We often want to be present with others that we want to be present with. It's easy for us today to disconnect or distance ourselves from those that we don't want to be close to. We "forget" to text back, we walk down the other aisle at the grocery store, and we generally avoid and ignore those we'd prefer not to be close with. Jesus does the opposite. Jesus invites the broken, the hurting, the undesirables to approach him. He even eats and drinks with them! Yet he does so for the purpose that they who are lost in the darkness of this world, might be found in him. Jesus does not lower his standards for his followers or compromise his values, yet he interacts with, comes to, and even loves the sinner. Even us!

This world is dark, cold, and full of suffering. Anyone can see that. This world is not a happy place. Bad things happen. Mistakes are made. Powerful people control the world and the weak are caught in the cross-fire. For many, this world is dark. People try to find the light, yet all light seems, at some point, to fade. Is there hope in this world? Yes, there is hope. This hope shines into the world through little small places. Hope shines through in the midst of tragedy. In the good things that happen that are just too good to be true. In the parts of life where the transcendent and divine come down to light up our world. That hope is only found in Jesus, in his person, promises, and through his people.

It's easy to forget a lot of things. In the mess of life, we often lose sight of and forget the implications and truths that come with God's promises. We see difficulty and hardship in front of us, we go through tough stuff, and when that happens, we can sometimes forget that we are God's children and we are confident in his promises. God calls us to remember. Throughout the Bible, 'remember' is the echoing command of God to his people, because it reminds us of who he has been, and who he will continue to be for us. We remember that we are called to be God's children, that we are redeemed and saved by the Gospel, that we are forgiven, and that we have the promise of eternal life, with Jesus, forever. We also remember that we are called to live as his servants as we share the truth of the Gospel and live as a follower of Jesus.

Often in life, we think it comes down to us to succeed. We think and act as if it depends on us to do enough. To make ourselves good enough. To achieve and be successful, whether that's in our work, our family, or as a follower of Jesus. We often act like it all comes down to us. The truth is, it's all about what Jesus has done, not us. Jesus' success overcomes and erases our failures. We have no fear of failure, because Jesus has won for us. Even if our life looks rough. Even when we fail to love and serve our neighbor. Even when we are failures in work, at home, or in our faith walk, Jesus gives us his success and victory, as those whom he has called his own.

There's always cliques, groups, and clubs that we want to be in and a part of. We want to fit in. Yet much of the time, we don't, or we exclude those who don't fit what we want to see. We often can feel alone, excluded, and left out at school, in our community, even at church. Even so, Jesus always has a place for us. We are welcomed into the greater family of the church! Jesus has made us a part of something much greater, and even as we have been accepted by God, we are to also welcome and accept others, regardless of who they are, what they look like, or what they can offer.

Pastor and Orphan Grain Train - Indiana Branch Manager in Jonesville, Gene Ernst, joins us to share how Jesus intended us to love one another, and also, how he has loved us in an even greater way! Pastor Ernst will walk us through the parable of the Good Samaritan, and encourage us as we love our neighbors as Jesus has called us to do, even as he has loved us in a deeper, wider, and more powerful way through his life of service, his death, and his resurrection! Join us as we dive in to discover who our neighbor is, and what we can do for them!

We often hear it said that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. Yet, life often dumps much more than we feel like we can handle in our laps. The issue becomes that we are forced to look inwardly to bear our burdens, and yet we cannot do it. There are some things for us that are too much to bear. Jesus has borne all our sins and sorrows. We are freed from our burdens of sin by Jesus. In the same way, we are to alleviate the burdens of others. As Jesus has carried our burdens, we are to trust others to help us in our need, especially those in our family of faith, and we are to bear their burdens as well. Knowing that one day, Jesus will take away all burdens from us, and free us to live with him for eternity in the new creation.

Often in life, we think God will work good in our lives no matter what. If you look at the life of Jeremiah, you can see that that's really not the case. Yes, we have hope in Jesus after this life, but that doesn't mean life is going to be good. We will experience hardship and difficulty and we may even have horrible and senseless things happen to us. We can be tempted to think that God will eventually give us something good, but that's not his promise. God's promise is this, that he has saved us in Jesus, and that he will return soon to fulfill his plans for you, me, and everyone. We can rejoice in the truth that God will work his ultimate good (and so ours), even if we have a life full of suffering and pain. Our current or future situation, good or bad, does not reflect God's love for us, we see that in Jesus, who will fulfill his ultimate purpose for all things when he returns.

Many of us feel as though we can be in control over our lives. We handle most of our lives, but every so often, something is too big for us, so we allow God to come in and handle it. The truth is, everything is too big for us, and we need God constantly in our lives. On the flip side, we can use dependance as an excuse for dismissing God's calling to us, because he's going to do his will anyways, and so we fail to live into the roles and responsibilities he's given us. God is completely in control, and so we must be completely dependent on him for even the littlest of things. That's good news, because in Christ Jesus, God has made us his own and saved us! At the same time, he gives us his Holy Spirit that we may go out and do his good work in the unique way he has called us to in our lives. Rather than 'let go and let God', we ought to depend on God, while doing the work he's given us.

Trinity Sunday is the day in the calendar of the church that we celebrate, remember, and engage with the truth that God is one God in three distinct persons. We especially remember that Jesus is God from eternity, and that he as God the Son, became man, that we may have eternal life with him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the new creation that Jesus will return to gather us and the whole church into. We do not fully comprehend this mystery, yet we rejoice in the truth, that Jesus is God the Son, with the Father and the Holy Spirit.