The Wisdom of God is the Wisdom of the Cross
Wisdom of God or Wisdom of the World?
We struggle. Every day presents new challenges and old temptations. And yet, we know to turn to God. Do we always turn to Him? Nope. It may seem obvious that the wisdom of God should be our first choice in every situation but our old Adam loves to put self first.
The wisdom of the world encourages superfluous navel-gazing, instant gratification and false gods in the form of wealth, power and prestige. We know those are empty endeavors that not only put distance between us and God, but don’t even deliver the happiness that they promise.
But the wisdom of God is the wisdom of the cross. It is justification and redemption. It is love. Love in the form of God sending His only Son to die for us. Love in the form of Christ, who had no sin, to give up his life for us. Love in the form of complete and total redemption.
The wisdom of the cross reveals the very heart of God. Thanks be to God for his gift of love and redemption!
Today’s sermon is based on these passages from 2 Corinthians 5:
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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Announcements
Voters Meeting: Please join us next week, April 3rd, at 3:30 pm via Zoom. We did not have enough people for a quorum on March 27th. Please look for an email link from Loyd to join the meeting.
Holy Week Vespers: Starting on Monday, April 11th, we will host Vespers every night at 7:00 pm. Please note the start time is different. Starting at 6:15 has proven difficult given the heavy traffic.
Bible Study: Our midweek Bible study is on hiatus during Lent and will resume after Easter. Our Sunday morning class meets at 9:45 and is currently discussing the papacy.
Lent: We hold a Vespers service at 6:15 pm every Wednesday night during Lent. Please join us! If you need to worship via Zoom, please email Andrew Berg and he will send you a link.
Donations: Even during the pandemic and with a decline in attendance, the expenses still go on. If you wish to make a donation please mail them to the St. James post office box as that is a secure location. You may also donate online.
Prayer requests. Bring your prayer requests to Pastor Jenson, Deacon Poe, or Loyd Harris (bulletin typist). The deadline is Tuesday. Remember to obtain permission if you are bringing a prayer request on behalf of another person.