“Let us not neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

“Let’s meet by zoom.”

At one time, that sounded like a gift. When the pandemic shut everything down, zoom was an absolute gift.

I remember growing up as a kid and watching sci fi movies and cartoons, and thinking how amazing and cool it would be to be able to talk with someone face to face on a screen. I imagined that talking to one another on the screen would be as good as talking in person.

Now that we’re all zoom and FaceTime experts, we know that there is still nothing like being in the presence of someone in person. It’s not even close.

I know that some watching and worshiping with us online are doing so because that’s the only way to stay connected. And if that’s you, way to go! Way to stay connected. Way to continue worshiping. Well done Christian.

Having said that, if you are choosing to worship online when you are capable of worshiping in person, I want to challenge you to reconsider. I challenge you to show up for worship. I know. It’s not nearly as convenient or comfortable. But I’m confident that God meant for his people to gather in person. That’s why God called people to gather at the Temple during the Old Testament. Some had to walk for days to get to the Temple. But even their walking was an act of worship. It was important for God’s people to gather together.

Friends, if you are able to get to worship in person, I encourage you to do so. That’s the way God meant it to be.

For those of you who are unable to get to worship in person, we will continue to offer worship online, and are thankful that you are able to stay connected with God and with us.

For those of you checking us out online, welcome. Thank you for investing time. Now that you’ve met us online, we would love to worship with you in person!

“Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed” (Psalm 112: 2).

Leaving a legacy.

When people think about leaving a legacy they are thinking about finances and an estate that they can will to their children and grand-children. That is certainly a part of what it means to leave a legacy. We are living in a world where if it weren’t for such legacies young people would have almost no chance to afford their college educations and their first homes.

And when some people think about legacies, they don’t think it applies to them because they are not going to be able to leave anything behind. In fact, for some, if they are going to leave anything behind it’s going to be debt!

But the Bible doesn’t look at leaving a legacy in only financial terms. In fact, the Bible tells us no matter who you are, no matter how much you have, we will all leave a legacy whether we like it or not. Whether our legacies are a blessing or a curse all depends on the quality of the lives we leave behind. Are the people around us better because we were around?

Those who live God honoring-lives, those who live their lives to impact the lives of others for the better, leave the world a better place than they found it. Such people leave a generation who are blessed.

As valuable as financial legacies are, it pales in comparison to the spiritual legacies of people who lived their lives well, those who lived their lives to impact the lives of others for the better. Such people are called the “salt of the earth.” Such people leave God-honoring legacies.

So, what kind of a legacy will you leave behind? You are shaping your legacy by the way you live each and every day.

“To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.”

When do you think God said this? To whom was God referring to?

The people had come to a place where they no longer remembered God nor God’s teachings. In fact, when God’s word was proclaimed and prophesied, people took offense. Whereas, there was a time when faithful Jews delighted in the laws and the commands of the LORD, now when God’s truth was uttered people found God’s truth to be offensive.

Proclaiming God’s truth and God’s word became equivalent with hate speech.

Sound familiar?

What is surprising about the verse of the day is, while this absolutely applies to today’s world, the verse of the day comes from Jeremiah 6:10. This is in reference to King Manasseh’s reign from 697-643BC. That’s seven centuries before Jesus. That’s almost 2700 years ago.

Whenever God’s people drift from God’s truth, God’s people despise God’s word. Because, to a drifting world, God’s word reminds them of their sin. And sinners hate being reminded that they are sinners.

The invitation has always been the same: return, repent, and remember who God is and who you are. It happens in that order:

• Return – return to God. Return to your Creator
• Repent – turn away from your sin and turn to God
• Remember – remember your Father so you can remember to whom you belong