Lessons for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, from Matthew 16 and Psalm 138, beg us to ponder identity. Who is God? Who is Jesus? And who are we. We live in a world with violence, hatred, illness, poverty, brokenness. Pastor Beth’s sermon reminds us we have to ponder this, but we cannot let the world define who we are.
God is…great and holy and surrounds us with steadfast love. God is High yet cares for the lowly. God keeps us safe in the midst of trouble and never abandons us.
Jesus is…“Son of the loving God”. In today’s Gospel, this truth was revealed to Peter and that confession is the rock upon which the church is built.
And so, who are we? We are… “Loved children of God”! We worship God by how we live our lives, by loving and forgiving others. As Pastor Beth reminds us, we are not perfect, and neither is the world. And because of that we need to be even more aware of God’s grace and forgiveness.
God gives us each different gifts & talents -“powers”- with which to live out His love and forgiveness. When we wear the identity of being “Loved children of God”, like a superpower suit, we have a much better chance of living it out.
To (re)listen to the entire message and to hear about Pastor Beth’s secret identity, click on the link below.