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We all aspire to greatness in some way in this life, often because we seek a bit of glory. But do you ever get tired of it? Do you ever feel like giving up on your pursuit of glory?

Pastor talks about how the disciples wondered at times what glory could exist with following Jesus. He was homeless, hated by prominent people... When the transfiguration happens in this section of Luke, the disciples felt so excited. Finally! Some visible GLORY! But God the Father spoke from heaven, putting them in their place. He chose his Son. He sent his Son, with his death and resurrection at the center of why he sent him. His glory doesn't look like earthly glory, but in his glory there is love, forgiveness, and hope for YOU. Have a great week. 

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

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The world is full of opportunities to serve revenge to those who wrong us. It's not always a fist fight, but speaking against others, wishing ill on them, hoping for bad things to happen to them... Paul's words today make a huge impact. "Bless those who persecute you..." Wow. Listen in as Pastor Cherney shows what we have to lose by living a life of empathy and love... a love given to us through Jesus! 

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Something about going "back to the basics" appeals to all of us. We like to think that if something happened, we'd be able to be self-sufficient. But, really, are any of us REALLY self-sufficient? Can we REALLY do it all ourselves?

We all have weaknesses of some kind, even though it's hard for all of us to admit. Paul talks to the people of Corinth in our section of scripture today, and does not say, "after all I've done for you, THIS is how you repay me?" It is not about his pride, for he has something bigger... He goes back to the heart of the matter, and admits his weaknesses, and even says he prayed 3 times for God to take them away. But the lesson learned from God is that it is not about us. We will never be enough. But Jesus sacrifice was enough! His death on the cross gave us the grace of God. Self-sufficiency is never enough. But GRACE sufficiency is all we need. God can handle it all, and he's on our side!

It's okay to admit weaknesses and the need for help, and it's more than okay to pray about it. Remember that God is always with you. 

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Thanks for joining us! Where do you put your hope of heaven? Is it in the good you do, or in the church you belong to? The Jews and Gentiles both had their reasons to put their hope in different things. The Jews thought that because they were God's chosen people, that was all it took. The Gentiles liked to point out the Jews' errors and say they were better!

But your GROUP doesn't get you into heaven. It was true then, and it's true now. Sin effects all of us, and thus we cannot put trust in ourselves. BUT... we KNOW we are going to heaven! How? Because of JESUS. Our war with sin is over, and we have peace through Jesus.

How does he bring us this message of salvation and peace? Through people... like you and me! It is our message to share! It may not go well (it often didn't go well for those sharing the message in the Bible!), but all we need to do is share it. The rest is God's territory. Share it with love, share it with trust, and share it often! Have a great week. 

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lordwill be saved.”

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

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Although true humility is a wonderful thing, it won't get us far in this world. Our culture certainly doesn't reward it. This was also true of the church in Corinth, whom Paul was writing to in this section of the Bible. They were very excited about certain gifts, like speaking in tongues. Paul tells them we are all part of the body of Christ, and we all have different gifts, and God designed it that way! It is also clear in this well-known section of scripture that LOVE is an action, not a feeling. And LOVE never fails. Faith and hope will be fulfilled and realized when we get to heaven, but love (the greatest of these) will remain, as we will be forever in God's loving presence.

God bless your week! We hope you join us again in the future. Learn more about us at: www.trinityelpaso.org

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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How are your New Year Resolutions going? Let's assume you are normal... and they aren't going so well. Even the best laid plans go awry. Peter and John can attest to this in today's reading. They HEALED someone, and got arrested for it! As Christians, we often face opposition. This can be in the form of our culture telling us it is wrong to be Christian, or it can be in the form of an app we can't resist opening that will keep us closed off to the world for the next 2 hours.
Fortunately for us, God's plans are not like human plans. There are no unknowns with him! He knows all the wickedness that will happen and works that into his plan. He is unstoppable! And because of this, so are we. Even when we face opposition when telling others about Jesus' saving death and resurrection, we know that he can guide us, make us bold and confident. Let us pray that this be so. He is always with us!

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?

26 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.[a]’[b]

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

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We often make "value" judgements when we meet people. Are they good or bad? The hero or the villain? Are they worthy of our help, if they need it?

Pastor Cherney points us to these verses in Titus to remind us of God's amazing and unfailing mercy, and reminds us that, through mercy, it's not, "who deserves our help," but rather, "who can I serve?" Because MERCY is the reason we are saved by Jesus, our Savior.

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us,not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

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As the Magi were guided by the star to see and worship Jesus as king and Savior, may we be guided by God's Word to change our life and seek Jesus as our Savior and King.
May our lives also be guided by Christ.



 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a]from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

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The end of the year always brings on quests to better ourselves in one way or another. Often this includes things to keep us from aging! The book of Ecclesiastes is sometimes a hard one to read... "Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" What is the point of getting healthy or having the big house, when we are all going to just die anyway??

But the words for tonight help remind us of our Creator, and that WE are a CREATION! We are here on purpose! God created you for a reason!

God be with you as you close out 2021 and welcome 2022. 

Remember your Creator
    in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
    and the years approach when you will say,
    “I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light
    and the moon and the stars grow dark,
    and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
    and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed
    and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
    but all their songs grow faint;

5 when people are afraid of heights
    and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
    and the grasshopper drags itself along
    and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
    and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
    and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
    and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
    and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

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Mary and Joseph always went to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. It was a yearly trip. It might be easy to focus on the fact that they didn't know Jesus was with them when they left to go back home, but what we really need to focus on is what Jesus said to them when they finally found them. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" This is a big reminder of WHO he was. He wasn't just your average 12 year old, but they SON OF GOD! Pastor uses a great analogy of a runner who wins the race, but when we cross the finish line, he puts the winning medal around our neck. He has lived obediently, and died for us, so that we are able to have salvation through him. Praise be to God! 

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your fatherand I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[a] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.