GRACE This Week

This week we wrap up our “Teach Us to Pray” series. I trust the Lord has been at work in you as we have taken a closer look at this prayer that Jesus gave his disciples. Pastor Mark will lead us through the last of the petitions and the closing words of the prayer.

Not too long ago, Mark and I were on a road trip. We were cruising along and saw a notification on our CarPlay screen that we had never seen before – SPEED CHECK AHEAD.

Our response was to hit the “dismiss” button and keep driving. In less than a minute we saw a police officer ahead of us waving cars over to the side of the road. Our hearts sunk. I guess that’s what that warning meant. And I know you will ask… We got a warning, not a ticket.

The last petition of the Lord’s Prayer is – Lead Us Not into Temptation and Deliver Us from Evil.

Like that notification on my CarPlay screen, Jesus is letting us know there is trouble ahead. He doesn’t want us to ignore evil and temptation. It is real for Jesus’ followers. How do we not slide through this petition, hitting the dismiss button? Sunday, we will dig into this petition and its importance for our life as disciples of Jesus.

Speaking of disciples, Mark and I spent the week with Dr. Jim Singleton. Jim has been a dear friend and encourager both to me, personally, and to our congregation. We were thinking with Jim about how to invite more and more people to be growing disciples. It was a refreshing and energizing conversation. We are very blessed to be a part of our ECO Presbyterian denomination. It is good to be connected to a tribe of churches and pastors who take Jesus’ mission for the church to “go and make disciples” seriously. It is important to keep thinking about how to do that faithfully and creatively here at GRACE.

What an exciting moment we are in as we count down the days to moving into our new church. We have so much opportunity in front of us to live out Jesus’ mission.

Thank you for the ways you are continuing to give your financial resources to invest in GRACE, and our mission here in the Lehigh Valley.

Your pastor,