We all deal with grief, death is a part of life and we will lose people we love. This message is about recognizing grief, sitting with grief, and leaning on others and God to get through it to our new normal. It is important to keep on going and not get stuck!

Jonah had enough! But this enough is different from the others. Jonah actually had enough of God being merciful and gracious, and that made him angry! Jonah did not feel Nineveh deserved to be forgiven. Do you feel there are people that do not deserve to be forgiven?

From Jacobs family background we know that Jacob knew God, but from how he lived most of his life we know that God was not his guiding force. Jacob for most of his life was a self-centered manipulator. But that night by the river God and Jacob were going to have a showdown. Jacob wrestled with God that night. He came out of it with a limp, but he was a changed man.

There are three types of people in the world. First, there are those who are blind. They do not know God and are blind to His nature and His ways. Second, there are those that see God and acknowledge his nature and his ways. However, they do not actively pursue a life in Christ that leads to transformation. And finally, There are those that see and know God and actively seek the transformation that knowledge of God can bring into their lives. Which one are you?

In our scripture this week Jesus heals a leper. In one aspect Jesus violates the Mosaic law by touching an unclean person. Then on the other hand, Jesus affirms Mosaic law by sending the man to the priest for certification that he had been cleansed and could reenter society. What seemingly is a contradiction, is not.

When you have had enough and you are in despair that you will do anything to get to Jesus

We are beginning a sermon series entitled ‘ENOUGH’. We spend our time chasing the things of this world to find happiness, fulfillment and peace. Unfortunately, for many of us it takes a lifetime to realize no matter how much of this world we gain it will never be Enough for true happiness, fulfillment and peace. In fact, often the things of this world will produce the opposite of these things in our lives. True happiness, fulfillment and peace can only come in and through Jesus Christ. Often, we only come to this realization by having Enough of the struggles, frustrations and disappointments that come in this world. When we finally have had Enough then hopefully we will seek the only one that is Enough.

Churches today often present a sanitized version of the Bible. This cleans up the messiness of the Bible that often makes good Christian people uncomfortable. However, when we sanitize the messiness of the Bible to make it more pliable, it loses its relatability and ultimately the power to draw people to the Gospel.

In this life God gives us 'mountain top' experiences. From which we experience God in richer and deeper perspectives. But, we are not meant to stay on the mountain top. We are meant to take all that we received and witnessed back down to the valleys. Our 'mountain top' experiences were not meant for us alone.

Being a neighbor is also letting others be neighbors to you. We try to do everything on our own but that only builds one way streets. Jesus says to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor. That includes accepting that love from your neighbor.