his desire was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. This should also be our desire, to live the resurrected life. In John 10, Jesus said he came that we may have abundant life. Someone said, “Some people spend so much time making a living, that they forget how to live.” Researchers have discovered that in an average lifetime, by the time we reach 80 years, the average American spends 3 years in business meetings, 13 years watching TV, Spends over $89,000 on food, consumes more than 100,000 pounds of food, Makes more than 1,800 trips to McDonalds, Spends about $6,000 in vending machines, eats over 3,500 cookies, spends 24 years sleeping, and less than 5 years in church or on religious matters. The best years are the years we spend with God or serving Christ through others. Paul told the Greeks we are God’s offspring, meaning we are God’s children. Since today is Mother’s Day, as we come to realize God is life, let is all realize God is not only our Father, but also our mother. In Luke 13:34, Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Since the church is the Bride of Christ, the church is the mother of all believers. God works through the church to nourish all believers in our faith journey. I heard of a traffic officer in Los Angeles, California, who saw a car illegally parked next to the curb on street-sweeping day. The officer wrote out a ticket, reached inside the open car window and placed the ticket on the dashboard. The driver of the car made no excuses, which was because the driver of the car had been shot in the head ten to twelve hours before the officer arrived and was dead. The church as the mother of believers is not like that. What catches our attention most about God’s children most is their need, not their offenses. They don’t need a citation; they need a Savior.

As we desire to know God more, we will find that God is life. God is Lord, God is Life and God is Love. In verse 31, we read, For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” God is pure and boundless love. God’s love has no limits. It is God’s love that leads to the resurrection. The resurrection means God wants to spend eternity with us. It is love that prompted God to send Jesus to restore fellowship with us. I don’t think we are able to fully comprehend how deep God’s love is for us. God’s love created the entire world for our benefit. All God wants is that we love and obey Hm. A Christian leader wrote “Some people want to love God in the same way as they love a cow. They love it for the milk and the cheese and for their own profit. They love God for the sake of outward riches or inward consolation. But they do not love God correctly, for they merely love their own advantage.” If we love God for only what we can get, something is wrong, and that love is incomplete. How would we feel if we knew someone who called us only when they needed something? In our Gospel reading for today, we hear Jesus say, “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.

When we desire to know God more, we will strive to get closer to God. As we get closer to God, God will reveal himself more and more for us. Jesus said we should ask, and we will receive; we should seek, and we will find; we must knock, and the door will be opened to us. In our search for God, sometimes, we are like the man climbing a mountain for two days to find God only to hear God in the valley say to us, “Why are you on the mountain looking for me? I came down to the valley to find you.” Let us desire to know God more. When we do, we will discover God is Lord, God is life, and God is love. May we see God close to us. Amen.

Address

244 Station St
Bridgeville, PA
15017

Telephone

(412) 221-5577

Website

http://www.bridgevilleumc.org/

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