Following Jesus

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Matthew 22:37-40

This Sunday our Following Jesus series culminates with these great words of Jesus. Love God with your whole self, love your neighbor as yourself. All the ways we follow Jesus boil down to these. God’s whole love given graciously to me and returned fully, God’s love through me to all others. And so, we celebrate Reformation and In-gathering Sunday.

Reformation calls us as Church to pause and look inwardly with God’s eyes, seeing ourselves as we truly are. God’s clear vision that sees our beauty and strength, as well as our places where correction or healing are needed. Trusting our loving God to be both wise judge and powerful healer, so that we, together, may grow in our ability to be Christ-ones in the world.

In-gathering calls us as the local congregation of Beautiful Savior to pause and look outwardly at the ministries to which God is calling us now and this coming year. Trusting God to call forth from each of us the financial and practical support those ministries will require and that God will equip us for that service.

We gather-in our commitments for the coming year and re-dedicate our whole selves to following Jesus together as Church, that we may bring God’s love and blessing into the world.