Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I pray you have seen the Lord's kindness in and through your life this week. I look forward to gathering with you tonight at 6 as we talk about what it means that Jesus Christ is God's only Son and our Lord. This past Sunday, we continued our study of 1 Timothy and discussed Paul's saying that he is the foremost of sinners and yet God's mercy came upon him. If there was one truth to take away from Sunday's text, it's that Christ Jesus came to save sinners. This is wonderful news for us, isn't it? This week, you are probably going to see things in yourself that you don't like: thoughts you wish you didn't have, words you shouldn't have said, actions you shouldn't have taken. You will experience struggles with, and often falling to, sin. Remember, brothers and sisters, when you see that: Christ Jesus came to save sinners. So repent of your sin, trust that Jesus came, not just to save sinners, but to save you!

Paul continues that He was shown mercy so that God's mercy could be clearly seen by others. This is an amazing thought. You were saved by God, not simply for your salvation, but that through your salvation, others might be saved by Him. As God is at work in you, making you more like Christ, He is showing through your failures and your faith His great mercy to others. They see the gospel at work in the lives of gospel people and are to be encouraged that, if God can work in you, He can work in them as well. This explains the importance of honesty in our lives. As Paul was honest about his history and his struggles, the patience and mercy of God is seen. This is true for us as well. As we are honest about who we are and even how we currently have to fight the fight of faith, others will see God more clearly.

One of my favorite musicians once said that we know we are truly believing the gospel when we are able to confess our sins and shortcomings to one another. Why? Because it proves that we trust that our worth and righteousness come from Christ rather than ourselves. If He is my worth, I don't have to prove my worth to you. And when I live like that, I free you up and encourage you toward the same life. Friends, if you are in Jesus, you have been declared righteous because of Christ's work in life and in death. You don't have to prove yourself. You don't have to strive to be seen as worthy. Jesus has already done that. So feel the freedom to be honest about your struggles, your sins, your past, for in Jesus you have been made new.

And as your pastor, I want to help you carry your burdens. I want to be able to pray for you specifically and join you in the battle of life. As I seek to be honest about my need of Christ, please feel the same freedom. As redeemed sinners, we will strive to know the Lord and to make Him known. There's no other family with whom I would rather be joined than you.

Look forward to seeing you soon.