This Week's Update

Greetings in Christ!

It was wonderful to install Matt in worship yesterday and to welcome him and Kristy as friends of CLC. As a reminder, his office hours are weekdays from 9am-1pm.

Weekly Notes  

+ Pastor will be at the Region 9 ELCA Campus Ministers’ Conference Sunday evening through Wednesday.

+ Our first interest meeting for Across the Spectrum is Sunday, February 1st, at 3pm.

+ Lectionary Study continues Mondays at Noon at the church. Bring your lunch and join in the discussion!

+ Those interested in volunteering for communion assistant or to read scripture are encouraged to sign up in advance. Please email admin@clcradford.org if interested.

 

Devotional

Many of us remember the story of Jonah running from God and ending up in the belly of a giant fish. Lesser known is that his powerful prophecy turned the people of Nineveh from idolatry to faithfulness. Where were those words from Jonah’s mouth? “Forty more days and Nineveh will fall!”

Wow. Powerful stuff. Excuse my yawn.  

The tragic hilarity of Jonah’s story is just how much he does not want to be faithful to God’s word. Jonah’s prejudice toward Nineveh first sends Jonah running toward Spain before he finally ends up in all washed up. When he gets to Nineveh, Jonah offers the bare minimum of God’s prophecy. And yet, through that shred of faithfulness, God led an entire city to repentance.

God works through us, sometimes even despite us, to work the radical grace of the Gospel into the fabric of the world. Of course, this isn’t permission to do the bare minimum. When God calls us, we ought not run away or perform only the easiest tasks set before us. Rather, we may trust that God works for the good despite our sinfulness. We may trust that, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is working to reconcile all things to God, even if that makes us uncomfortable. This week, keep an eye out for where God is calling you, especially in those areas where God is challenging preconceived notions about the depth and width of God’s grace.

 

Grace and peace,

Pastor Andrew