The Messenger - April 30, 2010 - Family

Pastor's Corner

"Family"

Kim and I have had a lot of fun in the last week playing "tour guides" for my sister and brother-in-law, who are visiting Southern California for the first time. We took them to the Huntington Library, the Getty Museum, the Point Fermin lighthouse, the Korean Bell, the Griffith Observatory, the Grauman Chinese Theater, the Wild Animal Park in Temecula, and several historic buildings in downtown L.A. It was fun to "show off" these features of our home town, but it was even more fun to visit with a sister whom I very dearly love.

This Sunday's Bible reading (Roman 4: 1-25) focuses upon a dearly beloved ancestor of the Jewish people: Abraham. During the days of the Apostle Paul, most Jews were very proud to trace their family heritage back to Abraham through one of the twelve "tribes" (i.e., children) that his grrandson, Jacob, brought to life. But Paul makes the very bold claim that ALL of us are children of Abraham--even those who do not come from these tribes--if we live as Abraham did--by faith. Some may be offspring of Esau, Abraham's other grandchild, some may be offspring of Ishmael, Abrahams very first child, and some may come from a totally different clan. But it's not about genealogy--it's about conduct, it's about commitment, it's about faith.

Thus, I'll be talking quite a bit about our family of faith this Sunday morning. I'll be talking about those we treasure--and why. I'll also talk about what it means to truly live by faith. It's easy to profess a faith, but it's much harder to live one out. Fortunately, both Abraham and Paul show us the way. I hope you'll join us.

p.s.  My internet "faith" was shaken recently by "Linkedin," a "professional networking" service that I joined to provide a reference for a friend. While I was there, they invited me to see who else was "already" linked in. So, I allowed them to search my email address book and send appropriate requests. But I didn't know they'd send it to EVERYONE in my address book (including those who were NOT already members). Thus, I apologize to those of you who got a "linkedin" request from me. I don't like to solicit for ANY internet service, and I certainly didn't mean to solicit members of my church family. You might really enjoy "Linkedin", but don't join it just for me.