The Messenger - August 4, 2011 - Down the Up Staircase
"Down the Up Staircase"
I need to start this article with a deep and dark confession: during Vacation Bible School, I got caught going down the "up" staircase twice! The first time, I received a "stern" warning from our alert hall monitor (Betsy Mantz), but it didn't "stick." Without even thinking about it, I went down the up staircase again the second day--and that time, I took another adult with me. Suddenly, I had become not just a sinner but a profligate!
Now, I doubt that any of you would call a Session meeting to address this "serious" charge. At least, I hope you wouldn't! But I bet that all of you have experienced some pattern of sin in your life that was really hard to break. And I bet that all of you have experienced seasons in your life when you simply couldn't help walking in a different direction from those around you. Perhaps it was the time when everyone around you held a strong opinion that you just could not accept. Or perhaps it was the time when others easily solved a problem that clearly baffled you. Or perhaps it was the time when most others were feeling happy and you weren't. I've known several people, for example, who got depressed at Christmas time simply because they were supposed to be happier than usual at that time of year. These folks usually did their best to "fake" the joy they saw, but the glee that others felt at this time of year simply would not "stick" to them.
Fortunately for you and I, God doesn't ask us to pretend that we feel happy when we're not. God doesn't ask us to solve all off life's problems. Nor does God ask us to pretend that we do not sin. The only thing God asks us is to be honest in our failings and open to his grace. As one of my favorite hymns proclaims,
Just
as I am, without one
plea,
except thy blood was
shed for me,
and that Thou
biddest come to
thee,
O lamb of God, I
come, I come!
Just
as I am, though
tossed about
with many a
conflict, many a
doubt,
fightings and fears
within, without,
O lamb of God, I
come, I come!
Expressed in another way, Christ may invite us to walk with him to the top of life's staircase, but he meets us at the bottom--at our point of need. And that's why our Christian faith is worth celebrating, after all.
I'll see you on Sunday!
Neal
Praise in the Park
We are
going to take our
praise to our
Creator outside!
On Friday evening,
August 12, we will
have a gathering at
the park below the
Korean Bell (the
Joan Milke Flores
Picnic Area).
Starting at 6:45
p.m., we will sing
and pray as the sun
sets over the
Pacific. Brought to
you by the SEAL team
(Rick Iwai, Erik
Larson, Betsy Mantz,
Kim Salas, and
Christy Wade)--ask
us if you have
questions or want to
help out!
Calendar
Sun, Aug 7
8:30 am - Adult Sunday School
9:30 am - Worship
Mon, Aug 8
7:00 pm - Stewardship
meeting
Tue, Aug 9
7:30 pm - Student
Ministries Meeting
Wed, Aug 10
7:00 am - Bible Study
at Carrow's
6:30 pm - Youth Movie
Night
7:00 pm - Prayer Group
Fri, Aug 12
7:00 pm - Youth
Hangout
8:30 am - Adult Sunday School
9:30 am - Worship
Erik
Larson is the interim
editor of the
Messenger.
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Presbyterian Church
of San Pedro