we are the beloved sons and daughters of God

it is important for our humanity to remember our part in divinity.

we must claim and live a life based on the knowledge that who we are is a result of by Whom we are loved.

we gathered on wed evening to sing, pray and realize that we are not what is in our wallets, we are not our cars, we are not our khakis....

we are not who people say we are..whether good or bad. we are who god says we are...and god says we are beloved.

that is how we are to live when they look at us and cry 'hosanna'

that is how we are to live when they look at us and cry 'crucify'

for that is how the One lived while he walked the dust of this world.

one of our family members sent this clip. we watched it and were deeply blessed by it. thank you dan. here is the clip for the rest to enjoy...take 17 mins out of your day and watch this. if you do not have time right now then skip the video but do yourself a solid and come back to it:



last night was another in our series 'false idol: a look at the 7 deadly sins for the 21st century' and last night's does not have a catchy title like the others.

last night we talked about the drive within each of us to answer 'who am i?' with stuff, accomplishments, reputation..etc.

we needed to be reminded that the only thing that truly defines us is 'beloved'

we are beloved of god...that is who we are. now we must live as such.

we will pause in our series on the 12th to honour those who have fallen in, what i think is the ultimate evidence of the fallen nature of humanity: war. that is worth breaking up a series.

when we return we will look at failure. we will celebrate failure. we will embrace all that we do wrong. for in that we are given the chance to see that we are beloved.

when we are weak...then we are strong.

when we fail...then we can succeed.

when we see that we are beloved...then we see ourselves.

amen.

(now go back and watch the clip!)