09/05/2026
Dear Friends,
It’s the start of the new school year and the beginning of a new sermon series! We are switching gears from Jesus’ parables to Paul’s Galatians, where the focus is going to be on the Gospel of grace, and how Jesus – and Jesus alone – satisfies our need to be justified.
“Justification” is one of those words that carries a lot of meaning. And while I will be speaking more to its theological meaning over the course of the series, I also want us to be reflecting on the more personal meaning: In what ways do we seek to be justified? In what ways do we seek to be declared righteous? In what ways do we want someone (who means something to us) to say to us, “You’re good enough”?
Because isn’t that one of those deep nagging questions of our souls? “Will I be good enough?” A lot of us burn ourselves out working really hard at whatever it is we do because we’re trying to prove – to ourselves or to others, often both – that we’re good enough. A lot of us get into conflict and make it worse through defensive speech and behavior because – more than anything else – we have to be seen as in the right. And it's because deep down, we all seek justification. We all seek to be declared righteous. We all seek to be good enough.
The good news that Paul preaches, then – and that we’ll be looking at this fall in Galatians – is that the justification we seek is available to us!... just not through our own works or our own efforts; instead, it is a free gift from God that we receive through faith in Christ.
So, if your old ways of trying to justify yourself (e.g. burnout, defensiveness, etc.) aren't working for you, and you want to hear how you might receive God's better justification in Christ, then come and join us this Sunday!
And regarding this Sunday, it is a communion Sunday! The children and youth will be joining us for the whole service, and I encourage all of us to prepare our hearts to come to the Lord's Table.
Finally, we're going to keep doing name tags! We at first thought this might be just a summer thing, but after talking with several of you, it sounds like it might be a good idea to keep up this practice for the sake of facilitating fellowship after the service. We're even adding an additional name tag station in the foyer (aka narthex) to make it easier for more people to get one.
Link to Livestream on Sunday, September 6
https://youtube.com/live/0chBb_Fv0DQ?feature=share
You can join us, whether in-person or on-line this Sunday at 9:30am, with Prelude starting at 9:25am, to praise the Lord in word, in music, and in truth! A video recording of the entire service will be available on YouTube or the NPC Website, approximately 11:00am. Videos of the sermon alone will be available by noon.
See you Sunday!
Pastor Jason
Narberth Presbyterian ChurchSunday Worship ServiceBroadcast live ...
