Dear Peace Members and Friends of Peace,
I hope your summer is off to a great start! Graduations, weddings, vacations, and warm weather and all the rest; I hope that you’re enjoying these days.
On this bright day, I was reminded of our great God, the God who has made a decision about you and me. God hasn’t waited to find out how sincere we are, how faithful or religious we might be, or how well we understand the Bible. God hasn’t even waited to find out if we are an interested or willing to take his decision seriously. God has simply decided about us. God comes straight out and says to you and me: “I am the Lord your God.” That is his decision—to be your God. And there’s nothing—nothing—you can do to change God’s decision!
For the next 3 weeks, we’re going to be spending time about what we Christians believe about this God; specifically the three parts of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God,” “I believe in Jesus Christ,” and “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” In these basic understandings of the Christian faith, we learn what God does for us, how we think about God, and how to describe who and what God does to others.
I’ll begin this Sunday with the first belief of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth.” With the help of Martin Luther, I look forward to telling you all about the Apostles’ Creed and what it says, along with hearing a children’s message, sharing in Holy Communion, and the Peace Choir blessing us in worship.
Tomorrow, 7 Peace students—Gavin Churchill, Jonah Gehant, Elsa Oman, Teo Sivanich, Sofia Oman, Eli Betlock, and Kiya Losinski—and 2 adult leaders, Lori Thomson and Ann Losinski, will head out on a service trip to Chicago. While there, they’ll be working with some wonderful organizations that are making positive impacts all across the Chicago area, including Share Our Spare, Working Bikes, the Lydia Home, and the Chicago Food Depository as well as have fun taking in some Chicago sites and experiences. Join me in praying and wishing for them a great and meaningful time.
I look forward to seeing the rest of you on Sunday!
Mark