"A Multitude of Heavenly Hosts Praising..."

I love the Christmas story. Not the movie, the birth of Jesus and read from the Gospel of Luke. It is a beautiful story that shows the struggles of Mary and Joseph and how they wrestled with what they were being asked to do. And then the "yes" that They gave to God. The "yes" that they gave to birth and raise the child of God. I then love the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds. The lowest of the lows. They worked with the dirty sheep and lived with them. Yet God chose to send the angels to THEM as the first visitors of the new born Christ. I love the story of the Magi coming (which doesn't actually happen for a few years). I love hearing of them going against Herod and fleeing so they don't have to tell Herod where the Christ child is. I just LOVE this story.

I was really excited for this Christmas to be an actual Pastor and getting to help lead worship at 3 different services. I was going to get to read the Christmas story 2 different times- the little girl inside of me was so excited. When I was 10 I was Gladys in "The Best Christmas Story Ever" and I got to yell to the audience "A CHILD IS BORN IN BETHLEHEM" and this year, I would get to do the same thing. I would get to shout those words (or say them very enthusiastically) and I would get to sing with a multitude of heavenly hosts that Jesus Christ our Lord was born.

Wednesday night, I started coughing. I typically chalk all that up to my allergies. By Thursday it just seemed to be a bit worse and when I opened my mouth to talk nothing came out. Literally nothing. Panic started to set in. I had just gotten over the horrible stomach flu and now this? Right before Christmas? Two days before I was supposed to help with the first of 3 services?

By Friday I knew that my voice may not come back. So I went to the doctor. I had laryngitis and an ear infection. Who gets an ear infection at 32 years old? Luckily, I was able to get on antibiotics because of the infection.

So Saturday came. I was ready to read the Christmas Story. Yet as I practiced I became even more nervous. It wasn't going to sound good and I would not be shouting the Good News of the birth of Jesus Christ.

I sent my boss a text just to warn her for the next day and then most amazing gift was given to me. A gift I wasn't asking for and a gift I didn't know I needed. Nanette told me to stay home. She was already at the church and would help. At first I was sad but then I realized that in order to be able to help tomorrow at the services I had to rest my voice that night.

It is amazing how your body can show you when you need to rest. That you need to take care of yourself in order to care for others. I am so grateful for Nanette and that gift she gave me. The gift to rest.

During this time of rest I did a lot of thinking about the beloved Christmas story. The struggles of Mary and Joseph, the fright of the shepherds (wouldn't you run away if something came out of the sky and started talking to you? Even if they said do not be afraid?) and the bravery of the Magi that journey to meet the Christ King and the risk they took in doing so. Christmas is about reflection. It is about having a time to sit back, rest, reflect and realize what Christmas is about. To realize that the Christmas story is much more than a story about a baby being born. It is about the vulnerability in each of us when we say yes to God. It is about the fear that comes with being uncertain of what is going to happen in your life and the bravery of finding God in your hearts and in the hearts of others.

Christmas is about transformation. It is about finding the light and love in each of us. It is about being brave enough to invite Christ into our lives and to not be afraid of what could happen when you allow the love of God into your life.

I got to share the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. My voice was a bit husky and didn't exactly sound the way I wanted but maybe the quiet of my voice and the humility of me accepting that I was not healthy is what brought me closer to God this Christmas.

God bless everyone. Open your hearts to what Christmas can bring. It is pretty amazing once you do.

"Mom, can we keep playing..." BARF

Sunday was a normal night at our house. Tannie went to bed and Paul, Henry and I went downstairs to play Mario on the Wii. We are actually quite good and competitive. It has been our part of our nightly routine for at least a year and we love it.

As normal, when we tell Henry it is time to go to bed he argues with us and usually we give in and play at least one more level. Then we tell him it is time to go to bed again and he argues, which ends in an argument to his bed. And for some reason we still do this every night.

Just as we were about to have our final argument on Sunday Henry said "mom, can we keep playing.." and then it happened. He barfed everywhere. On me, on the couch, on the chair he was sitting on, on the floor, on his toy trains. He barfed and then just stood there in shock.

We have never had "barfy" children. In fact, Henry has never just thrown up since he was a baby. So this was new to all of us. His sickness continued through the night and into the next day and my body decided to join him around 10pm. Luckily we only were sick for about 15 hours and today both seem to be doing fine.

In the midst of all the barf, crying and grossness I started thinking about Christmas and how happy I was that this was hitting us right now and not in a few days.

Then I realized how incredibly lucky we are. How incredibly lucky we are that barf is our biggest worry this holiday season.

At Grace, Nanette has been doing a sermon series on the wonder of Christmas. And how to find the wonder among all the pain and sorrow in the world.

Here is what I have realized. The wonder is there. It is there. It is there even in the darkest night, it is there even in the deepest of hurts and sorrows and it is there even when we feel as though we can't get out of bed and keep going.

God saw our broken world and came to us in the form of a baby. A sweet baby boy that would change our world- that would save us all. This baby took away the darkness, fought for those that were oppressed, offered hope and light to all those suffering and simply loved all of God's people.

There is magic and wonder in Christmas. Even when we feel as though it is impossible to find. Is is there. Even if you don't believe in God, even if you don't believe in the story. the beauty and the wonder of a season of giving and loving others is there. And even if you don't believe, that is God. That is God coming to our world to show us that even when things seem impossible they are possible.

At one point on Sunday night I told Henry how brave he was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said "no, mom. no I am not". My heart broke. But later the next day he looked at me and said "wow mom, I was brave. I feel so much better"

The wonder in him. The wonder in all of God's children is what Christmas is about. Find your wonder this Christmas. Find a way to spread the light and love of God to those that need it the most and find a way to simply be present with those you love.

Merry Christmas to you all.

We are better than this

As I was driving in to work today listening to NPR, I kept hearing about the election in Alabama. I wanted to scream at the radio and the world that we shouldn't be surprised by this. We shouldn't be surprised that powerful men in powerful positions are being accused of sexual harassment and assault. We shouldn't be surprised that our country cares more about party lines than survivors. We shouldn't be surprised yet we still are. And later tonight and tomorrow morning when Roy Moore likely wins the Alabama Senate seat we will again act surprised.

We live in a country where our very own President has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by many women. Where high power Congressmen, Judges and News Anchors have been accused of similar acts and only some of them have either stepped down from their role or been asked to.

We live in a country where we focus more on party lines then the lives of the people that live in it.

In our very own city, for many years, the judge that presided over Kansas City domestic violence court was convicted of domestic violence just a few years ago. For years I couldn't understand why he would let abusers off so easily and then it made sense.

We have made this okay. We have made it okay to treat women as "less than". To allow powerful men to still remain in power even after they have taken advantage of a young vulnerable woman or child. And why do we do this? We do this because we live in fear of what would happen if we didn't. What would happen if we had help President Trump accountable for his actions? What would happen if we stood up to the bullies and people we fear?

What is strange, is that our whole world could change. Our way of viewing men and women. Our way of speaking to our kids about right and wrong. As women, our fear of walking alone in a parking lot, our fear of being targeted by someone that is going to stalk or abuse us and our fear of being raped could possibly be less. 

What if. What if we lived in a world that actually held abusers accountable. What if we lived in a world that actually demanded, not suggested, that men in powerful positions be TERMINATED for sexually harassing or abusing a woman. 

We would have a world that felt safer. We would have a world that actually lives out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A world of love. A world that stands up to our oppressors and a world that is committed to changing the way in which we value a woman's worth.

I am not surprised by the amount of men being accused of sexual harassment and assault. I am not surprised because it happens every day in the work place. Maybe you don't even notice it. We say such things as "boys will be boys" or we laugh off something that makes us uncomfortable because that person has more power than us. 

That is not the world I want either of my children to grow up in and it is not the world that I want to live in.

I may not be able to change much but what I can do is preach the Gospel of Jesus. To agree with this picture that Jesus would not vote for the child molester, instead he would want him held accountable and then address the reasons why he is this way. Offer that person a different way of living and possibly help to change the way in which we raise our men to think this is okay. 

Jesus came into this world to offer hope and light to all of God's people. By allowing someone to hold an office of power that has been accused of such horrible acts goes against everything Jesus stood for. It allows the others to win and we are better than that. At least I have to believe we are. 

Dear Sky

I have often wondered what I would say to you if I wrote you a letter. Where would I start? What would I say? How much do you already know and what don't you know? So here is my best attempt.


Dear Sky-

It's been 10 years. 10 years since I saw you. Well over 10. The last time I saw you was Thanksgiving 2007. You got to meet Paul. We have been married for 8 years. We have two children. Henry is just like you and Evan, believes he is a ninja and a power ranger. Tannie is 1. She is just like me. Vivacious, independent and runs the house. But you probably know all of that. You probably know that they are healthy, beautiful and full of life.

You probably know all of this because you are right here with us. You are in the midst of us everyday. I can see you dancing in the fields from time to time or when my son is running around like a crazy person, convinced that he is going to kill all the bad guys. I can see you in your parents. In their tears, their laughs and their lives. I can see you in our family. You never really left us, just went away for awhile. At least that is how I am able to see you.

How is my dad? I'd imagine he is good. That you two spend a lot of time together, laughing at all of us and our nonsense. What about all of this planning for Christmas? Is my dad telling you it is ridiculous? Are you laughing? Are you like your dad? Telling my dad that we all just need to listen to Becky and Vicky because they will tell us what to do? :-)  Is he giving you guidance and love? I can't imagine that he wouldn't. He really loves you. Just like your own daddy. Sometimes I am envious that you get him for eternity but I guess I know that I will be there someday with you all.

Do you talk to Nana? How is he really doing? I wish we could get some real answers. I wish that we really knew what was going on. I think we all know but don't want to admit it. I worry for him, but I also just wish him peace and stillness. What a reunion that will be someday, you were always his favorite, that was obvious to us all.

Nani is sad. She is struggling. Can you come to her? Tell her it's all going to be ok? Tell her that you love her and are taking care of her and Nana? Maybe that will give her some peace. She needs that. She doesn't know what to do or how to help. She is always saying "well we're just old". You know Nani, she has never been down about life. Talk to her. Hold her and let her know life is okay.

Evan got married. I wonder if you sent him Carly. You probably did. I can imagine you had something to do with that. She saved him, ya know. Made him an amazing man, something to strive for. He is a good person, a loving husband, great uncle, great son, great brother. I hope that was you and my dad, helping to form him into this person, never leaving his side.

It's been 10 years. I miss you. Your parents miss you. Your sister misses you. We all miss you. It's strange how one event can change the course of people's lives forever. Your death changed so much for all of us.

I have had my ups and downs since we lost you and my dad but I am able to say today that I know you guys are right here with me. That you are with God. That you are happy. That you are full. That you are loved. That you are never alone and you never leave us. I know you are simply a veil away. That heaven is simply right on the other side of this crazy world we live in.

I miss you dear cousin, I hope you find peace this Christmas. Find joy, hope and happiness. Tell my dad hi. Tell my grandparents hi.

God Bless your sweet soul and the love you have always given all of us

Ali

Oh and this whole Trump is President thing- ya, if you could help that to change in 2020 that would be great. Thanks- love the whole world.

Up to the Mountain

As a first time Pastor I am getting the honor (some more seasoned Pastors may laugh at that) of getting to preach often. This is the first time I am preaching two weeks in a row.

Last week I focused on faith and how to lean on our faith in times of crisis. I used my experience from Rose Brooks Center to talk about domestic violence, gun control and action needed in our city and I talked about the faith of the Israelites as they settled into the promise land and Joshua asked them over and over again if they will serve the Lord. They all said yes because they had faith.

This week I am preaching on Finding Thanksgiving. How in a world filled with despair and constant pain to do we find thanksgiving? How do we be thankful for what we have when others have so little?

I believe we are all called to be disciples of Christ. To love one another, to honor one another and to serve one another. I believe that we are all put in this world for a reason. Mine is to serve the people of God as a Pastor and to preach God's word.

I am finding it to be challenging this week. How to find words different than I did last week and to still proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I was listening to music this afternoon and the song "Up to The Mountain" came on. I have heard this song many times but something about it really spoke to me today.

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go

We are all living in this peaceful valley. But as the words say "few come to know, I may never get there ever in this lifetime....sooner or later it's there I will go" This valley is the kingdom of Heaven right here on earth. The kingdom that all of us are welcomed into yet we push it away. We push away God out of fear. We blame God for the destruction and despair in the world and many of us think all of "God" stuff is just bullshit.

But here is what I will tell you. We are all God's children. Born in God's kingdom to serve one another, to love another and to be in full relationship with God. Some of us will never get there in this lifetime but we will all be there together one day. 

Moses went up to the mountain and saw the promised land. The land he risked his life to get his people to. The land promised to him, Jacob, Noah and Abraham. The land of milk and honey. He finally made it yet he didn't go. He passed away on top of that mountain looking at the beautiful life he led his people to. There is beauty in that story. 

Beauty in the stories of all the people that have fought for the rights of others and didn't get to see the outcome. 

Our world is beautiful. Our world is full of abundance and our world is full of God, even in you aren't able to see it. 

Find your Thanksgiving this week. Go find what you are truly thankful for and thank God for this beautiful, messy, amazing life you are living. 

Never let the truth get in the way....

There is a picture that hangs in my house of my Grandmother, Pinky. She is 17 in the picture and she says it on the road to Demascus in the exact spot where Saul was converted to Paul. My Grandmother grew up in India, her parents were missionaries there, and she tells the story of traveling across the Middle East and all of Europe after leaving this spot with two of her friends back to the United States all alone. She talks about the horror of being put on a boat and told who she would meet where and when- having no clue of who many of these people were. She calls that a great journey of hers and laughs as she tells the story.

Now, if you know my grandmother you know that I call her Nani and you also know that one of her favorite lines is "never let the truth get in the way of a good story". I can't tell you if she actually stood in the exact spot where Saul became Paul or if she actually travleled for months across the world with only 2 friends and zero parents but these are her stories.

Stories are what make up our lives, they are what create a legacy for our families and our lives and they are often the foundation of who we are.

This last month has been a whirlwind for my family. My Nana, Nani's husband, was diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer. Between er visits, appointments with urologist and oncologist we know that this is a rare form of cancer and the success rate is not that good.

Yet he is fighting the best he can. Chemo is too harsh for him. He has fought and beat cancer 3 other times and this time he feels as though chemo is just too much for him. He had surgery yesterday to remove the cancer from his bladder but it will likely come back.

The past few days I have been thinking of all the stories my grandparents have told me over the years. The stories that make up their lives and the ones we will tell our children and their children. My grandfather grew up a preacher's kid. His parents were young when they got married and quickly had two children. They had their surprise child when my Nana was 16 years old. My Nana will tell stories of him and his brother Kent being told to come home at dark and that they would go play in the Rio Grande all day every day without anyone watching them or checking to see if they were okay.

He tells stories of going to college prepared to be pre-med, meeting my Nani and kissing her under the tree by Alpha Chi and then deciding (when it was too late for Nani to run for the hills) that he wanted to go to into the ministry.

His whole life has been filled with faith. The faith that God would lead him on his next adventure with my Nani and their three children and the confidence that no matter what they would be provided for and taken care of.

He tells the story of seeing a UFO one night in Sabetha, KS and not a lot of people believing him. He tells stories of counseling young people who were suffering from mental illness and just needed someone to listen to him. He tells stories of riding horses with his son, Robin and how he loves to go out to Robin's ranch whenever he can.

His stories make up his life and the legacy that he will pass on to each of us.

The stories of my grandparents and their parents are who define me. My Nana is a retired Methodist Pastor so you can see where I get that from. My Nani was a teacher and a woman who defied the "rules" of a Pastor's wife and did what she wanted to do with her career and raised her kids how she wanted to despite societies norms, you may be able to see where I get that independence from.

These two people have helped to shape who I am. They are two of my best friends and I know that God continues to be present in their lives and my mine every day allowing us to grow as a family and in relationship with one another.

As I get older, I will never know if my Nani actually had servants in India, if there were actually monkeys running around everywhere, if she and her sisters ever actually stripped down to nothing and walked up and down the streets yelling "we are the mud sisters", and I don't want to know. These are our stories and our family and I will tell them as long as I am able.

Besides who cares if they are true or not we simply can't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Blessed are you

I was able to be in my garden a few times this week.  Being in my garden is one of the places I feel the closest to God.  I can be pulling weeds, digging in the dirt or planting flowers and no matter how short amount of time I get I still feel peace.

I feel connected and I feel blessed. 

The other place I go to feel this connection is to scripture.  

Over the years I have learned that certain passages will come to you at times you least expect and at times when great hurt is going on in our lives and world. Monday I woke up, made my coffee and turned on Good morning America. It has become my favorite thing to do in the mornings even if children are running around demanding things.  

Yet, Monday wasn't a normal day.  I woke up to the headline "At least 50 dead and 500 wounded in the largest mass shooting in the history of the United States" We know now that number increased to 59, including the shooter, dead.  

My heart sank but at the same time it felt 'normal'. I wasn't surprised that it happened and that stung me.  How can I not be shocked?  How could I not be more consumed with grief for those that lost their lives?  

That came later as I processed the shooting but my initial reaction was "it happened again, what next?" Scripture came to me that day.  Scripture that is very known to most of us and is something that spoke to me differently than it ever had. 

The beatitudes set a stage for the entire ministry of Jesus-  they talk about humility, meekness, hungering for God in our lives, peace, justice and being persecuted for your believes.  

But here is the thing that strikes me the most about them- they are not instructions on how to live out your live as people of God, no, they are exclamations.  Jesus is telling his followers that if you have God in your heart these things will also be in your heart and you will like a life that is humble, that thirst for more God, that is peaceful, that fights for justice and that stands up when being persecuted.  

The three that spoke to me the most this week are probably the obvious ones-  

blessed are those who mourn,  

blessed are the peacemakers  

and blessed are those that are persecuted 

Blessed are those who mourn.  

Have you heard the phrase- grief is the price of love? "For God so loved the earth he gave his only son"  God loved us all so much that Jesus came into our world to minister the lost and lowly, to offer love, grace and mercy to all of God's people not just the ones that they all at the time believed deserved it.  

And God mourned for the loss of Jesus, God mourned for all of us, for we were so loved the ultimate sacrifice was made.  

I've experienced grief in my life but I can't imagine the grief that people felt the day of the shooting.  

The sheer terror of- is my love one dead?  

Did they make it out?  

Why aren't they answering the phone?  

59 people killed, 500 plus wounded.  

And I want to point out that I do include the shooter in that number because that was also a life lost, a child of God that strayed away at some point in his life. His life mattered- and we are taught that through the teachings of Jesus Christ.  

Grief is the price we pay for love.  

When tragedy strikes our lives we often shut down.  We close ourselves off to the possibility of love with others because it is a way to protect ourselves, a way to put on a shield in order to not have to grieve again.  

But life doesn't work that way.  We are human.  We love.  And if we open ourselves up to the possibility of having God in our lives and the holy spirit present with us while we are grieving we open ourselves up to the possibility of experiencing more love in our lives through the grace and mercy offered to us by God.  

Blessed are those who mourn- for they know the true price of love.  

Peace. Blessed are the peace makers.  

Now before you get too worried, I am not going to preach today about gun control and your 2nd amendment right.  That isn't what I am going for.  I do believe that we all have the right to bear arms as long as we are of sound mind and keep them locked up out of the reach of those that should not have access to weapons; children, people who don't know how to use them and those that would use them to harm others.  

I am married to a Lieutenant in the Johnson County Sheriff's office so it is a given that there are guns in our home.  My dad and grandfathers were hunters so I grew up around guns. 

However, I never had a desire to use them. So I never knew where they were stored or if I did they were locked up and I didn’t have the code to the gun safe for obvious reasons.  Gun violence is so common in our world that people are becoming complacent to it however Jesus is asking us live a life of peace- a life of non-violence. He displays this even in his final days as he is being arrested. Jesus tells Peter to put down his sword. To not fight what is happening. He is living out non-violence even as he knows what is going to happen to him. 

So how do we do that?  

When a mass shooting happens we all say "I pray for the lives lost"  And while prayer is important it isn't enough.  Jesus is calling us into action to promote peace in our homes, our lives and our world.

  

One of the most common phrases in the Bible and the most misinterpreted is "turn the other cheek".  

What many people do not know is that phrase is actually a sign of resistance to an oppressor.  At the time of Jesus, striking someone deemed to be of a lower class with the back of the hand was used to assert authority and dominance. If the persecuted person "turned the other cheek," the discipliner was faced with a dilemma. The left hand was used for unclean purposes, so a back-hand strike on the opposite cheek would not be performed. The other alternative would be a slap with the open hand as a challenge or to punch the person, but this was seen as a statement of equality. Thus, they argue, by turning the other cheek the persecuted was in effect demanding equality..  

Demanding equality in a time where oppression was everywhere people looked.  

Of course we don’t have to worry about that now, do we?  We are all equal, no one is oppressed and our lives are all deemed to be as valuable as the next.... I hope you can sense the sarcasm in my voice.  

In order to turn the other cheek today we all have to recognize our own privilege.  All of us in this room are white, we are all likely middle to upper class, live in Johnson County, KS and have likely lived a life of privilege in comparison to other people in our community.  

Recognizing your own privilege is the first step to living a life of action, a life of peace.  

When we are able to do this we are able to live out this beatitude by offering equality to all of God's people.  

At our church we offer a peace academy twice a year for children ages kindergarten-5th grade.  During this peace academy children learn about racism, bullying, diversity, and equality.  They learn how to be an 'upstander' vs a 'bystander'.  These children are practicing peace every day.  They are taught to sit with the kid at lunch that no one will sit with.  To befriend the new kid.  To talk to kids that maybe don't look like them or aren’t from the same type of family as them.  

And here's the thing- they actually do it.  

They live their lives as upstanders, a life of peace, combating those that put others down and living as Jesus calls us to- in action.  

We all need to strive to be like these children.  

To recognize that our world is not equal and we have to stand up for those being oppressed.  

We have to live out peace by being in action in our everyday lives. By talking to each other about hate, racism, bullying and equality. As Christians this is what we are supposed to be doing everyday. It can be hard, it can be daunting but it can be done.  

A colleague and friend of mine, Emily Robnett wrote this earlier this week and it perfectly sums up what I am saying 

"Prayer is two-fold just as faith is two-fold. Faith without works is dead. Prayer without action is dead. A faithful prayer calls us to action; it mobilizes us to movement. As we pray, "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," we know we are called to take part in making this prayer come into fruition. It is a commission. So it is not either "thoughts and prayers" or "action." It is "thoughts, prayers, AND action." May your will be done, O God. May we grow closer to reflecting your loving, compassionate nature"  

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.  For centuries Christians have been persecuted for being Christian, for speaking out their faith and for living as followers of Christ.  

In the early church, followers of Christ were imprisoned and told they must change their ways or they will face dire consequences.  As time has gone on there have been wars over faith and groups of people, not just Christians, have been persecuted for simply practicing their faith in a world that refuses to acknowledge our shared oneness and creation by a God that loves all of us.  

Recently I was a coffee shop and was admiring two young girls reading their Bibles and discussing the book of John.  I was in awe that they were in public doing this.  It didn't appear that they were doing it for church or class but simply because they wanted to.  

Realizing that they may think I was judging them for being Christian, I introduced myself and told them how beautiful it was to see them studying the Bible.  They both smiled and thanked me and one girl said "I love the Bible, it’s my favorite thing to read and helps me grow as a Christian".  

I then realized how incredibly heartbreaking it is that we live in a society where we often hide our Christianity.  

We hide our love for Christ because we fear what others may say.  

We fear that we will be persecuted for being "out" as a Christian.  

Christianity has gotten a negative rap in the last few decades.  People professing their Christianity by putting others down, by judging those that don't believe in Christ and by preaching a God that is full of wrath and violence has become the "face" of Christianity.  

But that isn't what God or Christianity is.  As believers of Christ we must stand up to those that persecute us for our beliefs. We can do this in ways that aren’t harmful to others and perhaps in ways that show the love, grace and mercy of Christ to those against us.  And in hope that maybe just maybe they will see a God of love vs hate and want to know more.  

59 people killed. Over 500 people injured.  

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peace makers, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness. 

Blessed are YOU.  

Each of us in this room is here for a reason.  

Perhaps you have been a Christian and church goer your whole life. Perhaps you simply wanted something to do this evening.  Perhaps you are experiencing hardship or great joy in your life and wanted to be in worship with people that can offer you love, grace and mercy. 

For whatever reason it is, we are all here together.  

Worshipping a God of love.  

Worshipping a God of grace and mercy and worshipping a God that allows us to live out the beatitudes simply by living a life where the holy spirit is in us every day and strengthens our oneness with each other and this world. 

Go forth today knowing you are loved, knowing you are strong and knowing that you are have the ability to live out these exclamations every day. Amen.