June 4, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Romans 5:1–5, John 16:12–15
It's Trinity Sunday!
St Augustine wrote in the 4th century, "Anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing their salvation, and anyone who tries to understand it is in danger of losing their mind!" This Sunday, we'll take a deeper look at the Doctrine of the Trinity and see that it is less an explanation of God and more a mystery that keeps us from saying too much about God's nature. Join us as we celebrate the God who is Above all things, who With us in every circumstance, and who is In us -- empowering us to love and follow God!
Imagine living in a country where your 1st language was outlawed. Imagine being oppressed and forced to use your oppressors’ language in order to live and exist. Imagine society attempting to erase your history and culture. Now, imagine the Spirit of the Creator of the Universe declaring your power and freedom in your own language. It's this pivotal moment that begins the church community to which we belong still today! Let’s celebrate and remember this powerful origin story of the church!
Ascension is one of the five highest holy days in Christianity (along with Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost), but let’s be honest. Ascension is the blacksheep of the holidays—we don’t really know what to do with this one! It almost feels like an anticlimactic ending of Jesus’s earthly ministry, so why should we celebrate it? Even more mysteriously, Jesus tells us it’s a good thing that he goes away! Join us this Sunday as we take a closer look at this neglected event and see what Jesus’s ascension means to us and why it’s such a good thing. He is ascended! He’s ascended indeed!
