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Dear Friends, 

 
This Sunday, and next week in our Daily Worship Devotions, we return for a second time to 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:5. There was just too much there for us to cover in one sermon! This week, we will focus more on how God addresses the root problem of pride in the conflicts in the church at Corinth by reminding them of the foolishness and weakness of God.

Pride is one of those sins that we are quick to spot and be bothered by when we see it in others, but slow to recognize and quick to defend when it’s at work in our own heart, attitude, and interactions.

We live in a time where self-righteousness has been weaponized in conflicts and debates. Self-righteousness and the sin of pride are inseparable. The way the world interacts is formative. It impacts us and shapes us. It defines what is “normal” and we all too often adjust to that “normal,” and the spirit of the age molds us.

So, take some time to read and reflect on 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:5 this week and consider the following things as you do so:

• How is pride being addressed here?
• How might my pride negatively impact my connection to and participation in the family of the local church?
• What is the path forward for those who struggle with pride and self-righteousness?
• How important is the community of the local church to God and to me?

I look forward to seeking God together with you in worship this Sunday.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Ewan

Dear Friends,

Martin Luther (1483-1546) famously said that a Christian is “simultaneously saint and sinner.” (Well, technically, he wrote it in Latin.)

As followers of Jesus Christ, I think it’s difficult for us to hold both sides of Luther’s statement together simultaneously or regularly. How about you? Which do you tend to see yourself as most often – saint or sinner?

Like most New Testament letters, the introduction of 1st Corinthians is the key to understand the whole letter. In this introduction (1st Corinthians 1:1-17), we find both of these truths about our identity held together in a rather jarring contrast. It’s important that we delve into that tension and contrast. I don’t know about you, but I tend to skip past the essential truths in verses 4-9 and focus on the rebuke that comes after in verses 10-17. How about you?

This Sunday we’ll delve into 1 Corinthians 1:1-17 and the twin tension that Luther highlighted, i.e., saint and sinner.

However, as brilliant and helpful as Luther’s insight about this tension was and is, it misses/omits a very crucial truth that we desperately need to grasp and cling to. What did Luther miss? Spend some time reading and reflecting on 1 Corinthians 1:1-17 and see that you think. We’ll talk more about all of this on Sunday and next week in our Daily Worship Devotions.

I look to worshiping together with you on Sunday. 

Yours in Christ’s love,

Pastor Ewan

Dear Friends,

It’s a serious and honest question that needs to be asked – especially in our culture today: Is Community Possible? Honestly?

It’s a question that’s certainly related to the difficulties we have suffered these past 12 months. But our longings for and struggles with true community are bigger and deeper than what we’ve experienced and suffered during COVID-19. It is true: one of the most difficult aspects of this past year has been social isolation. Twelve months ago this week, on March 15, 2020, we cancelled gathering together in person for worship and had our first live-streamed service. For 12 long months, our personal interactions and participation in community have been seriously diminished and limited. As we long for and anticipate the end of our COVID-19 isolation, one of the things we are looking forward to is being able to be with people again. As human beings, we long for community, because we were made for community. That’s why this past year has been so deeply dehumanizing and difficult.

But the breakdown and fracturing of community in our culture and time, which was on a downward spiral before March 2020, seems to have accelerated in many ways. It seems like we are even less able to have civil discourse than we were a year ago. Echo-chambers and tribalism have increased. Social Media feels more and more like it’s actually “Anti-Social Media.” But, as I’ve said, community was a struggle before COVID-19. What will it be like when social isolation is no longer required? Will anything change? Will our loss of, and longing for, community lead to new priorities and lasting commitments?Read More